It’s been just over 60 years since Manteca got its first traffic signal to replace the flashing red light at the four-way stop at Main Street and Yosemite Avenue where Highways 99 and 120 once intersected.

That was back when Manteca had 8,242 residents and its first modern shopping center on East Yosemite Avenue anchored then by Big Boy’s Market where Grocery Outlet is today.

The city now is on the cusp of 90,000 residents

The occasion was marked this week as the city surpassed 60 signalized intersections — minus freeway offramps and the three Tidewater Bikeway crossings — with the activation of traffic signals at Union Road at Mission Ridge Drive.
The new signals were paid for in part by the faith-based school dubbed the Nur Al-Huda Academy that is being built on land adjacent to the intersection. The improvements  include high visibility crosswalks painted yellow given it is in a school zone.

Vehicles will exit the school parking lot at the intersection, The entrance is at a point further north on Union Road toward Wawona Street.

The signals will eliminate a longstanding traffic safety issue.

Not only is it dicey for drivers turning off of Mission Ridge Drive to find a break in traffic during peak hours, but they also have to “edge out” beyond the limit line to see beyond a sound wall that was built up against the nsidewalk.

It is the second traffic signal activated this year.

The first was on South Main Street at the first intersection accessing the 1,401-home Griffin Park neighborhood.

A third set of signals are likely to be activated this year.

They will be at Crom Street and Airport Way where the 99-home Yosemite Greens neighborhood is under construction.

Depending upon the approval process and the economy, three more intersections could be signalized next year, all on Airport Way. They include signals at Wawona Street, Atherton Drive and Woodward Avenue.

The city has been working to reduce the number of intersections needing signals by using roundabouts.

The first roundabout — that was offset due to development on the south side of the street — was at Louise Avenue between Cottage Avenue and the Highway 99 overcrossing.

Development of more homes warranted some type of traffic control. The city opted for the roundabout given it was too close to the Cottage/Louise intersection.

A number of intersections on Woodward Avenue and Main Street where development is now taking place are having roundabouts put in instead of four-way stops or traffic signals.

Traffic signals have advantages over roundabouts in several areas.

*They keep the flow of traffic moving.

*They provide for slower traffic going through an intersection to enhance pedestrian safety.

*Most designs allow pedestrians to cross half of a street at a time

*They reduce air pollution from idling vehicles

*They cost less to maintain over the years.

 To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com