LA CONCHITA : Freeway No-Parking Signs Removed

Residents and beach-goers in the La Conchita area, upset about installation of no-parking signs along Ventura Freeway, are happier now.

Caltrans officials decided late Tuesday to remove the signs, which had caused an outpouring of complaints to county and state officials since they were put up last weekend.

“We’ve been inundated with calls the last couple of days,” said Al Escoto, administrative assistant to Supervisor Maggie Erickson Kildee. “Now I believe it’s been resolved.”

The problem started weeks ago when Caltrans installed guardrails along a two-mile stretch of the freeway, from Bates Road to La Conchita Road, for safety reasons. Cars sometimes drove off the road, down the rocks and into the ocean.

But the guardrail was set back only three or four feet from the edge of the shoulder, creating less space for parking. Complaints to Caltrans about the danger prompted new signs to be installed that said “Emergency Parking Only.” Without a place to park along the freeway, residents complained that beach-goers and others would park on residential streets, and it would be dangerous for them to cross the freeway.

Caltrans agreed and decided Tuesday to remove the signs but to leave the guardrail up, and paint stripes on the adjoining bike path.

That leaves almost everyone except the California Coastal Commission happy. Virginia Johnson, a planner with the agency’s Santa Barbara office, said Caltrans failed to obtain the necessary permit before installing the guardrail.

The next step, she said, is to determine whether the Coastal Commission or the county will hold a hearing to consider the permit.