“Hi, I’m wondering if the lines on the road on New Avenue past the outlets are going to get repainted this winter. I drive the roads every day, and they are really hard to see especially in the rain. I’m just wondering if something is going to be done about them to make them more visible.”
Red Phone: Dear Make New Avenue New, Since this area is in the county jurisdiction, Red Phone forwarded your request to Masoud Akbarzadeh, the county traffic engineer. The road was last striped on Dec. 2, 2009, he said, and generally the county tries to re-stripe roads every 1.5 to 2 years. “It should be still in adequate condition, but we will re-strip it soon, weather permitting,” he said. He added that requests such as this one usually take two to three months if not urgent. So, good caller, look for a new New Avenue in the spring.
Rules for smoking at bus stops
“Red Phone, I read the recent story about the county cracking down on smokers. What are the rules for bus stops and Light Rail stations?”
Red Phone: Dear What Are The Rules, Red Phone contacted Jim Weston, communications aide for Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, who proposed the aggressive new ordinances that ban smoking in multi-unit residences in unincorporated Santa Clara County and outlaw lighting up in all parks. He said under the ordinance, a bus stop would qualify as a service area.
A service area means any public area designed to be or regularly used by one or more persons to receive or wait to receive goods or services, to enter a public place or make a transaction. Services do not have to include exchange of money, he said. Service areas include, but are not limited to, bars, restaurants, information kiosks, bus stops, taxi stands, lines for automated teller machines, public telephones and ticket purchases.
Therefore, smoking would be prohibited at bus stops under the ordinance.
“From my understanding, VTA already has a no smoking policy for stops where they own the property (e.g. light rail platforms and transit centers),” Weston said. “The rules for benches and designated stops on public sidewalks are up to the jurisdiction in which they reside.”
There you have it, good caller. Hope that answers your question.
