Campus Roadway Not a Mess, but a Work in Progress

Dear Street Smart:

We have two teen-agers who will be attending the new campus of Oxnard High School on Gonzales Road near Victoria Avenue.

The new campus is on a nice, wide road. But we have been watching with horror as workers have removed the middle lanes, installing cement dividers and planting shrubs in the middle of the road.

It looks as if the road will be reduced to two lanes, which will undoubtedly lead to major traffic problems.

Gonzales is already a busy thoroughfare. To avoid traffic jams, it needs to have clear driving lanes at all times.

Reducing it to two lanes would make it a nightmare for parents to drop off and pick up students, and for people just trying to drive past.

What idiot did this? Are they going to add more lanes before this mess is considered done?

Jeri and Larry Boeing, Oxnard

Dear Reader:

Rule No. 1 in the great book of traffic tips: Never judge a road project in progress.

To the untrained eye, it may appear that Gonzales Road is shrinking.

In fact, however, it is being realigned to make room for a special left-turn lane into the new high school, says Joe Genovese, Oxnard traffic engineer.

The roadway is maintained by the county, but the city has been monitoring its progress, and Genovese sees no reason for alarm.

In addition to the left-turn lane, the county plans to install a traffic light at the main entry to the school, Genovese says.

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Dear Street Smart:

Motorists turning left from Glastonbury Road onto Triunfo Canyon Road in Thousand Oaks confront a hazardous dilemma.

Drivers who stop at the line on Glastonbury may see nothing and proceed into traffic, risking hitting a car that they did not know was there.

If they instead inch forward to see, they have to go so far out into traffic that they risk a collision.

The problem occurs because of a hedge and railing on Triunfo that block the view of oncoming traffic.

One way to solve the problem would be to widen the bridge and move the railing. Another possible solution would be to install stop signs at the intersection.

Glastonbury is the only outlet onto Triunfo from half a dozen residential feeder streets that generate considerable traffic.

All of this traffic is subject to the perils of this high-hazard intersection.

One of these steps is urgently needed to protect motorists on both streets.

John del Valle, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Bridge moving and sign building are not the right solutions at Glastonbury and Triunfo, says Jeff Knowles, assistant traffic engineer.

The real remedy, he says, is a serious dose of hedge trimming.

Concerns about visibility problems at the intersection were raised once before, eight years ago. After investigating the problem, the city found that overgrown juniper bushes were making it difficult for drivers to see oncoming traffic, Knowles says.

The city launched an aggressive hedge-control program and received no further complaints until now.

A second investigation has revealed that unruly junipers are again blocking views of the road. They will be subjected to a severe trimming, Knowles says.

As for installing a stop sign or traffic signal, there is not enough traffic to warrant that, under state guidelines. And the cost of widening the bridge would be prohibitive.

Even without heavy traffic, an inordinate number of crashes at the intersection could justify stop signs or a signal.

But the city has not recorded a single collision at the intersection in five years, Knowles says.

“We actually have more accidents at intersections that have signals or stop signs,” Knowles said. “If we put one in here, the accident rate could actually go up as a result.”

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Dear Street Smart:

A serious problem exists along Country Club Drive in the Wood Ranch subdivision in Simi Valley.

The problem is the 50 m.p.h. speed limit that is posted on Country Club.

To make a safe right turn onto either Fresh Meadows Road or Innwood Road from Country Club, it is necessary to slow to 15 or 20 m.p.h.

Doing this is extremely hazardous when cars are approaching from behind at 50 m.p.h. or more. This is a high speed limit that seems to have been set without any logic.

A change is needed before accidents start to happen.

Diane Peters Geirman, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

With two lanes in each direction and shoulders for emergencies, turning right from Country Club onto Fresh Meadows or Innwood should not be a problem, Traffic Engineer Hank Hein says.

Traffic on Country Club is relatively light--just 4,000 cars pass by each day, compared with 30,000 or more on busy city streets. And there is ample space for cars driving through to maneuver around motorists turning right, Hein says.

The 50 m.p.h. speed limit may seem a bit fast to you, but it was set based on the average rate of speed of passing cars, as required by state law.

Hein has asked police to keep close watch to ensure that cars do not exceed the limit.

He also reminds drivers to check their turn signals regularly to make sure that they are working, and to signal before turning.

“That at least clues other drivers in,” Hein said. “It could keep them from driving so close.”