Here is an article on the Traffic in the Santa Clarita Valley by former City Council candidate Jack Murphy. Enjoy!
Traffic traffic and more traffic. Welcome to the San Fernan, um Santa Clarita Valley. As our Valley’s population swells so does the traffic. Each new household brings in on average at least one new car to our roads. Is this just what we have to live with the rest of our lives or is there a solution to this growing crisis?
Having just completed a few months of Campaigning that included many meet and greets, forums, debate and tons of glossy mailers I have found a few ideas on congestion reduction actually viable. In this, my first story for the Mighty “The Beacon” I will discuss one plan that I found both interesting and easily implemented. The two things we tax payers like. Cheap and easy.
Candidate Ken Dean from Canyon Country had this basic idea. Have a set speed limit on all main roads in the Valley and have all the lights timed to meet those speeds. This concept would in theory keep traffic moving, especially during heavy volume periods, albeit at possibly lower speeds. Ken said that the City of Chicago, Illinois does this and it is what makes their traffic run so smooth. Now, I have been to Chicago and for the life of me I cant remember traffic patterns. I remember Gino’s pizza, Rush street and the kitchen floor of a friends one bedroom Dearborn Street apt. And frankly, I have to work hard to remember that much.
The only way to see if this is a doable plan is to actually try it. So, a few weeks ago I did just that. From Canyon Country to Valencia to Stevenson Ranch over the 5 at Lyons and back over at Mcbean. The verdict: If the lights were timed it would work. It would NOT work at the proposed 35 miles per hour and if the other motorists didn’t want to kill for doing 35 I wanted to kill me for doing 35. It did however work at 45 miles per hour. Again, the lights would need to be timed but at 45 miles per hour I was able to keep pace or even over take cars on most roads except Soledad. I think the average speed on that road is like 100. Wait until semi trailers start using that road via the cross valley connecter. But that’s for another day.
So we move major congested streets and intersections from sensors systems to timers, reduce or increase the speed to a set level of 45 and traffic should flow smoother. The best part of this is that it is cheap and easy to try. If it doesn’t work we can all look back and say, well at least it didn’t cost $240 million like that “other” road. Is this worth a try? Sure. Heck we can buy plastic bags to cover the speed limit signs that say 35 and set the lights on the timer systems and see what happens for a few weeks. If it doesn’t work, take the bags off the signs and reset the lights. Seems pretty simple. But then again, if it seems too easy and costs too little, you will never get a politician to endorse it.
Jack Murphy
Saugus, CA