Motorist Says Intersection Needs Arrow to Point the Way

Dear Street Smart:

Why isn’t there a left-turn arrow at the corner of Cochran Street and Yosemite Avenue in Simi Valley?

When you’re on Yosemite Avenue turning left onto Cochran Street, the road curves so that you can’t see whether there’s any oncoming traffic. It’s even worse if there’s someone across the street, turning left onto the other side of Cochran.

Do they have any plans to fix that intersection?

Linda El Saleh, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

The short answer is no. But Simi Valley Traffic Engineer Bill Golubics wanted to explain why.

“Our engineer’s review when the signal was designed was that there was no need for it based on traffic volumes,” he said. “We don’t know of any sight-distance problems or accident history that would indicate there is a problem that could be corrected by a left-turn arrow.”

Golubics and other officials constantly monitor traffic circulation patterns and volumes throughout Simi Valley.

It frequently becomes necessary to tinker with signal timers and other aspects of an intersection or stoplight to improve the system, Golubics said. But in this case, “we have no plans to add that to the traffic signal.”

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Dear Street Smart:

I have a question about the exits onto Hillcrest Drive from The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks. At two of the exits, signs prohibit left turns onto Hillcrest Drive and force me to go right.

Why do they have those signs, when it backs up all the traffic leaving the mall? It seems foolish.

Judith Gorecki, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

As one of the largest attractions in Thousand Oaks, The Oaks draws thousands of vehicles every day. Traffic engineers spent a long time reviewing the circulation plans before the asphalt was laid for the parking lot, city officials say.

The two signs you are referring to are at the McCloud Avenue and West Thousand Oaks Boulevard driveways at The Oaks mall.

“At both of those exits, there is thick vegetation that limits a driver’s view, so we put those signs there for visibility reasons,” Traffic Analyst Jeff Knowles said.

If you need to go west on Hillcrest toward Lynn Road, Knowles said you can either leave the mall at another driveway or drive across Hillcrest onto McCloud Avenue or West Thousand Oaks Boulevard, turn around and proceed right at that point.

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Dear Street Smart:

Whenever I’m driving north on the Ventura Freeway and I want to get off on Ventu Park Road in Thousand Oaks, I have to go right because the sign says no left turn.

That’s stupid.

Why don’t they install a stoplight or a stop sign, instead of forcing everybody to go right? That doesn’t make any sense.

Virginia Herman, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

The northbound Ventura Freeway exit at Ventu Park Road does, in fact, offer right and left turns, Thousand Oaks traffic analysts are quick to point out.

However, both the Borchard Road and Rancho Conejo Boulevard exits immediately to the north allow only right turns when leaving the Ventura Freeway.

Thousand Oaks Traffic Analyst Jeff Knowles said those two exits allow only right turns because each road takes a different direction.

“It’s not that we’re prohibiting access,” he said. “It’s just that Borchard goes south and Rancho Conejo goes north.”

Knowles said he has heard your concern before.

“Occasionally, someone will make a left turn from the off-ramp and possibly get a ticket,” he said. “Then we hear complaints about it.”