SIMI VALLEY : Council to Decide Date for Street Work

Simi Valley property owners cannot agree on whether the widening of 1st Street should begin this month or next year, so the City Council will decide on the construction schedule for the $3.5-million project.

Residents and business owners took a vote on the issue at a town hall meeting last week and deadlocked 8 to 8, city officials said. The meeting was intended to help the City Council choose a construction schedule.

The city is planning to widen a one-mile section of 1st Street that runs from Los Angeles Avenue to the Simi Valley Freeway. The project would add two lanes to the four-lane street.

Residents want the street widening to begin this month because the city plans to erect sound walls along a short section of 1st Street that runs near their homes. But the operators of several auto dealerships on the street said they are concerned that the project will disrupt their businesses--already hurting from the recession--and have asked that it be delayed.

The council will take up the issue at its July 20 meeting, officials said.