Caltrans Says It’s Up to Oxnard to Maintain Boulevard

Dear Street Smart:

I frequently drive down Oxnard Boulevard in Oxnard and, compared to other major streets around the county, it is in very bad condition.

The bumps and holes all along the road aren’t huge, but I don’t see them getting repaired, and the heavy load of cars and trucks rolling down the boulevard every day is only making matters worse.

It seems like the boulevard could use a good repaving, and maybe a few extra lanes to help traffic move along better.

Are there any plans to fix the road?

Robert Garcia, Oxnard

Dear Reader:

Yes and no.

Technically, Oxnard Boulevard, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, is the responsibility of Caltrans. But Caltrans pays the city of Oxnard about $15,000 a year to fill potholes and otherwise maintain the roadway.

Oxnard traffic engineer Joe Genovese says the city spends that much and more each year, and that it is up to Caltrans to do the major improvements the road requires.

Genovese says the city has asked Caltrans to fund extensive repairs, but has received no response.

Caltrans officials say they expect Oxnard to continue maintaining the road and there are no plans for a major overhaul.

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Dear Street Smart:

With the opening of the new connector between the Moorpark and Simi Valley freeways, traffic has increased on both freeways. This is good news for residents of Simi Valley, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks, who have less congestion on their city streets.

But for us commuters, the freeway traffic is starting to get pretty bad.

Right now the commute-hour traffic causes many dangerous surges and stops because of large packs of cars entering the freeway all at once.

The installation of meters would stagger the incoming flow and make for a slow but safe drive.

Can you tell us road warriors when the on-ramps to the Moorpark Freeway in Thousand Oaks will become metered?

Pat Leaver, Moorpark

Dear Reader:

You’ll have to tough it out for another year or two. That’s how long it will probably take before meters will be installed at on-ramps to the Moorpark Freeway, says Caltrans traffic engineer Bob Houle. To figure out whether there is enough traffic to warrant meters, Caltrans has to count cars.

Caltrans was just beginning to install traffic counters under the freeway when the earthquake hit, bringing the work to a halt. Road crews have focused their attention on repairing damaged roadways, Houle says. As traffic in Ventura County gets back to normal, traffic-counter work should resume.

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Dear Street Smart:

As far as I know, it is illegal to make a left turn from Warwick Avenue in Thousand Oaks onto Wilbur Road.

However, I see vehicles make this turn on a daily basis anyway.

Could the city of Thousand Oaks look into making this turn legal?

Joseph Graziano, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Left turns from Warwick onto Wilbur are illegal and will stay that way, at least for now, says traffic engineer John Helliwell.

The no-left-turn rule was implemented about seven years ago after a series of accidents at the intersection, Helliwell says.

Motorists speeding toward the nearby Wilbur-North Moorpark Road intersection would often run into left-turning traffic, he says.

To stop the smash-ups, the city posted no-left-turn signs on Warwick and extended the median strip to make left turns even trickier at the intersection, which does not have a traffic signal.

Aside from the occasional offender, the system has worked pretty well, Helliwell says, and it wouldn’t make sense to change it back.

Helliwell also says traffic patterns would not allow a signal to be installed at the intersection.

He offers two, rather circuitous, alternate routes for motorists who are trying to turn left onto Wilbur to get onto Moorpark Road. Head north on Warwick to Mayflower Street, turn right, and you’re at Moorpark Road. Or turn right from Warwick onto Wilbur and turn left onto Hillcrest Drive.