By Megan Wood The Press Tribune
In 2009 officers issued 844 citations for merging out of freeway only lanes
If you haven’t yet mastered navigating through the newly installed “freeway only” lanes at Cirby Way and Riverside Avenue in Roseville, now’s the time.
Roseville Police officers have already ticketed several drivers, citing them for violations including unsafe lane changes and failure to obey regulation signs.
Dustin Doyle, a Roseville resident, was recently pulled over and cited for disobeying regulation traffic signs after changing lanes out of the freeway only lane headed for I-80 West.
“I checked over my shoulder, there was no traffic coming and I safely changed lanes,” Doyle said. “It’s ridiculous that I was ticketed, there’s nothing saying that I can’t change lanes there.”
Doyle was fined $250 and is currently contesting the citation.
In court, Doyle said he was one of a handful of other drivers that had been cited for the same moving violation, on the same day, by the same officer.
Terrence Scheffler of Antelope wrote a letter to The Press Tribune, calling the Cirby Way and Riverside Avenue intersection a “gold mine” after receiving a $221 citation, his first in 55 years for “negligence and failure to obey traffic signs.”
In 2009, Roseville Police officers issued 844 citations at the Cirby Way and Riverside Avenue intersection, of those 363 were violations of state vehicle code 21461(a), requiring obedience to official traffic control devices and 299 citations were issued for violating Roseville Municipal Code 11.06.03 for the same violation.
The difference in citation fines is about $120, and officers have the discretion to choose which violation to cite drivers.
“I, myself, the majority of the time cite for the Roseville Municipal Code. It gives drivers a break and it isn’t a point on their record,” said Roseville Traffic Sergeant Marc Glynn.
Glynn said there are many reminders to drivers of the lane’s direction, including several signs that indicate the lane’s direction to westbound I-80.
Glynn said that Roseville Police Department waited until July of 2009, two months after the Riverside Avenue improvement project was completed, to begin ticketing drivers for failing to obey the regulation signs that are posted freeway only.
Coming from his home off Melody Lane, Doyle said a right turn onto Cirby Way is his only option, putting him in the rightmost turn lane that is marked freeway only on the pavement.
“I have no choice but to get in that lane, even if I don’t want to go to the freeway,” Doyle said, citing the California Driver handbook, which states that a proper right turn begins and ends in the lane nearest the right hand curb. “I would have to change lanes out of the freeway only lane to continue down Riverside or if I want to go I-80 East.”
Glynn said that because the Cirby Way and Melody Lane intersection is a controlled intersection, Doyle can safely turn into any of the lanes including the center lanes that continue down Cirby Way, or the No.1 right turn lane that directs drivers to the stoplight at Cirby Way and Riverside Avenue.
“The No.1 lane becomes dashed (on Riverside Avenue) indicating that drivers can change lanes to continue down Riverside or continue merging to I-80 East,” Glynn said.
According to Glynn, changing lanes out of the No.2 freeway only lane into the No.1 lane before the stoplight at Riverside Avenue would not have resulted in a citation.
“The problem is on Riverside Avenue where the traffic is heavier and you have cars jockeying for a position,” Glynn said. “I tell drivers if you want to avoid the ticket, go to the light (at Riverside Avenue) and turn right,” Glynn said, as opposed to the No.2 freeway only lane, which does not stop.
Glynn said more improvements to the Cirby Way and Melody Lane intersection are planned, including making the solid white line between the No.1 and No.2 right turn lanes a dashed line and installing an I-80 West, freeway only sign on Melody Lane.
“The city is doing the best they can to improve the intersection for motorists,” Glynn said.
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