FAMILIAR STREETS: Given their druthers, Ventura County...

FAMILIAR STREETS: Given their druthers, Ventura County developers opt for alluring street names evoking sun, sea and glen. But firefighters have the final say. They try to minimize duplication so firetrucks go to the right street. . . . The county Fire Department has 36 pages of names available, spokeswoman Pam Sears said. “There’s a ton of oak names left. Oak Trail, Oak Vale, Oak Cottage--jillions of them.”

BUMPY RIDE: Don’t bother looking for Speed Bump Drive in your Thomas Guide, although we’re getting more and more of them (Street Smart, B1). . . . Both Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks have concrete humps on more than dozen streets. Oxnard forbids them, fearing lawsuits. . . . The issue divides traffic engineers, but an upcoming study by their national trade group may settle it.

SPACE AGE: A plan to clean up the former Talley aircraft plant site (B4) recalls a time in the 1960s when the Conejo Valley was part of the Space Race. . . . Northrop’s Thousand Oaks plant built the parachutes used on Mercury space capsules. Talley built aircraft parts, but it got into the spirit with its sign showing a rocket ship orbiting Earth. . . . Both plants--and their thousands of jobs--are long gone.

ALPHABET SOUP: Letters, they got letters. At county Transportation Commission meetings, acronyms were flying so fast it was hard to tell LAFCO from FATCO (or Local Agency Formation Commission from Fillmore Area Transit Co.). Members were at a loss over LOS (Level of Service). . . . So the commission went for a TIE (Translation Into English). Last week, Director Ginger Gherardi unveiled a guide to 73 “commonly used” acronyms. . . . “It’s a huge list,” Commissioner Bill Davis said. “But not all are on there.”

Familiar Streets

Words most commonly used in Ventura County street names. Sun: 57 Oak: 54 Wood: 36 Hill: 36 Vista: 31 Sea: 30 Blue: 28 Fair: 28 Glen: 27 Gold: 24 Source: Thomas Guide for Ventura County