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OJAI : Request for Signal at School Is Rejected

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One death and one seriously injured student do not warrant the cost of installing a traffic signal in front of Nordhoff High School on California 33, Caltrans has told Ojai officials.

Councilman Joseph DeVito said the City Council will discuss tonight whether to appeal the California Department of Transportation decision or find other ways to finance the $18,000 project.

A Caltrans study of pedestrian traffic showed that only 35 cross the highway in a two-hour period, five fewer than required to justify a signal, said Peter Hsu, a Caltrans traffic engineer.

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However, city officials said Caltrans only counted people using one of the three crosswalks in front of the school.

About 175 residents have signed petitions calling for a signal at the school.

State Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) and County Supervisor Maggie Erickson joined the city in asking the state to put in a warning signal after a 16-year-old Ojai girl was seriously injured when a car hit her while she crossed the highway in October. Another teen-ager died in 1986 after being hit by a car in front of the school.

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