This nasty stretch of I-580 deserves its own nickname

Q On Highway 101 in Marin County, the road shrinks down to a mere two lanes and is so infamous that the chokepoint has earned the name “The Novato Narrows.”

Now, Caltrans has given us another location where, in a high-traffic corridor, they reduce the number of lanes, causing an almost-complete stoppage of traffic flow during peak times. I am talking about the new lane configuration going east on Interstate 580 toward the Altamont Pass, where it goes from five to four lanes.

I believe this newest traffic snarl should have its own name. My first thought was “The Altamont Anguish” but would love to throw it out to your readers for other suggestions. Brian Wilson San Mateo

A Caltrans added a fifth lane to provide two carpool-express lanes east from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. But traffic is so bad here that any loss of pavement can lead to terrific slowdowns.

As for your plea, “Altamont Anguish” is pretty good. Ranks right up there with “Valley Surprise” (Highway 17), “Blood Alley” (Monterey Highway), “the Fishhook” (Highway 1) and “The Maze” (Bay Bridge).

So let’s work on 580.

Q The express lane on 580 getting out of Livermore has cut our commute time down by 15-20 minutes! Paula Ashley Livermore

A Impressive. Anyone else?

Q My complaints to BART are falling on deaf ears so I thought I would reach out to you, the guru of all forms of commuting.

Please ask your insiders at BART: What is the deal with playing escalator roulette at the Embarcadero Station in San Francisco during the afternoon commute?

At the Spear/Drumm/ Market Street end of the station, they are switching both platform and street escalators to the upward direction. What is most infuriating is the signs say the switch takes place from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

One day I was one of the last down to the platform at 4:02 before they stopped the escalator and switched from down to up.

Why are they doing this? How do they expect hundreds of commuters to descend to the platform on two narrow staircases? I don’t know who in their ivory tower thought up such nonsense. Laurie Martin Pleasant Hill

A Here’s the rationale. Embarcadero gets very crowded on that end of the station and BART wants riders to utilize all ends of the station. The idea is to better meter the flow of people getting to the platform and to spread out the clusters of crowding.

This is a short-term solution.

Long term, BART is looking at building additional side platforms, removing bulky furniture to create more standing space, and adding a new elevator, high-speed escalators and platform edge screens so more people can stand on the platform without the risk of falling onto the tracks. QI

have a question that will not be popular. Why is there no toll for using the Caldecott Tunnel? John Contreras Livermore

A That would require a toll plaza and would make a messy commute even messier, so it’s never been considered.

Follow Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@ bayareanewsgroup.com or 408-920-5335.