VENTURA : Meeting Today on 3 Caltrans Projects

The public will have a chance to comment today on upcoming projects planned by the state Department of Transportation for the Ventura Freeway between the city of Ventura and the Santa Barbara County line.

An informational meeting on the three projects will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli St. Caltrans staff members will answer questions on access to the highway, parking, increased traffic and other concerns, officials said.

Cycling enthusiasts are expected to attend the meeting to comment on a $300,000 proposal to realign a metal-beam guardrail, Frank Bergen, a Caltrans senior environmental planner, said.

Transportation officials are considering moving the guardrail, installed less than six months ago, because bicyclists have complained that it reduces the safety buffer between them and motorists whizzing by on the highway, Bergen said. The guardrail runs on the west side of the freeway from 1 1/2 miles south of Bates Road to the Bates Road southbound on-ramp, he said.

Caltrans staff members will also explain a proposal to install a median barrier on the highway from Ocean Avenue to Rincon Point. The $1.8-million project is needed to prevent unsafe U-turns made by motorists across the highway’s median, he said.

The barrier would include breaks so residents of the La Conchita and Mussel Shoal communities can turn off the highway onto local streets, Bergen said. A third item for discussion is a long-term proposal to convert the highway to a freeway, he said.

A freeway would include multilevel interchanges, but a conversion is not expected for at least 30 years because the volume of traffic is too light, Bergen said. “We are discussing it because people in surrounding communities frequently ask about plans for a conversion,” he said.