When is it legal (and safe) to make a U-turn? Road Warrior reader Janelle would like to know. She confronts the issue every night on her way home from work. Santa Rosa experts advise her that the motorists who annoy her are in the right, but only if they turn safely. Question: I work next to Medtronic on Round Barn Blvd. (off Fountaingrove) and everyday multiple cars flip a U turn where there is a break in the center divider.… Read More »
Updated to include details about the sewer replacement work at Montgomery Drive and Farmers Lane in Santa Rosa. Life slows down in Sonoma County after the weekend excitement of the bicycle race and Rose Parade in Santa Rosa, and American Graffiti cruise in Petaluma. Similarly, road projects continue with little change, a lull before the June 3 start of another Highway 101 improvement project north of Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa police identify their targeted intersection of the week, and Rob… Read More »
Santa Rosa will be swarming with bicycles this weekend as the Amgen Tour of California rolls into town, so this reader question about bicycle safety arrived just in time. The question: In the “California’s Rules of the Road” bicyclists are to follow the same rules of the road as motor vehicles. I understand some communities allow bicycles on sidewalks, but does the law allow them the right-of- way in the crosswalks as well? Many near misses have occurred as a… Read More »
Whose responsibility is it to maintain the landscaping around highway parcels? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Steve Mosher wrote in to ask about a lot near the Airport Boulevard freeway exchange that was so full of weeds he could barely walk past them on the sidewalk. He said last year mowing crews never visited the parcel, which runs from the Chevron Station to the U.S. 101 southbound on ramp. “This year nothing except for the trees they cut down nearby,”… Read More »
Reader Lisa Davis wrote in this morning about an unsual tie-up on Highway 116 west of Monte Rio. She was stuck in traffic because a car commercial was being filmed. She described the scene as “A LOT of car carrier trailers, new cars with car covers, cameras, CHP stopping traffic. Expect delays here, out to the coast.” Guerneville Towns Correspondent Stephen Gross was on the road this morning and had this to say about 11:15 a.m.: “Yes it is true.… Read More »
Two little questions about things spotted along U.S. 101, and a suggestion about how to ease the pain as construction projects collide in Petaluma. What’s up with the sign? The question: What is with the electronic sign in Rohnert Park on NB 101 that states to turn Radio to 840 AM? It was on for a week, no message is on 840 AM. The answer: Caltrans’ electricians were testing the sign. In the future Caltrans will use the Highway Advisory Radio for construction… Read More »
This week, Santa Rosa police are monitoring one of the city’s most collision-prone intersections, Mendocino Avenue at Steele Lane, which last year was tied for sixth place with 7 collisions. As part of a weekly Monday through Friday special enforcement program, Officer Jeff Adams says officers particularly will be looking for drivers not wearing seat belts, who are illegally using cellphones, are speeding, running red lights or committing lane violations. Each week, the officers pick one of the city’s top 25… Read More »
Just like our Y2K fears at the start of the new millennium, our anguish over an unstaffed Golden Gate Bridge has turned out to be unfounded. Traffic flows just as easily as it did when attendants collected the toll. But one Road Warrior reader wanted to know what happens with tourists and out-of-state visitors who don’t have Fastrak toll tags? The question: I’d like to learn about the change in the way the golden gate bridge toll is handled now that… Read More »
The question: Are historic license plates – the yellow, black and blue plates from the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s – readable by automatic plate readers? The answer: No, at least in Santa Rosa, because the color contrast and fonts of the letters and numbers, which confuse the machines. Janet Reisner, supervising parking enforcement officer, says the vendor that created the plate reader system reports that it might be possible to modify the system to read the older plates, but they… Read More »
Lisa writes to say that she’s tired of slow drivers using the fast lane, sending fast drivers to the slow lane, especially between Santa Rosa and Petaluma. Sound familiar? “I commute from Marin to Santa Rosa 4 days a week and regularly drive in other high traffic areas around the Bay Area,” Lisa writes. “This problem is isn’t completely unique to Sonoma County, but i see it here a whole lot more than other areas.” She passes along this Facebook… Read More »
