Express lanes approved by California legislature, but not voters: Roadshow

Q: I am not a fan of express lanes on Highway 101. I refer to them as Rich People’s Lanes. I have a mobility issue and cannot opt for public transportation. Whose idea was this traffic fiasco? … Did we get a chance to vote on this?

R. E., San Jose and many others

A: Transportation agencies in the state asked the legislature to approve express lanes, which they did. There was no vote by the public to greatly expand express lanes. The primary purpose is to get more vehicles in the carpool lane, and more people in each vehicle.

Q: One afternoon at approximately 5 p.m., I witnessed a woman driving a red Tesla exit the school parking lot at an unsafe speed. A blind man with a cane and dog were approaching the driveway area. Because of a tall fence on one side of the exit, the driver did not see the man and stopped only after her car was completely blocking the crosswalk. The man ended up hitting the car with his cane. Eventually, the woman drove about a foot forward, and the pedestrian walked around the back of her car.

I cannot tell you how astonished I was when she looked directly at me and mouthed, “How could I have known?”

Considering that this is not only a school for young children, but also a park, I implore you to do something about this situation. Warning signs, mirrors, lower the fence and or all of them!

Horrified,

Susan Stevenson

A: Here’s what Ramyaa Venkatesh, head of the nearby Stratford School, had to say:

“Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. This is extremely concerning, indeed, and I am thankful that the pedestrian is ok.

“I will send out a safety memo to the parents at the campus right away so that they exercise caution going forward. I’ll also enlist the help of the city to see if we can get mirrors installed and trim down the bushes. While I can certainly ask the parents from my campus to drive carefully, unfortunately, there are many others who use the field in the afternoon who are not Stratford parents. I’m hopeful that the mirror will help mitigate the situation.”

Q: Much is being said about the price of gas, and ways to ease the burden on consumers. The idea of sending everybody in California a check for $400 is absolute nonsense. Think of the cost.

Pierre Messerli, Pacifica

A: One other possible plan is to allow California to use other blends of fuel, potentially lowering our price by ten cents per gallon. But that might increase pollution.