The location: West Olsen Road at Mountclef Boulevard in Thousand Oaks

The problem: Even when traffic on Olsen Road is thick, if one vehicle approaches the stoplight on Mountclef, that motorist will get a green light and make the Olsen Road traffic halt.

Possible solutions: Mountclef traffic shouldn't get that degree of priority over Olsen Road traffic since Olsen is a busier street.

Immediate action: The city of Thousand Oaks doesn't have plans to take action on the matter, according to Jim Mashiko, Thousand Oaks Senior Civil Engineer. The city, Mashiko said, has a standardized method of operating traffic signals, and that method is in place at the Olsen/Mountclef intersection.

"Basically, we do give the majority of the (green light) time to the main road (Olsen Road)," Mashiko said. "We can't keep the light (green) on the main road forever. At some point, we do have to change over. It seems to be a balancing act, trying to find what that ideal time is. If we keep it (green) too long on the main road, then we get the callers from the minor lane saying, 'Why does it take so long to change over?'"

Mashiko said that the traffic signal at the Olsen/Mountclef Intersection monitors the flow of traffic on Olsen. "As the gaps in traffic increase

(on Olsen), which means that the density of traffic is lower, then the light will sense that there's less traffic and then that's an opportunity to serve the minor leg (Mountclef)." Mashiko said. "That lets the traffic on Olsen Road build up again so that when that traffic releases, it moves in a larger group."

This is the first concern Mashiko has heard regarding this matter at the intersection. He and the city feel the signalization at the intersection operates as best it can.

Have a traffic-related question or concern? Send it to "Acorn Traffic Man" in care of the ad- dress on page 4 or by e-mail to pic@theacorn.com. We'll try to respond as soon as possible.