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Do sideshows in my neighborhood warrant a 911 call? Roadshow Q Who makes the call to close the major South Bay artery to Santa Cruz County over a bank robber? Everyone using these roads has endured slides, floods and fallen trees for weeks and they close Highway 17 when Highway 9 was already closed. How many thousands were blindsided so these guys can play cops and robbers?

Dave Sorensen

Saratoga

A They weren’t playing. The CHP made the call. Remember, the suspect escaped into the woods and robbed some homeowners. The full closure began around 11 a.m.

Q We have really suffered on Highway 17 because of mudslides the last few weeks. But last Thursday we suffered again tremendously because of a bank robber. After anxiously waiting for many hours to get home and the road being finally opened around 8:20 p.m., imagine our horror to find Caltrans had closed one lane at Laurel for road work. I understand work has to get done, but minutes after the reopening and forcing us back into traffic hell was outrageous, unfair and supremely inconsiderate. Why can’t some common sense be applied to ease the suffering of many thousands of people?

Shiv Sikand

A Another no-fun commute over 17, I know. Susana-the-Caltrans-Spokesperson says the transportation agency tries to “avoid commute times on Highway 17” when scheduling roadwork. But its hard to say when and where police will need to close roads for law enforcement purposes. “Who’s to know when there will be police activity?”

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Q I got caught twice in Highway 17 hell. It’s rare I get caught in traffic, and if I do, once I get to Bear Creek Road, I can always get home. So, last Thursday I inched my way up 17, looking at the Bear Creek off ramp, when here comes the SWAT team. Cars on the right pull right, cars on the left pull left, the van goes zipping up the middle, followed by other cop cars. Complete gridlock. No car can move unless the car in front moves. Up the middle of all these cars comes a red Buick, where she forces her way back into the gridlock. Then she throws a fit and starts throwing objects when someone gives her a chewing out she needed. Everyday, people still surprise me with their selfishness and rudeness.

Ray-the-Tow-Truck-Man

A That was a terrible thing for her to do.

Q I’ve noticed for quite a while that Caltrans Quickmaps often don’t show all incidents out there. So, for people looking for road info, I’d suggest:

Google itself: Many incidents are reported there that never make it to official sources.

CHP’s dispatch log web site: http://cad.chp.ca.gov. This is updated more often than QuickMaps.

Mike Brady

Folsom

A And it’s now easier to use QuickMap. For the first time, users of the iOS platform can download the free QuickMap app for iPhone and iPad. The QuickMap app displays the user’s location along with traffic speed, closures, CHP incidents and chain controls and more. Go to http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/.

Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.