A Green Light for Commuters

So city officials are considering eliminating the High-Occupancy Vehicle lane on Sepulveda Boulevard (Times Valley Edition March 4).

Funny, but I got the impression that they had already done this. I drive home from work every day by this route between 3 and 7 p.m. when the HOV lane is supposed to be in effect. I haven’t seen this lane coned off in several months, so I assumed that the experiment was finished.

A better solution to the traffic problem through this stretch would be to coordinate the traffic lights according to the volume of traffic.

For example, the light on Sepulveda at Bel Air Crest Road often stops the heavy northbound flow without any cars waiting to turn onto Sepulveda or from southbound Sepulveda onto Bel Air Crest. Also, the light at Skirball Center Drive stops the Sepulveda traffic long after the intersection has cleared. These signals negate any positive impact the HOV lane might have on the flow of traffic through the Sepulveda Pass.

The concept of HOV lanes has merit. The Department of Transportation simply needs to better determine the causes of individual traffic jams before experimenting with remedies.

MIKE KLEIN, North Hollywood