Since You Asked: Tudor work will require more stoplights

Q: Caltrans is upgrading Highway 99 in the Tudor area south of Yuba City to four lanes and a straighter alignment. Driving by the part by Wilson Road, it appears new traffic signal poles are going in at the future intersection. Please say it isn't so! Isn't the whole point of the project to increase mobility? Instead, we will have to sit at a red light where there never was one before, not to mention the added risk of being rear-ended. I witness rear-end collisions all the time at the signals on Highway 99 and Riego and Elverta roads.

A: Yes, there will be new signals at Wilson Road when the Tudor Bypass is completed this fall, said Caltrans spokeswoman Rochelle Jenkins.

Wilson Road is where much of the local traffic now entering Highway 99 at Garden Highway will access 99. Drivers headed south on Garden Highway will have a choice of turning left and entering 99 from Wilson Road, or turning right and getting on 99 at the intersection with Highway 113, Jenkins said.

And yes, there will also be a signal at Highway 113 where none exists now.

The good news is that the signals at Riego and Elverta roads will be eliminated when those intersections become full interchanges. That project is scheduled to begin next year, she said.

So you'll be "gaining" two new signals but losing two others.

The Wilson Road signal is needed partly because of all the big rigs entering Highway 99 from area orchards. The signal will be "on demand," she said. That means traffic on 99 will have the green light if no one's waiting at Wilson Road.

Q: We have a problem in Wheatland with boat and recreational vehicles parked on city streets. Some boats and trailers on Third Street have been there six months or more. As well as the eyesore across from the police station and the corner of C and Second streets.

A: Filing a complaint with the Wheatland Police Department would help, if you haven't already done so, said Police Chief Mike McCrary.

The time limit for parking any sort of vehicle on a city street — car, boat or recreational vehicle — is 72 hours. Police have tagged 35 vehicles since March with orange stickers. If a vehicle is not moved within 72 hours of being tagged, it's towed, he said.

The boats and recreational vehicles you're talking about are handled on a complaint basis, unless an officer notices obvious signs — such as dirt or cobwebs — that it's been parked a long time, McCrary said.

McCrary said the "eyesore" across the street from the police station that you referred to apparently is a building used to store boats and cars. They're not parked on the street, he said.

Since You Asked is published Mondays. Send questions to reporter Rob Young at the Appeal-Democrat, 1530 Ellis Lake Drive, Marysville, CA 95901, e-mail him at ryoung@appealdemocrat or call 749-4710.