Dear Street Smart: Woodman Avenue between Vanowen...

Dear Street Smart: Woodman Avenue between Vanowen and Nordhoff streets is in deplorable condition. I think it is the worst street in the San Fernando Valley. I was wondering if there were any plans in the near future to resurface Woodman?

Jim Barton, Van Nuys

Dear Reader: Funny you should ask. Within the next week or two, a $1.16-million improvement project along Woodman Avenue between Vanowen Street and Roscoe Boulevard is scheduled to begin.

Project engineer Mike Palardy said work should take about six months to complete. The worst parts of the road--about half--will be torn up and rebuilt from scratch.

The whole two-mile stretch, though, will be resurfaced, so you should expect smoother driving sometime around next Valentine’s Day.

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Dear Street Smart: My question is about the two-way left-turn lanes that are part of most wide streets. To my understanding, the center lanes are intended to ease the flow of traffic and reduce a lot of hazards that contribute to accidents.

Yet these lanes are often used by big-rigs as their own private preserve for loading and unloading of cars and building equipment. It reduces the flow of traffic considerably.

These big vehicles get in the center lane and then have to move their goods across the street to the business, even though there is ample parking on the side of the street.

Often, I see a police car drive by and do nothing. So maybe this is legal. If it is legal, why can’t other drivers park in the center lane like big-rigs?

Sam Weinberg, Van Nuys

Dear Reader: You are indeed correct that the center lane is intended to reduce accidents. The California Vehicle Code permits use of that center lane only for the purpose of beginning a turn--or of passing on a three-lane highway. It is not intended as a center parking median.

While there is no special code pertaining to tractor-trailers and their use of this lane, Officer Mel Scholl of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division said it is not uncommon for them to use the lane to unload unwieldy cargo.

Nor is it uncommon for police officers to turn a blind eye to the practice. The reason, Scholl said, is safety. He said it is safer to park a rig in the middle of the road than to block a traffic lane by parking on the side of the street--especially when unloading large cargo such as automobiles or heavy machinery.

All of this assumes that the auto dealership or company receiving the shipment does not have a loading facility of its own and that the rig is unable to maneuver to a safer place.

Even so, Scholl said, the practice would not be wise in an area where motorists frequently use the lane to make turns, say in front of a bank or a supermarket.

As to your question about whether ordinary drivers also can use the lane for loading and unloading, Scholl said they could as long as there was no other safe way to unload their cargo. Those situations--unless the family car is an 18-wheeler--are pretty uncommon.

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Dear Street Smart: You would be doing a great public service by starting a campaign reminding drivers of the importance of using turn signals. There is no doubt in my mind that many accidents could be prevented by improving communication between drivers.

Susan Katz, North Hollywood

Dear Reader: Consider the campaign begun. Your suggestion is good common sense, but, sadly, many drivers don’t follow it. However, most drivers we see are quite adept at communicating. Why just last week, a driver let us know that she thinks we are No. 1--or at least that’s how many fingers she held up--when she thought we were driving too slow on the Ventura Freeway.