Signal Will Assure Smoother Flow on Telegraph Road

Dear Street Smart:

I have questions about the newly created, yet non-operational traffic signal at Telegraph Road and Hill Road in Ventura.

Will it be traffic-controlled to permit free movement of vehicles on Telegraph Road?

Will it operate only during the school year?

Will it operate only from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.?

I drive Telegraph six times a day, and I’m worried that traffic will clog up in the narrow stretch between Hill Road and Kimball Road.

Barbara Cayer, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Ventura officials say the signal is nearly finished and should be switched on in about a month.

It was installed because of early-morning and midafternoon congestion created by parents dropping off and picking up children at two schools on Hill Road, says Nazir Lalani, the city’s transportation engineer.

The project cost about $130,000.

A large share went toward linking this signal to the city’s master traffic computer to assure a smooth flow on busy Telegraph Road. In addition, detectors in the street will make sure the signal only stops traffic on Telegraph Road when cars are waiting on Hill Road, Lalani says.

To answer your last questions: The signal will operate year-round and around the clock.

In other cities, some traffic signals near schools switch to flashing yellow lights when the youngsters are gone. But Lalani says, “There are studies that show that accidents increase when you have signals flashing.”

But, he says, because of the link with other lights and the in-street detectors, Telegraph Road should not jam up when school is out.

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Dear Street Smart:

I have written twice to the traffic engineer in Simi Valley regarding a dangerous traffic condition on the northbound side of Madera Road, just before the on-ramp to the eastbound Simi Valley Freeway. Despite my letters, the city has not made changes.

There are two lanes of northbound traffic and a traffic light at the top of the hill, just before the on-ramp. Right before the traffic signal, a third lane is created on the right, leading to the freeway ramp.

When this new lane appears, many cars in the original two lanes move to the right to get onto the freeway.

But when drivers in the original right lane do not move over, some cars have to make an unsafe lane change or slow down to wait for an opening. This creates a hazardous situation.

This could easily be rectified by changing the lane striping to guide drivers more safely onto the freeway ramp.

Kermit Heid, Moorpark

Dear Reader:

Bill Golubics, Simi Valley’s traffic engineer, has received your letters and sent you a reply. So you already know that he believes the design of Madera Road is appropriate.

The present lane-striping was set up to lead drivers smoothly to the freeway ramp meters that Caltrans plans to install late this year, Golubics says.

The ramp’s left lane will be reserved for car pools, which need not stop. Solo motorists in the right lane will have to stop for the meter lights.

You believe this will cause an even greater hazard because some solo drivers will have to jump twice to the right to get into the proper freeway ramp lane.

But the city isn’t budging.

“We’ve been monitoring the accident history out there, and we don’t have any problem,” Golubics says. “It may seem to be erratic lane changing to some drivers . . . but it seems to be working out all right.”

Two changes on the horizon should help. When the long-awaited linkup of the Simi Valley and Moorpark freeways opens in November, it should greatly reduce the numbers of commuters using this interchange.

In addition, the city’s long-range plans call for widening Madera Road to three lanes from Los Angeles Avenue to the freeway. That should give drivers plenty of room to get in the proper lane before reaching the on-ramp.

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Dear Street Smart:

I’m concerned about the stop sign at the intersection of Channel Islands Boulevard and Harbor Boulevard in Oxnard.

When you come up the hill on Channel Islands from the west, you must merge to the right where it intersects with Harbor. The stop sign there, in my opinion, should instead be a yield sign.

Nine times out of 10, there is no traffic coming on Harbor. Being forced to stop and restart on the hill is very hard on a vehicle.

I believe it creates more of a hazard to stop unnecessarily than to yield when necessary.

Fred A. Laue, Oxnard

Dear Reader:

If you had driven this stretch a decade ago, you would have indeed found a yield sign at this intersection.

But Oxnard officials learned that pedestrians were having trouble crossing this street safely. Also, some drivers were ignoring the yield sign in this right-turn-only lane, says Joe Genovese, the city’s traffic engineer.

“The pedestrian hazard occurred because the right-turners were focusing on traffic over their left shoulder, and a pedestrian crossing in front of them might not be seen,” he says.

So in 1987, when the city installed sidewalks and bike lanes at this intersection, the yield sign was swapped for a stop sign. Oxnard officials believe that a driver who must come to a complete stop is more likely to spot a pedestrian or a bicyclist crossing ahead.

To protect the people who get around on two legs or two wheels, the city caused a bit more inconvenience for motorists.

“The loser in this was the right-turners,” Genovese says. “Something had to give.”

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Dear Street Smart:

Every time they work on a gas station, they come up with tons of so-called contaminated soil. Examples in Ventura are the stations at Harbor Boulevard and Seaward Avenue and at Ventura Avenue and Thompson Boulevard.

Well, you know about environmental protection rules. It probably costs a ridiculous sum to dispose of this material.

So here’s the $64 question: Why not have Caltrans stockpile it and use it for future road construction?

Alfred W. Paris, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Recycling tainted soil sounds like a good idea, but state and local experts say it just won’t wash.

Caltrans must abide by environmental protection rules just like everyone else, says Russell Snyder, a Caltrans spokesman.

While building the Century Freeway in Los Angeles, Caltrans ran into an old landfill. The agency had to haul the contaminated soil to a hazardous waste dump before the project could continue.

When the earth is “clean,” Caltrans often does transfer it from one project to another to save money, Snyder says. But he adds, “There are very strict laws concerning contaminated soil. You can’t just move it around.”

Regarding the gas station sites in Ventura, local officials were worried that hazardous material could seep down and spoil the underground water supply, Nazir Lalani, Ventura’s transportation engineer, says.

For the same reason, he says, tainted soil cannot be used as base material for a new road.

We should note, however, that road officials do not oppose all types of recycling. Ventura grinds up old asphalt and reuses it in new street projects, Lalani says.