Engineers Draw the Line on Changing Railroad Crossing

Dear Street Smart:

I’ve noticed a problem at the railroad crossing at eastbound Adolfo Road and Lewis Road in Camarillo.

On Adolfo, just before the signal, there is a railroad crossing sign painted on the street.

The problem is that many drivers mistake the front line of that painted sign for the limit line.

If they stop there, instead of moving forward as they should, the signal doesn’t trip.

I have sat through several signal cycles because of this. On one occasion I even got out of my car and ran to the front car to ask him to pull forward.

The inexpensive way to fix this would be to simply remove the front line of the railroad crossing graphic.

This problem doesn’t happen very often, but this intersection can clog up pretty quickly when it does.

Carol Semonian, Camarillo

Dear Reader:

Engineers at both Caltrans and the city of Camarillo are scratching their heads over the problem you describe.

Caltrans engineer Ray Ciriaco says cars can trigger the signal before they reach the railroad crossing sign in the road. So there should not be any delays caused by drivers who do not pull all the way up to the intersection.

Camarillo traffic engineer Tom Fox agrees. Fox says it is not likely that the city would alter the railroad crossing sign, because the signs are meant to be exactly alike from one railroad crossing to the next. Any change could open the city up to liability, Fox says.

*

Dear Street Smart:

In my many years of driving in Southern California, I have never come across a traffic problem so frustrating as one I have found on Gonzales Road in Oxnard.

Drivers who want to turn left onto Oxnard Boulevard from eastbound Gonzales have the choice of two left-turn lanes.

However, there is a double stripe that prevents the driver from reaching the left of these two lanes until he gets very close to the intersection.

It is frustrating to see an empty lane up ahead that is blocked off, preventing the use of a wide, empty space.

The double stripe should be removed.

Herb Hewston, Oxnard

Dear Reader:

Good idea!

That’s what Oxnard traffic engineer Joe Genovese says.

While the street is not wide enough to allow the second left-turn lane to be extended, the city can move the entry point for the right left-turn lane, so that cars can access both left-turn lanes in the same place.

*

Dear Street Smart:

For years now I’ve been hearing that Simi Valley is going to finish building Cochran Street between 1st Street and Madera Road.

The way it is now, the road just ends at 1st Street. To get to Madera you have to go down to Easy Street or up to the Simi Valley Freeway.

This is one of the busiest sections of town. It’s about time they finished the road. Why the delay?

Robert Wilson, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

The completion of Cochran Street has been planned for at least eight years.

But the holdup has not been caused by the city.

There are 15 landowners on that property, and until recently it was considered their responsibility to come up with the cash for the road or to find a developer willing to pay for it.

That has not been easy.

In March, the City Council agreed to pay $1.6 million toward the $4.8-million expected cost of building the road.

If the proposal is agreeable to the landowners, construction of the new road could begin soon.