It will soon be easier to make a right turn from Van Ryn Avenue onto Industrial Park Drive during peak travel times.

Mayor Gary Singh said city staff has looked at the constant backing up of traffic on Van Ryn trying to turn right such as when parents are driving students to Manteca High or after trains block the nearby railroad crossing.

The solution is to make it possible to turn right from the left turn lane.

In doing so, it will allow two lanes of traffic to turn right.

Singh noted the southbound traffic on Industrial Park Drive is often steady for extended periods of times making it difficult to capitalize when a break happens for vehicles to turn right.

Most of the traffic on Van Ryn ends up turning right.

There will be signage installed along with arrows painted on the pavement noting the option to turn left or right from the inside lane.

At the same time to assure minimal confusion when two vehicles are turning right at the same time, a slashed curve “center line” for the turning vehicles will be painted on the intersection.

The city also will install a sign that advises those traveling south on Industrial Park Drive wanting to turn left into Van Ryn Avenue that cross-traffic does not stop.

It is one of several small-scale street projects the city is doing to make driving, bicycling, and walking in Manteca safer and less frustrating.

Spee lump projects

The city is working on several speed lump projects aimed at reducing speeding through neighborhoods.

The speed lumps the city had in stock aren’t the right size for the ones promised to be placed by the park along Diablo View Drive in southwest Manteca.

Due to the difficulty in securing the speed lumps, the city is going to install ones made out of asphalt similar to the ones on Thomas Street in front of Sierra High.

The contractor connected with a nearby housing project will do the work while the city will provide traffic control and eliminate red tape.

The only hold up is there needs to be a period of dry weather with temperatures warm enough to allow the work to take place.

If work is done when the temperatures are too cold, the asphalt speed lumps will disintegrate over time.

The city is awaiting delivery for one more speed lump for the installing of the traffic calming devices on Daniels Street between Fishback Road and Winters Street.

The city has also started reaching out to people along Mission Ridge Drive to examine whether speed lumps will work on that street as well.

Raised “finger median’

on Lathrop at Airport

There will be a raised finger median on Lathrop Road east of the Airport Way intersection.

Finger medians are concrete barriers  are typically four to six inches wide that are placed where a double yellow line would be painted on the pavement.

It will prevent vehicles from turning left in and out of the nearest driveway for a commercial project on the southwest corner of the intersection that the Manteca Planning Commission approved on Thursday.

Left turns in and out of a second driveway farther to the east will be allowed.

What won’t happen is a finger median — or any median — being installed on Airport Way.

There is inadequate right-of-way for the final configurations of Airport Way that also includes a median/left turn lanes.

There is currently space for a middle  left turn lane that staff believes is far enough way from the intersection as it is on the southern portion of the 3 acre project.

Staff believes vehicles will be able to turn left in and out of the Airport Way driveway by using the center turn lane.

The driveway shouldn’t create problems as the open left turn lane down the middle of Yosemite Avenue from Commerce Drive to Spreckels Avenue does at times when vehicles turning  in and out of business driveways conflict with traffic — including semi-trucks — backed up waiting to turn left onto Spreckels.

The project on the corner of Lathrop Road and Airport Way will include a gas station, car wash, convenience store, fast food drive through restaurant, two other restaurants, and retail space.

U-turns addressed

It is now legal to make a U-turn on northbound Union Road at Atherton Drive to access the Chevron gas station, car wash, and convenience store on the southwest corner of that intersection.

Because it had been posted no-U-turn — the road was narrower heading south before the commercial project was built — people were driving down Atherton Drive and making an illegal U-turn at an intersection near Living Spaces.

Singh also said the city has always allowed U-turns for eastbound traffic on  East Yosemite Avenue at Commerce Drive/Northwoods Drive but there was never a sign in place saying it was legal to do so.

That will be rectified in the coming weeks.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com