SIMI VALLEY : Parking Ban Along Royal Avenue Denied

Howls of protest from more than a dozen Simi Valley residents helped send a controversial plan to ban parking on parts of Royal Avenue back to drawing board.

After listening to pleas from Royal Avenue homeowners Monday night, the City Council directed city engineers to work more closely with residents to preserve as many parking spaces as possible on the large residential thoroughfare.

The residents were reacting to the city’s attempt to put a left-turn lane along 3.8 miles of the street, from Madera Road to Corto Street, and from Darrah Avenue to Tapo Canyon Road.

The new lane would widen the road to five lanes, thus eliminating 10 feet on either side of the road now used for parking and a buffer from traffic in front of 85 homes. “Since we’re repaving those sections this summer, we thought it would be a good time to upgrade the stripping with left-turn lanes as well,” city engineer William G. Golubics said.

Left-turn lanes were a necessary safety upgrade on the well-trafficked avenue, he said.

“Right now, people have to stop in the fast lane to make a left,” Golubics said. “A new middle lane could reduce the number of rear-end and left-turn accidents on the street.”

But residents maintained that adding a left-turn lane would only make driving and living along the road more hazardous.

“Please don’t make our children walk home from school just an arm’s length from speeding cars,” said Jeri Basil.

Carle Manley was also concerned about traffic closer to the curb.

“My master bedroom is just 20 feet from the road,” Manley said. “Why would you want to take away even more of that margin of safety from us?”

Other residents were worried about collecting their mail safely from the curb and were left wondering where guests would park their cars.

“This is a residential neighborhood, not a commercial strip,” Ron Lowry said.