3rd Fatal Crash Renews Call for Blocking Short Cut

The death of a motorcyclist last month on a residential street in Studio City has intensified a decade-old debate over ways to control the traffic that jams the road.

The fatal crash June 3 on Laurel Terrace Drive, a narrow street running diagonally south of the intersection of Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards in Studio City, was similar to a collision at the same spot in 1984 and another fatal accident on the street in 1976.

Although the city installed stop signs at Laurel Terrace Drive and Laurel Grove Avenue--the site of the two most recent crashes--and restricted access to Laurel Terrace Drive during the morning commute, some residents of the street say tougher action is needed.

Joe Rinella, a member of the Studio City Residents’ Assn., wants the city to block his neighborhood off from outside traffic. He has asked the city to install water-filled barrels at three intersections on Laurel Terrace Drive and nearby streets to discourage commuters bound from the Westside to the west San Fernando Valley from using Laurel Terrace as a shortcut.

The barrels would be inexpensive, could easily be removed, and would make “this area a mouse maze,” he said.

City officials say Rinella’s plan, first advocated in 1988 and raised periodically since then, simply would increase traffic on Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards, both of which now are operating at what the city considers to be capacity.

A city Transportation Department traffic survey of Laurel Terrace Drive conducted this year found that 6,000 vehicles use the street daily, said Jim Sherman, principal transportation engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

The average Valley residential street carries between 4,000 and 5,000 vehicles each day, but some streets in Valley residential areas are used by as many as 14,000 cars, Sherman said.

The accident rate on Laurel Terrace Drive is not “significantly different than any other streets,” Sherman said.

Still, homeowners say they see too many speeding cars on their street. Glen Rocklin, who has lived on Laurel Terrace Drive since 1984, wants the city to prevent non-resident drivers from entering the street during the morning and evening rushes. “You do whatever’s necessary to keep cars moving on the main arteries that were designed to deal with the traffic,” he said.

The installation of stop signs at Laurel Terrace and Laurel Grove after the June 3 crash reduced the speed and volume of traffic, residents said.

Diana Brueggemann, an aide to Councilman Michael Woo, said further relief will come to homeowners on the street when two additional left-turn lanes are built for the use of northbound Laurel Canyon Boulevard traffic turning onto westbound Ventura Boulevard. That would unknot tie-ups at that intersection and reduce the need to use Laurel Terrace as a shortcut.

Residents and officials also say they hope a periodic traffic survey now under way will persuade the city to reduce the speed limit on the road from 30 m.p.h. to 25 m.p.h.

Meanwhile, Laurel Terrace Drive remains a favorite shortcut of commuters in the Valley. “It’s almost a joke,” Los Angeles Police Officer Dale Turner said of the ease with which he catches speeders on the street. “There’s no challenge here at all.”