Q: Hello Honk: Kindly clarify whether a disabled-person parking sign that also says “Van Accessible” means that a person with a proper placard can park in that spot only IF he/she has a van. An attendant in a parking lot told me a regular car can park in the spot. Not all attendants know the legality of the issue, which could be problematic.
– Pamela Schmidt, Fullerton
A: That attendant is correct.
“It just means it’s got the extra room,” Kristy Wells, a spokesperson for your city’s finest, said of such parking spots. “The stall itself is a little wider, plus it has the crosshatches, too.”
The area with the crosshatches gives the driver and the passengers even more elbow room to get in and out of their ride.
“It doesn’t mean only for a van,” she said.
Q: What is the timeline for the ongoing construction on the southbound I-5 Freeway for the south exit for Ortega Highway? For over a year, the exit has been restricted to a single lane despite being designed for two. This bottleneck causes daily backups of at least half a mile, creating dangerous merging conditions into bumper-to-bumper traffic. Further, the existing signage has indicated two available exit lanes, which adds to the confusion. Given that active work is rarely seen at the site, can you provide an update on when this project is scheduled for completion?
– Bob Marshall, San Juan Capistrano
A: That’s what the ol’ Honkster is here for.
Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesperson, said the agency is targeting to complete the project by month’s end.
“Weather permitting, the K-rail is expected to be removed and the final striping applied in the next couple of weeks, opening the second auxiliary lane to vehicular traffic,” he said.
Work began in summer 2024 and has been done at night to reduce congestion and to increase safety, Abler said.
“To reduce confusion, the contractor (recently) covered one of the arrows on the sign and will remove the cover once the new lane is open,” he said.
When all is accomplished, there will be a new electronic message board above the 5, and motorists will get another lane between Junipero Serra Road and Ortega Highway.
HONKIN’ UPDATE: As explained last week, the owner of personalized license plates can exchange those plates for another style using the same license plate number. Honk wanted to see if the owner can keep the old plates, so he asked a Department of Motor Vehicles official if that was OK, but his query was too late for that column.
Well, the old plates must be handed over to the DMV, said Katarina Snow, a DMV spokesperson.
“When the customer returns one or both of the plates (motorcycles are issued one plate), that personalized configuration remains eligible for use on a different … plate type,” she said in an email. “However, if both plates are reported as lost or stolen and are not surrendered, the personalized configuration becomes unavailable, and the customer would need to choose a new configuration or obtain a sequential (standard-issue) plate.”
HONKIN’ FACT: Gas stations on Native American reservations often offer petrol for a price well below average. That is because the state can’t collect taxes on Native American land — though it can get complicated with the gas possibly taxed before it gets to the reservation or if a state and tribe have some sort of agreement. (Source: The Associated Press)
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk