End to Work on Kimball Overpass Speeds Into Sight

Dear Street Smart:

As many are aware, the traffic on Telephone and Telegraph roads in Ventura is extremely heavy.

When traveling south on the new Kimball Road overpass, it appears that construction work at the on-ramp for the westbound Santa Paula Freeway is complete. Yet the ramp remains closed.

Why not remove the barricades and open it for use? This would relieve some of the pressure on Telephone and Telegraph.

Frank Lane, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Good news: Most construction work in the Kimball Road area is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 15, Traffic Engineer Nazir Lalani says.

The city decided to keep the ramps closed during construction so that the road and ramp widening could be done more quickly, he says.

“We wanted to get the whole thing done before the rainy season,” Lalani said. “When you have traffic buzzing by, the risk level goes up and the work goes more slowly.”

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Dear Street Smart:

I live along Telegraph Road in Ventura and am a frequent user of the left-turn signal light for southbound Victoria Avenue traffic.

This is a popular intersection, where at peak hours there are at least half a dozen vehicles lined up to turn left. But the light only stays green long enough to allow three cars to turn.

I have seen numerous near collisions with oncoming traffic and have been nearly rear-ended by anxious drivers who wanted to get through the intersection without waiting out another cycle.

The obvious solution would be to extend the green time to allow more vehicles to make a safe turn.

It would sure reduce the wait and ultimately increase safety at that intersection.

Adam Hajost, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Regarding the infuriatingly short green arrow at Victoria and Telegraph, there’s good news and bad news.

The bad news is that no time can be added to the arrow because it would throw off the entire synchronization of the signal, Traffic Engineer Nazir Lalani says.

However, the city is aware that turning here is a problem. “I freely admit it’s a royal pain,” Lalani said.

The good news is a second left-turn lane is scheduled to be added in February.

“Once we get the second turn lane in, I think you’ll see traffic flowing much more smoothly through that intersection,” he said.

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Dear Street Smart:

I live in Moorpark on Peppermill Street and am having a problem with people driving too fast.

The speed limit is 25 m.p.h., but many people zoom by at speeds in excess of 45 m.p.h.

This is a residential neighborhood with many children playing outside.

I am concerned that the problem will not be dealt with until one of them gets hit.

What options are available to slow people down?

Brian Medley, Moorpark

Dear Reader:

Speeding on residential streets is a problem in just about every neighborhood in town, Moorpark Public Works Director Ken Gilbert says.

“We’ve found that in many cases the speeders live in the neighborhood,” Gilbert said. “They’re driving on automatic pilot and don’t realize how fast they’re going.”

To combat the problem, the city recently purchased a portable electronic display board that reads the speeds of passing vehicles and projects them on a large screen. The city plans to rotate the board at various sites around town.

Gilbert hopes that seeing the excessive speeds written in large figures will jolt or embarrass drivers into slowing down.

“If you live in the neighborhood and your neighbors see your speed on this big board, you might think twice about speeding,” Gilbert said.