CHP officers hand out tickets to alleviate traffic on Highway
152
Hollister – For years motorists traveling eastbound on Highway 152 have stopped at the Don Pacheco Y intersection to allow drivers making a left onto Highway 156 to cross without having to wait for a natural break in the lengthy flow of traffic.
But on busy days, such as Friday afternoons, that courtesy can back up traffic from the intersection all the way to Gilroy – approximately 13 miles, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Last Friday afternoon anyone observed committing a courtesy stop for drivers making a left turn at the intersection got a ticket for their effort, courtesy of the CHP.
“Overtime was allotted because people complained, and complained and complained,” said Officer Terry Mayes. “Well, be careful for what you ask for.”
Five officers were stationed at the intersection between 3:30pm and 6:30pm and handed out 37 tickets – 27 of them for drivers impeding traffic on Highway 152 and the rest for right-of-way violations by people turning left onto Highway 156 and other violations, Mayes said.
The CHP will have officers, some posted at the intersection and others in the surrounding area, on random Fridays during the peak commuter hours of 3:30pm to 7:30pm, Mayes said.
The enforcement will continue until overtime is exhausted or the CHP hires more people to patrol the area full-time, she said.
“But I don’t think that’s a reality,” she said.
Despite motorists on Highway 152 holding up traffic to allow people turning left to jet across, there hasn’t been an accident because of the illegal action for at least the past 10 years, Mayes said.
But the CHP will continue to write as many tickets as they can when they see someone breaking the law, she said.
“Sure, we realize they’re trying to be courteous, but if you’re flying down the hill and you decide to be a good Samaritan and stop all the traffic when no hazard exists, you’re gonna get a ticket,” Mayes said. “And if you’re sitting in the left-hand turn lane and dodge out there and make everybody slam on their breaks, you’re gonna get a ticket.”
Congestion at the intersection and enforcement to try to smooth it out is nothing new, said CHP Captain Bob Davies.
The CHP has devoted extra officers to that area periodically over the past 10 years, but the reality is that the problems at the intersection aren’t going to be fixed until some engineering improvements are made, Davies said.
“There’s too many cars trying to get through an intersection that’s too small,” he said. “There’s no way enforcement can eliminate the problem of congestion at that intersection.”
Despite officers writing tickets and trying to keep traffic flowing smoothly, Mayes doesn’t believe the enforcement will stop people from stopping at the intersection to allow people to cross, or do much for the 13-mile back-up of traffic.
“There’s only one lane of traffic and it can’t take all those people,” she said. “However, we are required by law to take action on what we see. Unfortunately it’s going to create animosity of those who got tickets and didn’t think it was appropriate.”
Davies said although the complaints of traffic backing up on Highway 152 decreased some thanks to the enforcement, the CHP has been bombarded with complaints of drivers traveling westbound that now have to wait even longer to make a left turn.
“We’re trying to find a happy medium and make the intersection flow as best we can,” he said.
During peak commuter hours on Fridays, 2,750 cars traveling eastbound on Highway 152 go through the single-lane intersection per hour, according to 2003 Caltrans statistics. Cars traveling westbound during peak commuter hours total 1,550, according to the statistics.
Hollister resident John Mondo makes the commute from Hollister to Los Banos twice a day for work, and appreciates it when drivers stop for him to cross when he’s on his way home in the evening, he said.
The only time traffic is bad enough to warrant people stopping in the middle of the road is on Friday evenings and on the days before a big holiday, he said.
“I keep the window open and flip a high wave and a big smile, and hope it lessens the pain they have to go through waiting for us,” Mondo said.
When traffic’s especially heavy, it takes between eight to 10 minutes to get across the intersection, even when motorists stop and allow people making a left to cut across, he said.
Although he’s thankful every time someone stops for him, he understands the reasoning behind the CHP’s actions, he said.
“The CHP is well within its rights to keep traffic moving, and spaces naturally occur,” he said. “Eventually we get home.”
Mondo didn’t notice the CHP handing out tickets on Friday because he bypassed the left-turn altogether, he said. Traffic was backed up to Casa de Fruta so he took 152 to Bloomfield Road, then Shore Road to Highway 25 into Hollister, he said.
“If I had stayed where I was in line and waited my turn I probably would have been there for 25 minutes before I even got a chance to cross,” he said.
