Q: I'm concerned that Cal State Bakersfield is allowing 70 15- to 20-year-old trees to wither away and die at the old Southwest Baseball fields due to lack of water and maintenance. It is hard to believe given the fact that Bakersfield is a nationally noted "Tree City" that this can be allowed to happen.

Given the emphasis on "Green Living" and the demonstrated ability of trees to help remove pollutants from the air we all breathe (and see before breathing) that CSUB could be a much better role model for our community.

- John Turner

A: Patrick Jacobs, CSUB assistant vice president, facilities planning, development & operations, answered:

There are several issues with the trees on that portion of campus and we are trying to find a solution.

The trees were planted by Southwest Baseball while it leased the area for its youth baseball program. At the end of the lease, it could not relocate the trees to the new facility because the trees were not a species approved by the city of Bakersfield. When Southwest Baseball cleaned the area on campus where it had played, the irrigation system was removed. Thus, the trees have not been watered.

Regardless of the current situation, in the long-term master,plan for the campus, the trees would eventually be removed to accommodate campus growth. The poor success rate and prohibitive cost does not make transplanting trees of that size a viable option.

We are proud of the number of beautiful trees and greenery we have planted on campus, and this particular situation is not ideal. However, we are talking with both the Kern Tree Foundation and private contractors to find a solution that will allow someone to remove the dead trees and utilize the live trees in another location.

Q: With the many intersections that need signals, I wonder why the intersections of Panorama and Meadow Vista and Fairfax and Auburn Oaks need signal lights. Regarding Fairfax Road there isn't any sound traffic engineering reason to place this signal, one block from Auburn, unless you can justify the rare pedestrian or car that needs access to Fairfax.

Pedestrian traffic (including students) can cross at Auburn. Fairfax traffic should not be stopped for the rare Auburn Oaks car. All it can possibly do is stop the free flow of Fairfax traffic and add to the pollution to our air. If this was a mitigation of the the traffic planning for the gas station and car wash on the northeast corner of Fairfax and Auburn, it was a poor planning/development requirement. And, in the case of Panorama Drive, this signal was placed one block from the very busy and dangerous "T" intersection of University Avenue and Panorama Drive - the scene of several recent accidents. It only has a stop sign.

And also, why isn't Panorama Drive traffic given the default green light when no pedestrian or vehicle "calls" from Meadow Vista have occurred? Driving on Panorama, I have had to stop many times when there are no cars or pedestrians waiting to cross on Meadow Vista.

- Will Winn

A: Here's what Ryan Starbuck, city traffic engineer, had to say:

The intersection of Panorama and Meadow Vista is signalized due to the high volume of morning and early afternoon vehicles and pedestrians generated by nearby Highland High School. Meadow Vista is the main entrance to and from Highland High School.

At the intersection of Panorama Drive and Meadow Vista, Panorama Drive is given priority for vehicle flow. Due to the small size of this intersection, however, this signal operates on a "split-phase" timing pattern. Since there is no room to install dedicated left-hand turn lanes on Panorama Drive without removing parking in front of nearby homes, this signal must operate in this manner. A "split-phase" timing pattern allows all through vehicles and turning movements in one direction to go at the same time while all other vehicles at the intersection wait. Then, the through vehicles and turning movements in the opposite direction get their turn. The signal only turns green for Meadow Vista when a vehicle is on the side street waiting to go.

The signal at Fairfax Road and Auburn Oaks Drive was installed as part of the new freeway interchange improvements to Highway 178 and Auburn Street. Prior to the new interchange, the existing post office's main entrance/exit was off Auburn Street, west of Fairfax Road. Due to the new interchange off-ramp for westbound traffic on 178, post office workers could no longer use their main driveway. Post office officials agreed to reconfigure their parking lot and move their entrance/exit from Auburn Street to Auburn Oaks Drive. The new traffic signal was installed at Fairfax Road and Auburn Oaks Drive to help facilitate the increase in traffic at the intersection generated by post office vehicles and provide them with signalized access to Fairfax Road like they had before having to reconfigure their driveway access.

Q: At various locations there are traffic signals at places where canal workers cross major roadways. They are apparently activated only when a worker's truck needs to cross. I would think this would be seldom and the need is low. Who pays for these lights?

- Bob Braley

A: Starbuck fielded this, too:

According to current canal company regulations, when a new city street crosses an existing canal, the city of Bakersfield must provide one of the following: a grade separation project (overpass or underpass) or a traffic signal to allow unimpeded access to the canal. A grade separation project is prohibitively more expensive than a simple traffic signal, hence the reason traffic signals are installed. The cost of new signals for canal access are usually built into the road project's total cost.

Ask The Californian appears on Mondays and Thursdays. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.