Simi to Study Ways to Curb Trucks at Eatery : Traffic: Residents have complained about dangerous driving near a new McDonald’s that is close to freeway.

Truckers who have triggered complaints near a new McDonald’s restaurant in Simi Valley could be kept in line with red curbs, “No U-Turn” signs and stepped-up police enforcement, city staff members said Friday.

These and other traffic-control measures will be considered Monday by City Council members, who heard angry neighbors complain about big-rig drivers last month.

The residents had used cameras to document illegal and hazardous driving by truckers who pulled off the Simi Valley Freeway at Yosemite Avenue to grab a meal.

After viewing the pictures, the City Council ordered its staff to come up with measures to crack down on errant truckers, particularly those who leave their rigs on freeway ramps and in no-parking zones while buying food at McDonald’s.

“Obviously, these people are not obeying the law,” Councilwoman Barbara Williamson said Friday.

“We have to get the attention of the truck drivers,” she said. “Once they’re aware of what they can and can’t do, and they realize this city takes this very seriously, they’re going to back off--unless they want those tickets.”

The city staff has suggested seven ways to address truck problems at and near the McDonald’s, which faces Yosemite a short walk north of the freeway.

These include:

* Painting the curb red immediately north and south of the restaurant’s driveway to reinforce a parking ban on the street.

* Asking McDonald’s to post a sign prohibiting trucks weighing more than five tons from using the restaurant’s parking lot.

* Installing a “No U-Turn” sign near the driveway to prevent potentially hazardous maneuvers by truckers.

* Installing a second “No U-Turn” sign just north of the restaurant at Alamo Street if the first sign merely moves the problem to the next intersection.

* Increasing police patrols in the area.

* Asking the California Highway Patrol to ticket truckers who park on the nearby freeway ramps.

* Asking Caltrans to post “No Parking” signs on these ramps and to place other signs on the freeway, advising drivers that Yosemite is not a truck route.

The measures were proposed by city police and traffic experts, who will ask the council on Monday which ones to implement.

“I’m pleased with what the recommendations are,” said Melanie Wank, co-chairwoman of Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley, a northeast Simi Valley homeowners group that raised the concerns about truckers last month.

The organization was formed in late 1991 by residents who launched an unsuccessful bid to block construction of the McDonald’s. The residents predicted that the restaurant would bring traffic, noise and crime problems into their upscale neighborhood.

Members said their fears that trucks would create traffic problems near the restaurant have come true. They have urged the council to crack down on the truckers.

“We are extremely pleased that the city believes this is a serious problem and has acted accordingly,” Wank said.

One of the best ways to keep trucks off Yosemite, she said, would be the proposed ban on vehicles weighing over five tons in the parking lot.

City staff members said a McDonald’s representative has endorsed this idea, but restaurant owner Jim Powell could not be reached for comment on the matter Friday. Restaurant manager Andy Karr referred calls to McDonald’s corporate administrators.

Sandra Ayers, a McDonald’s executive who selected the Yosemite site and led it through the city’s planning review, said Friday that she was unaware of any proposal to ban heavy trucks from the parking lot.