June 5, 2002      Willow Glen, California  Since 1992



News

Left-turn, right-turn bans result in tickets SJ Department of Transportation evaluates results of traffic changes (By Susan Wiedmann ) During the past month, more than 200 traffic tickets have been issued to drivers ignoring the "No Left Turn" and "No Right Turn" signs in the Hicks Avenue area of Willow Glen. The signs have been in place since April 25, following neighborhood complaints about speeding on residential streets during rush hours. The affected intersections are westbound Minnesota Avenue at Hicks Avenue, where left turns are prohibited from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and westbound Curtner Avenue at Nola Avenue, Hicks Avenue, Cheryl Way and Parkwood Way, where right turns are prohibited from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., Monday through Friday. Local drivers were given more than two weeks to get accustomed to the changes. But San Jose Police Department Officer Marc Taylor said that during three hours on the afternoon of May 13, he and his partner issued about 120 verbal warnings to drivers ignoring the "No Left Turn" sign at the intersection of Minnesota and Hicks avenues. The officers were there as the result of neighborhood complaints that the signs were not being observed by drivers. According to Taylor, the reactions of the drivers he stopped ranged from surprise at the presence of the signs to an attitude of intending to ignore them and driving the usual way home. Later in the week, Taylor and his partner were back at the intersection, this time issuing tickets. Taylor said that the amount of the fines will average between $50 and $70, depending on the record of the driver. Speeding in the area is also being addressed through a photo-radar program called NASCOP, or Neighborhood Automated Speed Compliance Program, managed by the San Jose Police Department. Laura Wells, senior civil engineer at San Jose's Department of Transportation, explained that a van is programmed to automatically snap pictures of the front and back of cars going over the speed limit. The registered owner of the car is then sent a traffic ticket in the mail. According to the Department of Transportation, drivers tend to take notice of the posted speed limit when photo-radar is in place, and relatively few tickets are usually issued. The majority of residents on a particular street must agree to the NASCOP program before it can be implemented. Signs are posted if the program is in place. Wells said that 70 tickets for speeding had been issued this year as of mid-May in the Hicks Avenue neighborhood under the NASCOP program, with fines averaging $80 for each occurrence. By about mid-June, the results of the turn restrictions and the NASCOP program in the Hicks Avenue area will have been evaluated, based on the data that is collected daily and neighborhood input. A decision will then be made about continuing the restrictions and the photo-radar. They are part of the San Jose Department of Transportation's traffic calming program, which also exists in other San Jose neighborhoods. Its purpose is to manage traffic so that it has minimal effects on residents, pedestrians and schools. Other solutions can include the installation of traffic islands to slow traffic and the installation of crosswalks by schools.

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