Traffic Signals

BURBANK — City officials extended an agreement with Glendale on Tuesday to continue maintaining that city’s traffic-related devices. Burbank has provided traffic signal maintenance for Glendale since 1993 to cut down on costs and to increase efficiency, Assistant Public Works Director Ken Johnson said. “Back in the ’70s and early ’80s, the county of Los Angeles maintained Glendale’s traffic signals,” he said. “Then Glendale went private, and in the late ’80s there was a move for Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale to provide [a service]

New traffic signals are a good start I like the idea of the new left-turn traffic signals. They're being installed at certain intersections in the city. According to the Burbank traffic department, it will take weeks to iron out all the glitches. The close calls I've had with oncoming automobiles speeding though a red light have been scary. Sgt. Pat Lynch of the Burbank Police Department said that drivers who break right-of-way laws, which include failing to yield to oncoming traffic, cause the most traffic accidents in the state.

Residents who live within a roughly two-block area near the Chandler Bikeway may want to plan on being out early Saturday. Beginning at 7 a.m., Burbank Water and Power plans to shut power to the area roughly bounded by Chandler Boulevard, Maple Street, Magnolia Boulevard and West Evergreen Street, according to an announcement from the city on Thursday. The outage, which is expected to last up to three hours, is needed so crews can convert the distribution voltage from 4kv to 22kv.

Laura Sturza The City Council is poised to accept state funding Tuesday for emergency battery-operated traffic signals, hopefully making drivers and pedestrians safer as they navigate streets. Though drivers are supposed to proceed through intersections as if they are four-way stops during power outages, they often "blast through them," Police Lt. Wade Taylor said. "Where people are coming off the freeway, you have a big possibility that people are not going to be courteous to one another," Taylor said.

Lane would not be safe for cyclists The Burbank Leader is on the wrong path regarding the proposed bike paths ("The city on the correct bike path," Sept. 30). The paper failed to mention other objections our neighborhoods have to the proposed bike path — a potential increase in crime is the least of our worries. We were told the city avoids placing traffic signals to two ends of the same street to discourage through traffic in residential neighborhoods, but that is exactly what they would do by moving the signal at Magnolia Boulevard and Reese Place, one block to Sparks Street.

Burbank and Glendale are trying to get a bite of out of the grant money apple as Los Angeles County transportation officials prepare to review myriad infrastructure improvements. Both cities have submitted four applications each for thousands in grant money from the county Metropolitan Transportation Authority for projects ranging from bike paths to improved traffic signals, representing a renewed effort among cities to pool their resources in applying for precious fewer dollars. One of Burbank’s proposals — changing the designation of a bicycle path along Kenneth Road to a bicycle boulevard — is part of a joint project with Glendale to improve traffic safety.

Erin Park NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- The students were small and so was the city designed to teach them. The lessons, however, were big enough to save a life. About 20 preschoolers at Burbank Educare took a stroll through a miniature wooden city Friday morning to learn about bicycle and pedestrian safety. Safe Moves, a nonprofit organization that offers interactive lessons on staying safe on the streets, brought its "safety rodeo" featuring wooden sidewalks, cars, and traffic signals as child-sized visual aids to the Victory Boulevard preschool.

NEW BUILDING STANDARDS The council approved more stringent water and energy efficiency standards for new construction projects throughout the city. New codes include changing toilets to be more energy efficient at the time the property is sold and making sinks and other water fixtures more efficient. The new regulations will affect some single-family homes and mixed-use and commercial projects. WHAT IT MEANS The changes are due to take effect near the start of 2009.

Mark R. Madler Twice a day, Bob Andrews travels the Chandler Boulevard bikeway, either walking or riding his bicycle. The long-time Burbank resident considers the bike path "the second best thing" the city has done after the Stough Canyon Nature Center. "A heck of a lot of people are using it," Andrews said. "It's been a big boon for the environs." Andrews is not only a user of the bikeway but has also joined his neighbors as the eyes and ears of the path as a member of Friends of the Chandler Bikeway.

Good morning, readers. Today is Tuesday, December 11. A disagreement over coffee at a Burbank Starbuck's led to once customer leaving with a black eye , reports the Burbank Leader . A power outage in Sherman Oaks Sunday left 1,000 Department of Water and Power customers, as well as traffic signals along Van Nuys Boulevard, in the dark. Patch Officials estimate that Saturday night's fire at a water fountain design company in Sun Valley caused over $1 million dollars in damage , according to the Glendale News Press.

Residents who live within a roughly two-block area near the Chandler Bikeway may want to plan on being out early Saturday. Beginning at 7 a.m., Burbank Water and Power plans to shut power to the area roughly bounded by Chandler Boulevard, Maple Street, Magnolia Boulevard and West Evergreen Street, according to an announcement from the city on Thursday. The outage, which is expected to last up to three hours, is needed so crews can convert the distribution voltage from 4kv to 22kv.

Burbank and Glendale are embarking on a project to improve traffic flow on surface streets between the Golden State (5) and Ventura (134) freeways. The project, which will cost roughly $1.7 million, includes improving traffic signals, installing cameras and a fiber optic infrastructure that will allow both cities to communicate and make changes to improve traffic flow, Burbank Traffic Engineer Ken Johnson said. Residents can expect lane closures alongside street curbs, but not during peak traffic times, Johnson said.

Burbank and Glendale are trying to get a bite of out of the grant money apple as Los Angeles County transportation officials prepare to review myriad infrastructure improvements. Both cities have submitted four applications each for thousands in grant money from the county Metropolitan Transportation Authority for projects ranging from bike paths to improved traffic signals, representing a renewed effort among cities to pool their resources in applying for precious fewer dollars. One of Burbank’s proposals — changing the designation of a bicycle path along Kenneth Road to a bicycle boulevard — is part of a joint project with Glendale to improve traffic safety.

City officials are looking into whether developers of a massive NBC Universal project are underestimating how the added traffic will affect surrounding streets in West Burbank. The influx could be significant. The nearly 400-acre site for the NBC Universal Evolution Plan calls for 2 million square feet of new commercial development, including 500 hotel guest rooms and 2,937 residential units by 2030. The site in Universal City is bounded primarily by the Los Angeles Flood Control Channel, Lankershim Boulevard, Cahuenga Boulevard and Barham Boulevard.

In the aftermath of traffic accidents and several near-misses involving pedestrians outside schools, the City Council this week directed commissioners to examine traffic controls around district campuses. The council, amid mounting concern after an elementary school student was injured last year outside a crosswalk, called on traffic commissioners to convene a task force and solicit input on the conditions around each campus. While struggles over compliance are not new to schools, most of which were built decades ago and surrounded by streets with slower speed limits, a blanket approach seldom accounts for the intricacies of neighborhood dynamics, commissioners said.

BUILDING STANDARDS The council approved more stringent water and energy efficiency standards for new construction projects throughout the city. New codes include changing toilets to be more energy efficient at the time the property is sold and making sinks and other water fixtures more efficient. The new regulations will affect some single-family homes and mixed-use and commercial projects. WHAT IT MEANS The changes are due to take effect near the start of 2009.

BURBANK — City officials extended an agreement with Glendale on Tuesday to continue maintaining that city’s traffic-related devices. Burbank has provided traffic signal maintenance for Glendale since 1993 to cut down on costs and to increase efficiency, Assistant Public Works Director Ken Johnson said. “Back in the ’70s and early ’80s, the county of Los Angeles maintained Glendale’s traffic signals,” he said. “Then Glendale went private, and in the late ’80s there was a move for Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale to provide [a service]