OJAI : City Wants to Ease Traffic, Save Trees
Ojai officials are seeking ways to improve traffic and parking problems without sacrificing the town’s oak trees in the middle of streets or using parking meters.
“It’s a challenging task,” City Manager Andrew Belknap told the City Council this week.
Acting as the Ojai Redevelopment Agency, the council signed a $30,100 contract with Kaku Associates of Santa Monica to inventory downtown parking spaces and develop strategies to meet current and future demands. The study is to begin Nov. 15 and be completed by March 15.
The council also received a dozen recommendations from a citizens committee that has met six times since May to study traffic circulation problems.
Belknap was directed to research two of the suggestions. One proposal is to extend Creek Road from California 33 along San Antonio Creek to connect with Ojai Avenue east of downtown. The other is to encourage motorists to avoid Ojai Avenue by creating other through-streets in the downtown area.
The city budgeted $30,000 this year to look at alternative connector streets, Belknap said.
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