Gusty winds create potential dangerous situation
Car, after car, after car approached the traffic light on Varner Road Monday morning, confused as to what they were seeing. It was a particularly precarious situation as traffic from Interstate 10 dumps off at the intersection.
“Just wait and probably move on over to the other side of the road before I did anything else,” said driver Linda Bincent.
The light on one of the signals is presumed to have been moved by gusty winds, that at times early Monday morning reached over 40 miles-per-hour, or debris from those winds, causing it to face in the wrong direction. As a result, people heading westbound on the side street were greeted at times with both a red and green light.
“You definitely want to be aware of other drivers and what they’re doing and respond to them appropriately. I think it’s pretty dangerous, ” said Anna Soper. “I have a new baby in the car and I think someone should get out here and fix it as soon as possible.”
KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 News were the first to call on it around 11:20 a.m. and learned maintenance is shared between Riverside County and the California Department of Transportation.
It took nearly two hours for a crew to come out from Banning and just about 10 minutes for workers to fix it.
According to the California Highway Patrol’s website, it happened to at least one other light in the area Monday morning, at the Washington Street on ramp to the I-10 West.
Shelly Lombardo, public information officer for the DOT said while they do not get a lot of calls about this type of incident, it does happen on occasion. The repair becomes a priority if it causes any type of traffic complication.
KESQ News Channel 3’s and CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner also reached out to the Riverside County Traffic Division Monday afternoon, but phone calls were not returned.
Drivers can report similar issues the following ways.
For state-maintained signals, call Caltrans at 909-383-4631, or submit an online form.
For county-maintained signals, call supervisor Delaney Davezan at (951) 955-6894, or (951) 955-6895.
