For many drivers in La Verne, the wait at Wheeler Avenue and Arrow Highway can feel longer than it should—long enough to reroute a commute or test a driver’s patience.

“Trains will always take the priority,” said Cody Howing, city engineer for the City of La Verne, while observing the intersection during a recent morning commute.

It’s a reality he has repeated often in recent months—and one that sits at the center of a consistent community frustration.

Across social media and in conversations with residents, the same concerns surface again and again: long waits, difficult left turns heading eastbound, and drivers diverting to routes like Gary Avenue or Arrow and A Street to avoid the intersection altogether. More recently, some have pointed to challenges turning north onto Wheeler from Arrow.

When Metro’s A Line trains pass through—about every eight minutes during peak commute hours—traffic can back up. To many drivers, the timing can feel inconsistent or out of sync, with east-west traffic stopped even when the crossing gates appear to be the only reason to wait.

Still, not everyone sees it the same way. One commenter noted current delays are shorter than the days of long freight train crossings—though that perspective appears to be in the minority.

So why does the wait feel so long—and why does it sometimes seem like nothing is moving?

To understand that, it helps to look at what the signal system is actually designed to do.

How the System Works

To understand why the wait can feel so long, it helps to understand what the signal system is actually doing—and it helps to remember that Wheeler is a designated truck route.

When a train approaches the intersection, the signals enter what is known as the “track clearance phase”—a mandated safety window designed to move vehicles off the tracks before the train arrives.

During that phase, Howing said, the traffic signal on the track side of the intersection stays green for 30 seconds or less, even after the crossing gates have begun to descend.

"This is the part where people are like, well, the gates are down. Why are we waiting?" Howing said. "It's like, well, because there's still green time, and a vehicle could be trying to clear the intersection."

The rear gates also trail the front gates deliberately, he said, to allow vehicles that are already moving through to finish clearing before the crossing closes completely. Wheeler Avenue is a designated truck route, a condition Howing said is factored into the timing parameters of the signal and gates.

The track clearance phase is part of a process called railroad preemption. When a train hits the detection circuit, the system initiates processes with the intersection signal to give a green on the approach that crosses the tracks—even if that signal had been red—to clear any stopped vehicles out of the train's path.

"If somebody had pulled onto the tracks and then the train hit the circuit, it's a flip to green to clear," Howing said.

In other words, the system is doing exactly what it is designed to do. The delay drivers experience isn't a malfunction—it is the safety margin built into every crossing.

A Recent Hardware Problem

That said, not every delay has been by design.

The signal at A Street and Arrow Highway recently experienced a hardware issue, according to Howing. The vehicle detection system entered a failsafe mode, which caused A Street to receive a green light regardless of whether a vehicle was present.

"The timing was fixed in the sense that it did not change the duration of green time whether there was one car or ten cars," Howing wrote in an email March 4.

That issue has since been resolved. The same type of detection system is in use at all of the signals along the corridor, Howing said, and the others appear to be functioning as intended.

The dynamic detection system, when working properly, allows signals to extend or shorten green time based on actual vehicle traffic—which is what makes the difference between a signal that responds to conditions and one that simply runs on a fixed clock.

There have also been reports of what Howing has referred to as "false calls" often referred to as “phantom calls”—unexplained signal activations that have been observed commonly due to environmental conditions (lighting, fog etc.) but not yet fully diagnosed. It remains unclear how significantly those are affecting overall signal function, though every added second of delay is worth monitoring, Howing said.

A Complex Chain of Authority

Making any changes to train and traffic signals in La Verne is not a simple process. It requires coordination among several agencies: the California Public Utilities Commission, which holds exclusive jurisdiction over rail crossings; the City of La Verne Public Works Department; Los Angeles County Public Works; and Metro, which operates the tracks.

Howing said these entities work together to ensure any operational or design changes comply with applicable state and federal safety requirements. Metro signal crews have been spotted working along Arrow Highway in recent months, though Metro did not respond to a request for comment about the nature of that work.

At the Dec. 15 City Council meeting, City Manager Ken Domer urged residents to call Metro to report issues.

What's Coming

Los Angeles County Public Works is coordinating with the City of La Verne and Metro on signal timing changes along Arrow Highway, with construction expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027. After construction, the county plans to adjust signal timing along Arrow Highway from Rennell Avenue to Claremont Boulevard, covering eight intersections in La Verne.

The work is part of the Traffic Signal Synchronization Program and will upgrade equipment at 29 intersections along the corridor. The county expects signal timing changes to be completed in the first quarter of 2028, according to an email from a Public Works spokesperson, with signals synchronized ahead of the LA28 Olympic Games.

The program is designed to improve safety, reduce traffic delays, cut vehicle idling and lower pollution, and, in theory, reduce the kind of frustration drivers have come to associate with Wheeler and Arrow.

But even after synchronization is complete, one thing is unlikely to change.

"The trains are here to stay," Howing said.

If you find yourself waiting an unusually long time at a crossing, you can contact LA Metro at 1-800-464-2111 or email CustomerRelations@metro.net to report the issue.