Signals will be synchronized as work on Mathilda wraps up
QIt’s been ages since I’ve had to drive through the Mathilda Monster in Sunnyvale to get to the office, so I was quite pleased to see that it looks like all of the construction has been completed. Unfortunately, I also noticed all of the light signals were completely out of sync.
Every green light that turns on is greeted with a red light turning on at the next intersection just a few hundred feet away. This occurs on each of the five intersections on southbound Mathilda from north of Highway 237 to the southbound 101 intersection. This is going to be a massive mess when traffic picks up again if the signal timing isn’t corrected before then.
— Dave Jenson,
San Jose
AThe massive mess will soon ease and then “The Monster” moniker may, at last, be removed. One traffic official described it as being “like pushing hot tangled goop through a strainer.”
Caltrans and Sunnyvale will be working on synchronizing the signals in the coming weeks. The signal timing at these intersections has not been synchronized during this period of light traffic. Most construction has been finished.
This $42 million project is the first to be completed under the 2016 Measure B program, which included a gas tax increase. Due to the coronavirus, there will not be the usual groundbreaking ceremony, but a celebratory video will be posted.
QI’ve noticed on the gas pumps at my local 76 station in San Jose that the tax information (state and federal taxes on gas and diesel charged on each gallon) is no longer posted. Is California so ashamed at the high tax rate they no longer want consumers to know the truth?
— Dave Garretson Jr.,
San Jose
ANo, that’s not the reason. Stations must post this information on the building window, not on each pump, though most do. It is difficult to post this accurately because it changes frequently to adjust for inflation. We now pay more than 50 cents a gallon in gas taxes.
QThe question is about an ambulance coming up behind you with lights and siren while you are first in line at a red light.
If the ambulance is in your lane, are you and the cars behind you supposed to pull into the intersection to let the ambulance through, or should the ambulance wait for the light to change so cars can move out of the way? — Ed King, Sunnyvale
APull to the right. If you can’t do this but can safely drive across the intersection, do so. Do not stop in the intersection.
Otherwise, stay where you are and the ambulance will move around you.
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