Driver Complaints Prompt New Oxnard Street Striping

Dear Street Smart:

The recent widening of Rose Avenue between the Ventura Freeway overpass and Gonzales Avenue has created confusion and a possible traffic hazard.

Mid-block on Rose Avenue, where it meets the entrance to the Shopping at the Rose parking lot, traffic signs say all traffic in the southbound right lane must turn right.

This means that any law-abiding southbound driver who was planning to turn right at the end of the block onto Gonzales has to stay in the middle lane for the first half of the block, to avoid turning in at the shopping center, and then has to swerve into the right lane to turn right at the corner.

What ends up happening is that drivers in the right lane who don’t want to turn in at the shopping center ignore the signs that say “right turn only” and continue down to the end of the block.

This causes people like me, who are trying to get into the right lane, to have to stop and wait until it is safe to enter the right lane. This puts me at risk of a rear-end collision.

One way to solve this problem would be to add an extra right-turn pocket for shopping center traffic.

Another solution would be to legally allow traffic in the existing right lane to either turn right into the parking lot or go straight to the end of the block.

Can either of these changes be made?

Charles Robert Newcomer, Oxnard

Dear Reader:

Ask and it shall be given.

So many motorists called the city of Oxnard to complain about the confusing markings that the striping was recently redone, Oxnard Transportation Manager Samia Maximous says.

“When we were planning these lanes, there were many ways we could have done it,” Maximous said. “The one we chose seemed like it was not too great operationally.”

To fix the problem, a new lane was created for drivers turning right into the shopping center. A second lane is now designated for motorists who wish to turn right at the end of the block onto Gonzales, Maximous says.

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Dear Street Smart:

A traffic signal timing problem has developed recently on Agoura Road in Thousand Oaks.

Lately, traffic has really been backing up on Agoura where it intersects with Westlake Boulevard.

This is especially a problem in the left-turn lane from westbound Agoura to Westlake.

It seems like the timing has been changed on the light so that only four cars can get through, causing traffic backups and tempting drivers to run the red light, which they often do.

The shortened light has made this a very dangerous intersection. Can the timing be changed to allow more cars to go through?

Barb Minnehan, Westlake Village

Dear Reader:

The problem at Agoura and Westlake is worn-out traffic signal detectors, Thousand Oaks Traffic Engineer John Helliwell says.

The city discovered the malfunctioning signal detectors several weeks ago during a routine check. The copper detectors, which are buried under the pavement, usually last about five years, but they sometimes need to be replaced more often at heavily trafficked intersections.

Cars should be moving at their old pace when the detectors are replaced later this month, Helliwell says.

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Dear Street Smart:

I found the response to a letter in your Dec. 20 column very disturbing.

A concerned citizen had written to alert you to a problem at Rockfield Street and Lindero Canyon Road in Oak Park.

The writer described the heavy traffic at that intersection and hoped for a traffic signal or some other quick solution.

But it seems that the city of Thousand Oaks has not made this project a priority. Although traffic is extremely heavy, you wrote that the city is not planning to install a signal for another two years.

Traffic Engineer John Helliwell said much of the traffic was generated by drivers trying to avoid the signal at Lindero and Kanan Road.

As a resident of Oak Park who uses the Lindero-Rockfield intersection, I object to that statement. Nearly 99% of the vehicles driving through are residents who live in the area and have every right to use this intersection.

We also have a right to do so safely, which is why a traffic signal is badly needed and desired.

This is not a safe intersection, but it should not take a body count to prove it. Thousand Oaks needs to speed up its plans for installing a signal.

J. Paul Fredericks, Oak Park

Dear Reader:

The city might be willing to install a light sooner if enough residents say it is an important project and if the county agrees to help speed up the process, Helliwell says.

Since the Lindero-Rockfield intersection borders city and county property, three-quarters of the estimated $100,000 to $150,000 cost of installing the signal will be paid for by Thousand Oaks and the rest by the county, Helliwell says.

“If the county were willing to put in the light immediately, I’m sure the city would not hold it up,” Helliwell said.

However, Ventura County Public Works Director Art Goulet says it’s up to Thousand Oaks to take the initiative.

“Thousand Oaks is paying most of the cost, so obviously they’re in control,” Goulet says. “We’re ready when they are.”