Wider Lane to Allow Room for Bicycles and Parked Cars
Dear Street Smart:
I am concerned about the bicycle paths in Oxnard, particularly the one on Bard Road just east of Saviers Road.
The bike lane there is well-marked and there are also “no parking” signs posted. Still, there are always three or four cars parked along the bike lane, including, at times, a large motor home.
This situation forces bicyclists either to veer out into traffic or ride on the sidewalk, both of which create hazards for the rider.
If the idea of having these bike lanes is to promote a cleaner environment, why shouldn’t bicyclists be afforded as much safety as possible when riding?
Why can’t this no parking law be enforced so bicycles can have their own lane?
F. A. Laue
Oxnard
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Dear Reader:
The city is aware of your problem and may have come up with a way to fix it, Traffic Engineer Joe Genovese says.
Within the next several months, the city is planning to repave and re-stripe Bard. At the same time, the city plans to widen the bicycle lane, allowing ample space for both bicyclists and parked cars.
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Dear Street Smart:
I read with interest the recent Street Smart item on the Yosemite Avenue off-ramp of the Simi Valley Freeway.
It reminded me that I have been meaning to write you about the eastbound Tapo Canyon Road off-ramp for a long time.
The situation here is the same as at Yosemite--there is a left lane for left-turn-only cars and a right-turn lane shared by left- and right-turning traffic.
The problem is that when the light is red, the right-turning cars are often blocked by left-turning cars in the right lane that must wait for a green light.
The solution would be to restrict one lane to left-turning cars and the other to right-turning cars. There is enough traffic turning right so that these cars should get their own lane.
You deliver a great service with this column, and Caltrans seems to be wonderfully responsive. It appears that they are trying very hard to do a difficult job and are to be commended! Thanks to all!
Robin Gago
Simi Valley
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Dear Reader:
Your turning problems will soon be over.
The state Department of Transportation periodically conducts traffic counts to update lane configurations. At Tapo Canyon, the intersection was initially designed to handle a traffic flow where the bulk of the cars turned left, Traffic Engineer Luu Nguyen says.
But recent traffic counts showed a major shift in the vehicle flow. On May 18, between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., 289 cars turned right and 261 turned left. On the same day, between 4:45 and 5:45 p.m., 427 cars turned right and 391 turned left.
Caltrans will re-stripe the intersection to give right-turning traffic its own lane within the next several weeks, Nguyen says.
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Dear Street Smart:
I wrote you several weeks ago about the signs on the freeway that post the mileage from one city to the next.
Some of the numbers seemed off to me, but you explained that Caltrans measures the distance not from the outer limits of cities, but from their government centers.
This makes sense to me. But then you said Moorpark and Simi Valley are squeezed right next to each other, implying that a mileage sign at the adjoining edge of these cities would read a zero mile distance to the other town.
But if the distance is measured from center to center, that would not be correct. Instead, the number would reflect the mileage from the sign to the center of one of the towns.
Right?
Esther Bloch
Simi Valley
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Dear Reader:
Right.
Although Simi Valley and Moorpark are adjoining cities, Caltrans would measure the distance from the city center to wherever it posts a sign, not from the town border to the sign.
