$200,000 Traffic Signal Project Under Way in Camarillo

Dear Street Smart:

It’s wonderful for the economy that Technicolor is moving its complete operation to Mission Oaks Boulevard in Camarillo.

But it will mean even greater chaos for the ramps getting on and off the Ventura Freeway at Dawson Street.

This freeway exit is already impossible.

Recently as I exited southbound onto Petit Street, with only three cars ahead of me, it took almost five minutes to turn right onto Dawson.

With new businesses opening up in the industrial parks, it will only get worse.

Are there any plans to improve this intersection?

Lilith, Ventura

Dear Reader:

How about a new traffic signal?

As you read this, plans are in the works to install a signal at the Dawson-Petit intersection, now governed by a lone stop sign on Petit.

And high time, too, Camarillo Traffic Assistant Roc Pulido says. It’s been four years since the last signal was installed in Camarillo--at Los Pueblos Drive and Santa Rosa Road.

The city is seeking design proposals from engineering firms for the $200,000 Dawson-Petit signal project. Installation is scheduled to begin in February.

In addition to erecting Camarillo’s 31st traffic signal, the project will cover the cost of painting new lane stripes at the intersection.

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Dear Street Smart:

I am writing to you about the intersection at Lynn Road and Avenida de los Arboles.

About six months ago, the city installed a no-right-turn-on-red sign for motorists traveling east on Arboles.

Due to the lack of visibility, this was a very good idea.

However, traffic now backs up on Arboles when it’s busy.

When I’m at the intersection waiting to turn right onto Lynn, it sometimes takes two or three signal changes to get through.

Traffic flow could be greatly improved if they would change the right-hand lane to a right-turn-only lane and allow cars to turn right while cars are turning left from Lynn to Arboles.

Any chance of this happening?

John Vandezande, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Probably not.

Intersections with right-turn-only lanes require a particular type of traffic flow, which Arboles-Lynn lacks, Thousand Oaks Traffic Engineer John Helliwell says.

For a right-turn lane to work, there would have to be more traffic turning right than going straight, Helliwell says. That is not the case at this intersection.

Also, motorists are allowed to make U-turns at this intersection, and Helliwell says installing a simultaneous right-turn lane would make it all too easy for U-turners to inadvertently smash into right-turners.

Nonetheless, Helliwell says he’ll check out the intersection to see if anything else can be done to improve the traffic flow.

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Dear Street Smart:

First of all, I really enjoy your column because it allows motorists to vent their frustrations about traffic with the knowledge that you will try to solve these problems--big and small. Keep up the good work.

My current frustration is with regard to the northbound side of Westlake Boulevard where it intersects with Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Westlake Boulevard is a six-lane road here, with two lanes for left-turn-only, two lanes going straight ahead and two lanes set aside for right-turn-only traffic.

My question is this: Once you start crossing Thousand Oaks Boulevard, why are there only two lanes marked for straight-ahead traffic when there is actually room for three?

The lack of a third lane causes traffic to back up.

This problem could be solved by changing one of the right-turn lanes into a lane that could be used either for motorists turning right or those going straight.

Can something be done about this?

Jerry Lewi, Westlake Village

Dear Reader:

The change you suggest would not work.

Making one of the right-turn lanes at Westlake and Thousand Oaks into an optional straight-ahead lane would just make a bad problem worse, Thousand Oaks Traffic Engineer John Helliwell says.

Right-turners don’t like to get stuck in optional right-turn lanes behind motorists planning to go straight.

Things can get ugly if there is a substantially greater amount of traffic going right than straight, which is the case at this intersection, Helliwell says.

So traffic engineers shy away from the dual-purpose lanes.

“If we throw up one of these things to give some people a choice, it could hold up a whole lane of traffic,” Helliwell said. “In general, one-option lanes are the best way to go.”

METROLINK UPDATE

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority reports that ridership on the Metrolink line through Moorpark and Simi Valley remained constant in November at about 2,000 round-trip rides a day.

Ridership dipped slightly in September, but rebounded in October, largely because of a two-for-one promotion.