ENCINO : Reaction Mixed to Wider Intersection

Encino community leaders are expressing mixed reactions to a city transportation department proposal to widen the intersection of Ventura Boulevard and Hayvenhurst Avenue.

The agency wants to add a second westbound right-turn lane on Ventura Boulevard at Hayvenhurst to relieve traffic congestion expected from the planned Encino Marketplace development on the northeast corner.

To do this, the department proposes to widen Ventura Boulevard east of Hayvenhurst by 10 feet for 320 feet along the north side, and by four feet for 370 feet along the south side. That would widen the street by a total 14 feet.

Jan Sobel, executive director of the Encino Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is concerned because the widening would narrow the sidewalk along Ventura Boulevard adjacent to Gelson’s by four feet, making it likely that the upscale supermarket will have to remove landscaping next to the building.

“The whole idea of the (Ventura Boulevard) Specific Plan was to make certain areas pedestrian-friendly,” Sobel said. “If you make a narrow sidewalk and abut brick buildings to the sidewalk, then that’s not conducive to making it pleasant to walk about.”

Homeowners of Encino President Gerald A. Silver, however, said he approves of the widening as a means to improve traffic conditions.

“Traffic flow is more important to the community than a handful of bushes,” Silver said. “As far as pedestrian-orientation is concerned, that’s a joke. People don’t walk to Gelson’s. Virtually all of Gelson’s business drives there.”

“Because it would take away the landscaping, I don’t think (the widening) would be advisable,” said Bill Jasper, president of the Encino Property Owners Assn. Jasper said he favors the additional turn lane, but added that he does not know whether the project could be completed by widening only the north side of the street.

According to Jeff Brain, president of the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan Review Board, the department has added an additional lane in other areas by widening the street by only 10 feet.

“When we’re intending to spend so much money to landscape sections of Ventura Boulevard, perhaps they could find a way to make 10 feet work in this location,” Brain said.

Allyn Rifkin, principal engineer for the department’s planning section, and Compton-based Arden Group & Co., which owns Gelson’s, could not be reached for comment.

Brain and Silver predicted that the issue of intersection widenings will continue to come up as communities weigh the sometimes-conflicting values of smooth traffic flow and pedestrian-friendly ambience.