Encino Homeowners Hope to Short-Circuit Commuter Flow : Traffic: Drivers cut through the area to avoid crowded freeways. Residents propose limits on turns for the morning rush hour.

If some Encino residents get their way, some San Fernando Valley commuters trying to cross the Santa Monica Mountains to the Westside will truly appreciate the meaning of the expression “You can’t get there from here.”

Frustrated for years by hordes of motorists snaking through hillside neighborhoods, an Encino community group is proposing a series of turn restrictions to cut down on traffic generated by commuters trying to avoid congested freeways.

The restrictions proposed by the Encino Hillside Traffic Safety Organization would be in effect for two hours in the morning and would exempt car pools of two or more. The proposal will be presented at a community meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Lanai Road School.

However, the plan has already been denounced by some residents who helped quash a proposal last fall to halt the morning commute with a barricade.

“The closing of streets in neighborhoods such as this would result in gridlock and communities separated from each other,” said Joel Palmer, president of the Tarzana Property Owners Assn. “I think we’ll come to some kind of solution on this, but closing the streets isn’t one of them.”

The traffic safety organization is a group that hillside residents formed 14 years ago to study ways to ease traffic problems in the area. Organization members hope that their proposal, which they emphasize is still in the planning stage, will someday be adopted by the Los Angeles City Council.

“The basic responsibility of government is safety, not the convenience of a Century City lawyer to get to work 15 minutes earlier,” organization President Madeline DeAntonio said.

Homeowners in the neighborhoods roughly between Ventura Boulevard and Mulholland Drive have long complained about congestion caused by commuters who take circuitous routes through winding residential streets to avoid the Ventura and San Diego freeways as well as Ventura Boulevard.

A Los Angeles Department of Transportation study released over the summer concluded that 69% of the morning rush-hour trips through the neighborhood are made by motorists from outside the area.

“We have a horrendous situation that has not improved,” said Laurie Kelson, vice president of the Encino traffic organization.

To ease the problem, the organization proposes reversing a westbound lane on Ventura Boulevard to an easterly direction between 7 and 9 a.m., DeAntonio said.

To discourage single motorists from taking hillside routes to the San Diego Freeway, 13 turn restrictions would be in effect Monday through Friday between 7 and 9 a.m., DeAntonio said. The restrictions would shunt the traffic back toward Ventura Boulevard, Kelson said.

There would be no restrictions traveling from the Westside toward the Valley, Kelson said. In addition, car pools would be exempt, in part so that parents could easily shuttle children to schools on Mulholland. Anyone driving to Lanai Road School would also be exempt from the rules, Kelson said.

The group recommends enacting the restrictions on a trial basis, then evaluating their effect after three or four months. Kelson said the restrictions might encourage more people to form car pools or commute at different hours.

But if the restrictions are adopted, some hillside residents might find themselves caught in the no-turn web. For example, homeowners who headed north to run errands would not be able to return to their homes via certain routes during the morning hours.

“I know it will be inconvenient for some people and I’m sorry,” Kelson said. “I’m looking for the betterment of the community.”

The community will have a chance to hear the proposal Tuesday, when it will be presented to representatives for Councilman Marvin Braude, Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Los Angeles) and the Department of Transportation. Kelson repeatedly said the proposal, which is based on the department’s traffic study, is not final and is subject to change.

But that has not stopped neighborhood debates.

“I hear it at the Little League field. I hear it at the market,” said Rob Glushon, president of the Encino Property Owners Assn. “Everybody has an opinion.”

Palmer questioned the practicality of cutting off a major commuter route, pointing to problems motorists could encounter if the Ventura Freeway flooded as it did during recent rains.

Instead, Palmer said he supports installing stop signs and signals to regulate traffic flow as well as launching a campaign to teach drivers to be courteous to area residents. His ideas are the most recent in a long series of suggestions to ease the traffic or make it more bearable.

In September, Braude suggested placing a four-foot-high concrete blockade across Nance Street at Louise Avenue for a 90-day experiment aimed at diverting commuters. He withdrew the proposal two weeks later because of overwhelming opposition from residents who said it would ease the problems of a few at the expense of many.

Cutting the Shortcuts

The Encino Hillside Traffic Safety Organization has proposed the following turn restrictions from 7 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday for a three- to four-month trial period. They are designed to discourage solo motorists from using winding residential streets to avoid the Ventura and San Diego freeways as well as Ventura Boulevard.

RANCHO and LOUISE: No right turns from eastbound Rancho Street onto Louise Avenue

LOUISE and RANCHO: No right turns from northbound Louise Avenue onto Rancho Street

LOUISE and OAK VIEW: No right turns from northbound Louise Avenue onto Oak View Drive

No left turns from southbound Louise Avenue onto Oak View Drive

LOUISE and NANCE: No left turns from southbound Louise Avenue onto Nance Street

No right turns from northbound Louise Avenue onto Nance Street

PETIT and OAK VIEW: No right turns from southbound Petit Avenue onto Oak View Drive

PETIT and LIBBIT: Only left turns from southbound Petit Avenue onto Libbit Avenue

LIBBIT and PETIT: Only right turns from westbound Libbit Avenue onto Petit Avenue

HAYVENHURST and LANAI: Only left turns from southbound Hayvenhurst Avenue onto Lanai Road

BOSQUE and HAYVENHURST: Only right turns from westbound Bosque Drive onto Hayvenhurst Avenue

ADLON and HAYVENHURST: No left turns from westbound Adlon Road onto Hayvenhurst Avenue

BALLINA and BALLINA CANYON: No right turns from southbound Ballina Drive onto Ballina Canyon Road.