This light should have been installed as a normal, red, yellow, and green light that drivers are used to seeing at intersections. By having it operate the way it does, it creates confusion for drivers and pedestrians and it needlessly increases the chances of a collision. I am wondering why this type of signal was chosen in the first place, did Atherton have any input on the way it currently functions? What benefits does the current setup provide over a standard signal (red/yellow only vs. red/yellow/green)? At a minimum, Caltrans should fix the flashing red situation, and the response from the Caltrans engineer shows how out of touch with reality Caltrans is. Enforcement should not be the solution to a faulty intersection design.

Agree that a standard green-yellow-red signal is the only way to go here. This is a wide road and if the driver in just one of the lanes is confused, then the pedestrian is road kill. Minimize the confusion by using a standard traffic signal.

Caltrans is probably using this weird signal to speed up car traffic, but that should be a secondary priority to pedestrian safety.

Since Caltrans is now aware this remains a dangerous intersection due to inadequate traffic control, it could still be held primarily liable if an pedestrian accident were to occur at this intersection.

It seems that the idea was probably to allow vehicle traffic to continue when the pedestrians are on the other part of the roadway. This makes sense as a goal even if the implementation is bad.

Perhaps it should have separate zones for each side/direction of the road.

What is being done at the most dangerous intersection of all?
The Selby Lane El Camino crossing

It should operate as a standard stop light. When it does light for a pedestrian, it will be a complete surprise to drivers who have learned to ignore the fact that it exists in that location because it is always dark.

As the genrtleman suggest, you are hidden by one car stopped and the car in the next lane can't see you,

Dumb, Not thought out as stated by engineer, waste of money and only a matter of time before others get hit,

Hope cal train keeps picking up the tab,

how about a 1 year trial before installing others. How about taking it down and having people use a real cross walk at 5th ave.

I feel sorry for the next family that has someone get hit.

Some European pedestrian lights show how many seconds you have to cross. They also have 2 lights on wide streets; you can judge whether you have time to get all the way across or should wait on a concrete island in the middle for the next light. Quick walkers may get across 6 lanes, but slower folks are protected from the type of collision invited by the current configuration.

It just doesn't make sense and is confusing/counterproductive.

Also stupid is the recent repaving of Almendral that did absolutely nothing to improve the water drainage situation at the foot of El Camino and Almendral. Why would Atherton repave this and not take care of that hazard. Boggles the mind and more taxpayer dollars down the tube.

Ask any traffic engineer -- new crosswalks typically increse pedestrian incidents. Looks like cheapskate Atherton might have to actually spend some of their precioius money to protect lives.

Can't the walk light be extended so people can get across the street????

@ apple: you are correct. Although, read about the last time they were liable at this very same intersection, they had to pay.....wait, make that US, Calif. Residents had to pay... if CalTrans was a business, they would see it different.
@ Former Resident: I am sure whilst all the conversation and diagrams were presented here and many other places you lent your expertise? Otherwise cheap seats are just that. Remember, SR82 (aka El Camino Real) is a "State Route" meaning the state controls with town influence

As local streets become more congested with bikes, pedestrians AND cars, it's a temptation for local communities to invent their own local traffic laws, signals and signage. But not all of us live in Atherton; not everyone drives El Camino every day. For everyone's' safety, street signs should be standardized AND EASY to follow.

@CharlesReilly

Turns out Atherton didn't come up with this signal. It is actually standardized, endorsed by the federal government and incorporated into the published roadway engineering design and signage manual. Web Link

They are rare relative to the more common red, yellow, and green traffic signal. Drivers don't know what to do. There is an education component to their use. DMV needs to include them in the driver license test so that drivers know how to handle them.

That said, drivers should already have the basic skills: solid red = stop, flashing red = treat like a stop sign, person in the crosswalk has the right of way.

CalTrans needs to adjust the timing to allow for people to make it across the intersection and that would clean this problem up. There are going to be (lots) more of these signals on El Camino and elsewhere in the state. That will help drivers become more accustomed to them.

The beacon appears to be working EXACTLY as it is supposed to: Web Link
Notice the light is flashing with the pedestrian in the crosswalk. It is not designed to hold solid red while the ped gets all the way across. You still have to stop at flashing red.The main thing I see here is the pedestrian continues to look for traffic even though the signal is in operation, not looking down at his smartphone. That alone would probably make these signals not needed. My momma taught me how to cross the street.

I'm sorry, but if cars are blowing through a flashing red light without stopping or even slowing down, then this signal is a big fail. Cars go so fast on El Camino that no matter how carefully a pedestrian stares down traffic, they are not going to be able to out run a car. If you stop at each lane to try to make sure cars stop in the next lane, there is no way you will get across the street before the signal turns green again and you face certain death.

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