There’s a shiny new set of traffic lights at Clarendon x Panorama, opposite Clarendon Elementary School’s playground.
(Literally shiny! They’re so new the post hasn’t yet oxidised to the usual dull gray.) They appeared suddenly, like magic. I drive by there several times a day, usually, and didn’t see them go up. One day they were just there, like great steel and glass mushrooms that had sprung up overnight.
“A good thing,” I thought. It’s opposite the Clarendon Elementary School, and it should make our kids safer. It’s the suspenders in addition to the belt of the conscientious crossing guards who patrol the place when school gives out.
“I hate those new lights,” commented someone last evening as he waited at the lights, red against the Clarendon traffic. There wasn’t another car in sight. No one crossed the road, not even a raccoon. “It’s needed like maybe twice a day, on weekdays. What about the rest of the time?”
“He has a point,” said a passenger in the car. “There isn’t much cross traffic here. They should just switch off the lights at 6 p.m.”
“Or convert them to flashing beacons,” said another.
“And,” the first speaker added, “It doesn’t bother anyone below Panorama. It essentially just affects our neighborhood.” [Which is true if you assume that most traffic on Clarendon goes south toward Laguna Honda Boulevard.]
So what does everyone else think? (If you leave a comment, don’t worry if it doesn’t show up until the next day; all comments are moderated as an anti-spam measure.)
FOREST KNOLLS NEIGHBORHOOD 
I’m glad to have the lights. Just about a week ago I was almost hit by an old Buick that was charging up the Clarendon Ave hill toward the Panorama intersection. He was in the right turn only lane, and even though there was a crossing guard with a stop sign in the middle of the crosswalk, and I myself was already in the middle of the right lane, I literally had to run back toward the sidewalk to keep from being hit. He never slowed down, never touched his brakes, and blew through the intersection straight (ignoring the right turn only too). I was terrified, and so relieved that I did not have my kids with me yet (I was on my way to pick them up). I’ve also had close calls in the evening before and after school meetings when it’s hard for drivers to see and I’m crossing from the school to Panorama. I’m glad to have the lights.
I live in the neighborhood, and I also wondered about traffic patterns outside of school crossing times. I thought that I had heard that there was an intention to have the lights green for traffic on Clarendon Ave most of the time, so hopefully that will help during low pedestrian traffic periods. We may be able to make this request if it turns out not to be the case at first.
These lights are unnecessary except during school hours. How about switching them to flashing red lights for other times then school hours. I have seen several people ignore them completely.
What bothers me about spending money on this new light is that there is a pedestrian bridge. I have lived in this neighborhood for 10 years. I have never had an issue crossing the street, because I used the pedestrian bridge. What is wrong with people that they can’t walk a few extra steps to use this bridge! The only problem I have had is that there is too much traffic waiting around causing dangerous conditions during student pick up time. The light does nothing to solve this problem. There is simply too many parents in their cars, blocking the entrance to Forest Knolls, making illegal turns and jay-walking.
I don’t think the light will address the speeding problem, because people are speeding more on different parts of Clarendon. It is a annoying to have to sit at that light during the weekend.