Officials Call Diamond-Lane Freeway Plan Unworkable

A proposal to restrict a new lane on the eastbound Ventura Freeway to car-poolers drew strong criticism Thursday from elected officials representing eastern Ventura County.

“This won’t work, we don’t want it and will throw the rascals out of office who support it,” State Sen. Ed Davis, R-Valencia, told a Caltrans hearing Thursday night.

The new eastbound lane would be created between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and the Hollywood Freeway by narrowing the existing lanes from 12 feet to 11 and using the median strip. During rush hours, only car pools of two or more and buses would be allowed to use the restricted lane--called a “diamond lane” because of the painted diamonds used to mark it.

A commuter lane would provide increased incentive for car-pooling and improve travel time for those who use it, Caltrans engineer Dave Kilmurray told the more than 200 people crowded into the Thousand Oaks City Council chambers.

Caltrans officials have said that the average rush-hour travel time on an eight-mile stretch of the Artesia Freeway dropped from 30 minutes to 15 minutes with a similar car-pool lane.

But Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) accused Caltrans of “deliberately distorting and doctoring information” about diamond-lane experience.

Davis and McClintock presented Caltrans officials at the hearing with about 4,400 letters from opponents of the lane.

Also speaking against the lane were Assemblywomen Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge), Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) and representatives of the Thousand Oaks and Moorpark city councils.

Critics of the proposal have said that the restricted lane would cause congestion and increase accidents.

One of the few who spoke in favor of the lane was Bonnie Reynolds, a representative of Commuter Transportation Service, Inc., who said the firm represents 1,400 companies that use its “Commuter Computer” to arrange car pools.

Reynolds said the car-pool lane should be tried for at least a year. “The lanes move more people in less cars,” she said.

Thousand Oaks resident Phil Most objected to the proposal because “my job makes it impossible to car-pool,” and “I pay as much in taxes as the next guy.”

A 68-member citizens’ advisory committee will vote next month on whether to create the diamond lane. Caltrans has said it will abide by its recommendations.

The diamond-lane proposal drew a mixed reaction at a hearing in Van Nuys earlier this month. Several representatives of major employers and some individual car-poolers backed it, but others said it would increase traffic problems.

The $12-million project would be scheduled for completion in March, 1989. The westbound side of the freeway would be upgraded but would not gain a lane.