Readers criticize use of the word ‘the’ with road numbers
QDid you subcontract your column last Sunday to a Southern California writer? “THE” 280 freeway; “THE” 101 freeway; “THE 1” freeway in one column? We should all send you a bar of soap. — Richard Von Runnen, San Jose
A A few others may be buying soap.
Q I beg you, as a Northern Californian, not to call 101 “THE 101!” ... I thought several Roadshow discussions over the years established that putting “THE’’ in front a freeway name was strictly a Southern California thing. Then you wrote about “THE 280, THE 101, THE 580.” And topped it off with “THE 1.” Really, “THE 1”? ... Shame on you. — M. Manning, Jay Cullen, Bill Stock and Dave Rigney
A I deserve this scolding and Mrs. Roadshow heartily agrees, asking “What were you thinking?” I promise it’ll never happen again.
Q What is Highway 17 traffic going to be like on weekends now that the beach crowd is returning? Would cutting through Los Gatos be a better strategy to avoid traffic jams on 17? — Francis White, San Jose
A No, no, no. The quickest and least stressful way to get to the beach is by staying on 17 as it is a slow but direct shot. There are traffic signals, congestion and wrong turns if you cut through town on city streets. If you can, walk or bike into Los Gatos.
If you live in an impacted neighborhood, position your car on the street or back into your driveway so that leaving home is easier. And schedule weekend appointments and errands before 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m. There’s a beach traffic hotline at 408-3546810 or beachtraffic@losgatosca.gov.
Q One recent weekday at about 7:40 p.m. I was southbound on San Tomas Expressway. Some sections had the yellow diamond over the carpool lane illuminated and some didn’t. The posted carpool hours end at 7 p.m. for the whole route. To be safe I didn’t drive in that lane (traffic was light) but now I’m curious. Which takes precedence: the hours posted on the sign or the yellow diamond light? — Larry Schwarcz. Campbell
A Follow the black-andwhite signs. Carpool hours run from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. This was a glitch.
Q I recently got one of the Real ID licenses. It has my date of birth four different times. Is there a reason for saying the same thing four times or are they just trying to make sure I know that I’m getting old? — Lou Thompson, Saratoga
A The date of birth is printed in four different places using various security technologies to prevent counterfeit cards from being produced. By the way: How old are you?
Q I’m 76, and hope to keep on adding to it. — Lou Thompson
A Go for it.
Follow Gary Richards at Twitter.com/ mrroadshow, look for him at Facebook.com/ mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.