Bypass for Freeway Bottleneck May Be Slow in Coming

Dear Street Smart:

Why is there such a bottleneck on the Ojai Freeway south of Oak View every morning and some evenings?

What is everyone slowing down for? Is everyone making a left turn at Casitas Springs? I’m not asking for freeway speeds, but how about a little hustle instead of break lights and stop and go?

What can be done to speed up the traffic flow?

David Major, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Little can be done to speed traffic on the Ojai Freeway near Casitas Springs.

Why? For one, it’s a two-lane road. Secondly, area residents who have to turn from side roads directly onto the freeway want traffic to go slow.

They worked hard to have 35 m.p.h. signs posted on the roadway, and for the most part they stick to it, says Caltrans traffic engineer Bob Houle.

Traffic may have gotten worse in recent weeks as commuters who were thrown off their earthquake-damaged freeways seek alternate paths to work. If it’s any consolation, plans are in the works to build a highway bypass around Casitas Springs--in about 30 years.

Caltrans is putting together some bypass plans for the Board of Supervisors to consider this spring, Houle says. But it’s a long, tangled road from the planning stage to construction.

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Dear Street Smart:

I’ve been concerned for several months about the timing of the lights on New Los Angeles Avenue in Moorpark. I thought after the link between the Simi Valley and Moorpark freeways opened, they might manage to do a better job moving traffic along.

Instead they put in a new stoplight at the Kmart on Los Angeles Avenue and Park Lane. Now, when I try to drive through the city, everything grinds to a halt three or four times. To add insult to injury, that new stoplight insists on displaying a left turn signal even when no cars are in the lane.

It often goes red to allow side traffic through, even in the middle of the night when there isn’t any. This is also a problem at Spring Road, where the left turn arrow comes on even when there are no cars turning left.

Could the city time these lights to better fit the traffic flow?

Michael Zarky, Moorpark

Dear Reader:

Your traffic woes were caused by a simple case of missing or damaged traffic detectors.

In November, Caltrans installed a new signal at Los Angeles Avenue and Park Lane in Moorpark. Installing the light was part of a deal made by the new Kmart and the city to help keep the throngs of bargain shoppers under control.

When the light was installed, the Kmart construction wasn’t completed.

So Caltrans decided to delay putting in the copper loops that act as the brains of the traffic signal, detecting traffic and controlling the signal changes. Regardless of the number of cars at the signal, the timing stayed the same.

Even if no cars were in the left turn lane, the light dumbly went through its regular cycle, illuminating the left-turn arrow.

The same problem occurred at Spring Road when a detector loop malfunctioned.

The Spring Road loop was recently replaced, and about a week ago, traffic detector cables were installed at Park Lane, so everything should be hunky-dory.

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Dear Street Smart:

One of my pet peeves about drivers is that they do not know, or don’t care about, the rules of the road.

Why do drivers cross solid double-yellow lines to pass slower traffic, which is forbidden by the traffic code, and then these same drivers refuse to cross the white line to enter a bike lane when making a right turn?

It is legal to do so, and also much safer than turning from the middle lane, but few drivers do it. The ignorance of this law, or refusal to follow it, is especially annoying when right-turning drivers who do not move over end up impeding the traffic flow.

I have seen many drivers almost rear-end the right-turners because they didn’t realize the car had slowed for a turn. In most cases the right-turning driver does not turn on the turn signal.

Can anything be done to make drivers more aware that it is legal to enter bike lanes to make right turns?

Harry Norkin, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Thousand Oaks traffic engineer John Helliwell suggests making drivers retake their traffic tests.

Seriously though, Helliwell says little is being done to inform drivers of this law.

“I’ve never had anybody complain about it,” Helliwell says. “It doesn’t seem to be a top concern for most drivers.”

But the problem may become more pronounced as Thousand Oaks launches plans to paint additional bike lanes throughout the city. Over the next several months, the city is planning to add three bike loops through town, Helliwell says.

As the number of bike lanes increases, drivers may continue to drive around the lanes, or they may become more used to the lanes and learn to merge, Helliwell says.

“We’ll see what happens and address the problems if any develop,” he says.