Drivers and bicyclists need to follow rules at four-way stops
Q Thank you for printing Stan Taylor's letter in last Friday's paper. The situation he describes happens all the time. — Robert Cronin,
Menlo Park A And … Q I just wanted to strongly agree and support Stan Taylor's comment regarding cyclists and four-way stop signs. I think car drivers want to be courteous and let cyclists go first, even if the driver stops first.
It is NOT safer … please follow the regular “rules of the road”!
— Mike Campi, San Jose
A
An excellent point. This is an example of someone trying to be courteous, but possibly confusing others by breaking the rules, which makes a situation more dangerous.
Q
There are three roundabouts in Los Gatos: Camilla Terrace at Cherry Blossom Way, Camellia Terrace at Farley Road, and Oleander at Cherry Blossom Way. Each of these roundabouts has fourway stop signs. I am under the impression that the object of roundabouts was to eliminate stop signs. Do you have a clue as to why they constructed these roundabouts, but left the stop signs?
— Don Black, Los Gatos A Mike-the-Los-GatosTraffic-Man agrees “that one of the benefits of roundabouts is to replace stop signs with yield signs. However, these three examples are more appropriately referred to as traffic circles and would not be considered roundabouts.
“Each of these traffic circles was most likely installed by the County as a traffic calming measure when these intersections were built. The stop signs probably preceded the traffic circles. Removing stop signs involves a process and can be time-consuming.
“It is generally not done unless there is strong public support and available staff time. This is the first resident who has expressed a concern about this.” Q Mr. Roadshow, since you came from the Midwest, I wonder if you could solve a mystery for me. When driving on Interstate 35, I see big trucks parked on interstate ramps. I am sure this is not allowed in California, but I wondered if you had any insight.
— Julie Hartley, Wichita, Kansas
A
It is illegal to use the shoulder of the road in all states, except in emergencies. However, trucks can have a hard time finding a place to park, and enforcing this is not a high priority in many places.
Q
Thank you so much for getting the traffic signal at Bascom Avenue and Hedding to Interstate 880 fixed. It has actually been fun going to work this week.
— Kristi Busch, San Jose
A
Good to hear. The city came out and changed the signal timing on weekday mornings. The signal should now be more responsive to vehicles waiting on Hedding, instead of holding the green for Bascom.