Letter:  Why hasn’t anything been done about the evening commute?

Recent stories have reported that Caltrans is 50% complete with their repairs to Devil’s Slide.  The morning drive, thankfully, has markedly improved with schools closed for the Summer.

The evening commute, however, remains an ordeal beginning at 4:00 pm and sometimes lasting through 7:00 pm. Checking the 511 web site, getting from 280 to Highway 1 can take as long as 45 minutes.

What is puzzling is that for all the mitigation efforts to smooth the morning commute (now largely unnecessary for the next two months at least) there has not been a single tactic applied when we’re all trying to get home after a long day, now made even longer.

Early in the crisis, there were suggestions of making a "grand circle", routing one-way traffic from 92 and Main to Highway 1, changing the timing of the lights, prohibiting left turns onto Main St., etc. Not one of these ideas have even been attempted.

And unlike the "Free right turn" temporary traffic lights that have never been used, this is not a North vs. South of 92 issue.  It effects us all.

My question is simple: 

Why hasn’t the City of HMB or Caltrans done anything to try to ease traffic in the evenings?

If they can’t think of anything, I’m sure the residents of the Coast can offer any number of creative solutions.

We have another three months (and maybe longer) of rough commuting ahead of us.  Can we survive the status quo?