CALABASAS : Compromise OKd on Barrier Dispute

The Calabasas City Council this week approved the erection of a permanent barrier across one side of a busy residential street, a compromise measure capping a sometimes-vitriolic struggle between residents of two halves of a housing tract.

By a unanimous vote, the council Wednesday night ordered the installation of a barrier across the southbound side of Parkmor Road at Thousand Oaks Boulevard to replace a temporary barrier blocking the entire street.

The issue was the subject of a rancorous, several-hour City Council hearing last spring, during which residents on either side of Thousand Oaks Boulevard traded insults regarding each others’ motives for supporting or opposing the barrier.

The barrier was put in place last March, after residents of the lower half of the tract convinced the council that increasing traffic made the street more dangerous. But the barrier angered upper Parkmor residents, who complained that other routes took longer to drive and could delay emergency vehicles trying to reach their homes.

“What you had was a community that was once very close that became two warring factions,” Councilwoman Lesley Devine said. “That was the sad part. But I think about 80% of the people are happy with the compromise.”

In an effort to discourage motorists from using northbound Parkmor to take children to Lupin Hill Elementary School, the council also approved the placement of a sign forbidding right turns onto Parkmor Road at its southern end. The effectiveness of the barrier and the sign will be reviewed in six months.

Upper Parkmor Road resident Doris LaViolette, who convened several meetings between the factions to discuss the barrier, said the issue became less controversial as some residents grew tired of bickering.

“I think everybody is glad to get to the final decision on this, and I think it’s a good compromise,” LaViolette said. “It at least removed the psychological barrier, because the street is half open now.”