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Road Q
Question: "Is there any plan to put a light at the intersection of Glenn (Street) and Mountain (Avenue)? Currently it's a four-way stop, but with two left-turn lanes, there are often six cars trying to navigate at any given time, and only half of them seem to remember what they learned about stop signs in traffic school," Glenn Nowak wrote.
Answer: The intersection does not meet all of the warrants for a traffic signal, said Michael Graham, spokesman for the Tucson Department of Transportation. "To protect the quality of life for the nearby residents, TDOT has not supported a light there," he said.
The neighborhoods on the four corners of the intersection are concerned that a signal would raise the traffic speed in the area, cause more congestion and increase cut-through traffic, he said. The increased congestion would come from an expected shift of some drivers who take Campbell Avenue instead, Graham said.

Tucson Region

Road Runner by Andrea Kelly: 'Lovely Rita, meter maid' has bit of a mean streak

Road Runner by Andrea Kelly
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.16.2008
Look for the city to find a way to get you coming or going — or even if you're standing still.
This week's cautionary tale comes via Roberta Young, our publisher's assistant, whose friend Tiana found out the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished.
Let's say you walk out of a restaurant and you see someone's parking meter is about to expire. You've just paid your lunch bill, so you have some change in your pocket. So you figure you might as well throw a dime in the meter to save someone a parking ticket.
You've just done a good deed, right? Wrong.
In saving someone a parking ticket, you could earn yourself a $28 ticket for feeding a meter.
That's right. You can be cited for feeding a meter, which is illegal, even if it's not your meter!
And if you let the stranger's meter lapse, it is he or she who will get a ticket for $28, not you. The fine is the same for parking at an expired meter as it is for feeding a meter. So the city is getting theirs, either way.
Still, we must be a town full of good Samaritans, because it's not an unusual violation, said Ricardo Martinez, a city parking enforcement agent.
He's seen people walk down University Boulevard and drop nickels into several meters to help out those whose time was ticking down.
"It's difficult for us to catch," he said, but the agents keep track of meters that are about to expire when they're making their rounds.
And some people even do it right in front of parking enforcers, thinking they're skirting the law by getting a few more minutes while the enforcers walk down the street.
One real problem with the situation is that when a ticket already has been written, or one has been started, and someone drops more money in the meter, the parking agent still has to issue the citation.
Then the driver gets back to his or her car, finds time on the meter and a ticket on the windshield.
I can imagine how confusing and maddening that could be. No one likes to get a parking ticket, especially not when there's still time left on the meter.
As hard as it might seem to walk by those nearly expired meters with your kind heart and your pocket change, it may help to remember that your quarter could cost you $28.
At $4 a gallon, that's seven gallons of gas. It's also a monthly pass for Sun Tran, unless the City Council votes to raise fares Tuesday.
It also could buy you dozens of hours at city parking meters, or better yet, in a parking garage, where you simply pay for the time you spend there instead of wagering with a meter.
● Road Runner answers road-related questions in this column on Mondays. Find Road Runner plus traffic cams and other transportation news at azstarnet.com/transportation. Send your questions by e-mail to roadrunner@azstarnet.com or to P.O. Box 26807, Tucson, AZ 85726. Please include your first and last names. ● Find traffic updates and other transportation news on the Gridlocked blog at go.azstarnet.com/gridlocked.
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