Warning Signs Are on the Way to Make Stopping Easier

Dear Street Smart:

I’m concerned about a stop sign at a Pacific Coast Highway off-ramp between Oxnard and Point Mugu that is creating a hazard.

The sign, posted at the northbound off-ramp at Hueneme Road, forces fast-moving cars coming off the highway to stop before turning onto Hueneme.

This creates the potential for rear-end accidents because if more than one car is coming down the ramp at the same time, cars in back may not be aware of the sign and may be unprepared to stop.

Traffic on Hueneme Road is light, so the stop sign seems unnecessary.

John S. Broome, Oxnard

Dear Reader:

Traffic may be light, but two cars are all it takes to make a collision, so the stop sign will stay, says Luu Nguyen, a senior traffic engineer for the state Department of Transportation.

Safety is the No. 1 reason that a stop sign is posted at the intersection of the ramp and Hueneme Road, Nguyen says.

If there were no sign, motorists could come cruising down the ramp and head onto Hueneme Road without stopping.

Meanwhile, drivers barreling down Hueneme would be unaware of the unfettered motorists about to enter their paths--a recipe for disaster, Nguyen says.

As for your concern about motorists who don’t see the upcoming stop sign on the ramp, Nguyen says Caltrans will post warning signs to alert drivers that the sign is ahead.

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Dear Street Smart:

I’m writing about the intersection of Pleasant Valley and Lewis roads in Camarillo.

The intersection is extremely deteriorated.

Any chance of getting the asphalt roadbed repaired?

Sean G. Corrigan, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

You are in luck.

A repaving of California 34, known in different spots as Lewis Road, Pleasant Valley Road and 5th Street is scheduled for completion by June, 1995, says Chuck Boyer, Caltrans maintenance chief.

The $357,000 project will begin in the next six months, Boyer says, and will stretch from Rice Avenue to Dawson Drive, an area that includes the intersection you are concerned about.

In the meantime, Caltrans workers will do minor patchwork to keep the road functional until the overlay is completed.

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Dear Street Smart:

I try to be a patient driver, but the unsynchronized stop lights on Los Angeles Avenue in Simi Valley push me to the limit.

On most roads, the lights are timed so that even if you have to wait through a long red light, it is followed by a series of green lights.

Not so on Los Angeles Avenue between Erringer and Madera roads. It’s stop, wait, start, stop, wait, start all the way.

Are these lights timed this way intentionally? Can something be done to improve the timing?

R. Torres, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

Don’t blow a gasket, but the timing of lights on Los Angeles Avenue is about as good as it’s going to get.

Believe it or not, most of the lights are indeed synchronized, city Traffic Engineer Bill Golubics says.

Years of study and observation have led the city to link the four signals on Los Angeles Avenue between Erringer Road and 1st Street so that they will turn green in sync, allowing traffic to flow smoothly, Golubics says. The two signals between 1st and Madera run on their own individual clocks, triggered by the amount of traffic passing through.

But traffic doesn’t flow on well-timed lights alone.

The problem is that Los Angeles Avenue is one of the busiest commercial strips in the city. Drivers pulling in and out of parking lots cause unavoidable congestion during shopping hours.

“It’s a major business area,” Golubics said. “There’s only so much we can do.”

BERM UPDATE

In last week’s column, a Ventura reader wrote that she is worried about the hazard created when motorists turn left illegally from Henderson Road to enter the Santa Paula Freeway or Wells Road.

She asked if a barrier could be constructed to prevent the turns, but city and state officials were skeptical about whether they would be able to fund such a project.

However, Ventura Traffic Engineer Nazir Lalani says that at the city’s insistence, Caltrans has agreed to build a barrier at Henderson.

The barrier should be built by August, Lalani says.