Thousand Oaks in No Hurry to Add 3rd Lane to Road

Dear Street Smart:

Just inside the eastern edge of Thousand Oaks, Lindero Canyon Road is paved wide enough for three lanes of traffic in each direction between Kanan Road and a point just south of Rockfield Street.

However, along most of this route, it is striped for only two lanes in each direction.

The volume of traffic might not justify three lanes in each direction. But striping for three lanes would make the road safer.

I sometimes see cars drifting from side to side within the right lane. Sometimes cars drive two abreast or pass each other in this lane.

Obviously, the current striping invites accidents. This problem is especially bad at intersections and at the southern driveway leading into the Oak Park Shopping Center on Lindero Canyon at Kanan.

Would it be possible for Thousand Oaks to stripe both sides of Lindero Canyon for three lanes between Kanan and Rockville?

David E. Ross

Agoura

Dear Reader:

Sorry, the city is in no hurry to paint such stripes.

Lindero Canyon is one of several streets in Thousand Oaks built wide enough to handle the heavy traffic that is sure to appear when more houses and stores are built nearby. Lynn Road in Newbury Park was built the same way.

The idea is that it’s wiser to put in an extra-wide road now. Then you don’t need to buy land and widen the street when more development occurs.

Today, says John Helliwell, Thousand Oaks’ traffic engineer, Lindero Canyon just doesn’t need three traffic lanes in each direction.

“The volume of traffic doesn’t warrant it,” he says. “There’s no point in putting in and maintaining a stripe on the road if it’s not needed.”

Striping for a third lane will probably be added when the street begins to carry 3,000 vehicles per hour in each direction at peak periods, Helliwell says. Right now, the figure is fewer than 1,000 vehicles per hour.

Helliwell says the extra-wide lanes have not caused a rash of accidents along Lindero Canyon.

Nevertheless, drivers should stay in the two lanes as they are now marked. If you veer to the right to pass or to drive side-by-side in the wide lane, you could be ticketed, says Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Will Howe.

“Stay in the clearly marked lanes because it’s safer,” he says.

Dear Street Smart:

My question is regarding 1st Street in Simi Valley. I live near the southern end of 1st Street and use it to get to and from the Simi Valley Freeway.

To get to the freeway, you have to wait for one red light after another. I’ve tried it any time of the day, and it’s always the same thing.

I was wondering if they were going to coordinate the lights so that you could go on green all the way. It takes an awfully long time to get to the freeway this way.

Maria Nazari

Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

Believe it or not, some of these lights already are synchronized. But apparently, they don’t always work the way they were intended.

As you’re heading north on 1st, you encounter traffic signals at Arcane Street and Royal Avenue. Both respond to traffic demand, meaning that lots of east-west traffic is probably causing your red lights here.

The next four lights, at Los Angeles Avenue, East Street, Agnew Street and Cochran Street, are synchronized to let drivers see one green light after another--under ideal circumstances.

But Bill Golubics, the city’s traffic engineer, points out that this stretch of 1st Street is one of the busiest commercial areas in Simi Valley, with car dealerships, a large shopping center and the entrance to a bustling industrial park.

To allow people to drive in and out of these businesses, traffic lights are equipped with left-turn arrows. These arrows cut down on the green time for drivers--such as yourself--who are moving straight ahead.

“We certainly want to serve all of the businesses along there,” says Golubics. “We want to make sure people can make a left turn.”

He adds: “There is no perfect traffic system timing plan. We do the best we can with the equipment we have.”

Dear Street Smart:

It’s finally happened, after many near-misses and a number of accidents, including one in which my neighbor’s son was crippled.

A few days ago, we had a fatal traffic accident at the corner of Orchard Place and Oxnard Boulevard. A good friend lost his wife, and he is in serious condition in the hospital.

We at the Meadowlake Mobile Home Country Club on Orchard have been asking for years to have something done about this intersection.

Problems occur when people driving north on Oxnard make a left-turn or a U-turn at this intersection. These drivers sometimes have trouble seeing southbound cars, hidden by a dip in the road just north of this intersection.

To make matters worse, drivers along this stretch of Oxnard Boulevard tend to move at excessive speed.

To solve these problems, the city could put in a traffic light, prohibit U-turns or make this a four-way stop.

I’m sure the traffic people will have all sorts of excuses. But this is a dangerous situation that should not be allowed to continue. I personally have seen two accidents there.

William F. Langley

Oxnard

Dear Reader:

Traffic officials in Oxnard are well aware of the hazards at this intersection. Oxnard Boulevard, also called California 1, is a state highway, so Caltrans is involved too.

Between 1983 and 1987, 22 accidents occurred here. At the city’s urging, Caltrans then put in a new lane for cars turning right from Orchard onto Oxnard. The agency also installed flashing yellow beacons to warn southbound drivers about the intersection and realigned the left-turn lanes.

These improvements have helped. Between 1988 and 1992, the number of accidents dropped to 13, according to Oxnard traffic engineer Joe Genovese.

Genovese says he will review the police reports on the recent fatal accident you mentioned to find out whether more needs to be done.

The options are limited, however.

“The answer does not lie in installing a traffic signal,” he says. “A traffic signal would probably result in rear-end collisions for southbound traffic on Route 1.”

Because of the high speeds and that dip in the road, a four-way stop is not advisable either. Prohibiting U-turns could hinder drivers leaving a nearby shopping center, Genovese says.

The city could seek to restrict some left turns. Also, the city could ask your mobile home park to open a second gate now used only for emergencies.

That second gate would allow residents to enter and exit from H Street, avoiding the hazards at Oxnard and Orchard.

Write to Street Smart, The Times Ventura County Edition, 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura 93003. You may enclose a simple sketch if it will help Street Smart understand your traffic questions. Or call our Sound Off Line, 658-5546. Whether writing or calling, include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. No anonymous queries will be accepted, and letters are subject to editing.