Take the express out of Central Expressway

Q I’ve been commuting on Central Expressway from San Jose to Sunnyvale for over two years. In the past few months, there seems to have been a sudden change in the amount of traffic congestion and I can’t figure out why.

I used to be able to leave at 7 a.m. and have a 20-minute ride; now it’s as long as my trip home, which is 40 minutes. It used to get worse only if there were accidents on Highway 101, but now it’s constant. Any insight? — Ed Hillstrom

A Central has become the latest hot spot judging by complaints to Roadshow.

Ananth the County Traffic Man says:

“We have also received complaints of travel time increases during peak hours. We used to have a high volume of traffic on Central when 101 had incidents or other issues. But lately, we are seeing this type of traffic regularly on Central.

“Since Central Expressway has only two lanes in each direction it doesn’t take much to get to saturation, which is causing long delays at intersections like Bowers and Mary.”

Q Traffic backs up on Central Expressway at Mary Avenue. The two left-hand turn lanes are short, and vehicles often miss the green light as they must wait for traffic to move through the intersection, allowing them to enter the turn lane.

Solution: There is an abundance of space in the median. Doubling or tripling the length of the turn lanes should help get more turning traffic off the road and through the light, eliminating some of the gridlock that can stretch to Wolfe Road. — Zachary Alexander

A There are plans to lengthen the turning lane, and the county may add more green time to the signal. A third turning lane is also under consideration.

Q My usual commute is by bicycle along El Camino Real to Sunnyvale, but on certain days I have to drive and take Central Expressway. It is way more stressful driving than biking. — Brian Cilker, Los Altos

A One final comment from Ananth: “As we head into the holidays we should see a slight improvement in travel time, but that is temporary and is not going to last very long.”

Q I frequently see cars jump onto the shoulder on Central Expressway as much as a halfmile before Rengstorff Avenue to make the right turn. They can be pretty upset when they find themselves following me at 11 or 12 mph. — Jim Thurber, Mountain View

A Jim bicycles along Central and cars jumping onto the shoulder are a big concern.