Changes Already Made to Fix Irritating Traffic Signal

Dear Street Smart:

When is the city of Oxnard going to fix the signal at the corner of Saviers Road and Bryce Canyon Avenue? This is a very irritating signal.

Ever since they repaved Saviers Road, the left-turn arrow goes on whether a car is in that lane or not. Consequently, the green light for traffic on Saviers Road is on for 35 seconds, while the red light for Saviers Road traffic is on for 42 seconds.

Also, there are not many cars coming out of Bryce Canyon and Thomas avenues. Why can’t a sensor be put in on Bryce Canyon and Thomas avenues to keep the flow of traffic going on Saviers Road?

This light is the most irritating signal in all of Ventura County.

The traffic on Saviers Road should have much more time on the green light than the few cars that come out of Bryce Canyon and Thomas avenues.

Lowell Bassett

Oxnard

Dear Reader:

Guess what? Not only do traffic officials in Oxnard acknowledge that your complaint is valid, they already have taken steps to correct the problem.

Oxnard traffic engineer Joe Genovese said that the vehicle detectors along Saviers Road between Elm Street and Bard Road have been on the fritz for several weeks because of roadwork in the neighborhood.

All equipment should soon be operational, according to Genovese. “In the meantime, we have made timing changes as suggested in the letter to minimize the congestion at these intersections.”

Genovese urges anyone with concerns or questions about traffic in Oxnard to call his office at 385-7866.

Dear Street Smart:

Driving into the San Fernando Valley on the Simi Valley Freeway every day, one wonders why the widening project going on is taking so long.

It seems that, at times, some work is being done and at other times nothing is happening. There does not seem to be any consistency.

Can you shed some light on when this project is expected to be completed?

Ed Schlossman

Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Indeed, the widening project you ask about was launched in August 1994. A long time in real life, maybe. But in the life of freeway construction, a nanosecond or two.

The good news is that the $22-million project is two-thirds complete.

Engineers expect to finish by September, and the refurbished Simi Valley Freeway will boast a new carpool lane between Interstate 5 and the Ventura County line in each direction.

“There were no lane closures and limited work is being done during commute hours,” said Pat Reid, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Transportation, explaining the appearance of minimal progress.

“Most of the work was done at night,” she said. “So that might be one of the reasons [the reader] didn’t see the work being completed.”

Almost 100,000 cars a day cross the Simi Valley Freeway at Rocky Peak Road, according to recent Caltrans traffic counts.

Dear Street Smart:

I am in receipt of notice regarding the construction of a roundabout at the T-shaped intersection of Via Plaza and Via Baja, in the Ondulando area of Ventura.

I am writing in an effort to understand why this is a priority for traffic engineers in the city of Ventura. Specifically, what surveys have been made of the traffic situation at this corner?

I have been a resident of the area in question for nine years, and in that time I have rarely encountered more than one other car at that crossing. Two cars, only occasionally.

Why spend public money on an unnecessary roundabout? Especially since there hardly seems to be enough room for one. Why not put the effort where there is a real need, instead of focusing on a purely imaginary problem?

Shirley Clement

Ventura

Dear Reader:

The problem is quite real.

The three yield signs that now control traffic at Via Plaza and Via Baja are technically illegal. Specifically, the vehicle code prohibits more than one yield sign at any one corner.

The roundabout, or traffic circle, is a way to satisfy the vehicle code and allow the city to make sure everyone yields at that intersection, said associate transportation engineer Tom Mericle.

As for the cost to the public, the roundabout will consist of a splash of new paint. It will cost less than $800.

“It will have dashed solid lines at the yield signs, then a 12-foot-diameter yellow dot painted in the center,” Mericle said. “It’s just paint.”

Mericle said the confusion stems from the American perception of roundabouts, a term associated with the sweeping concrete circles favored by European traffic engineers.

But because the city has received so many complaints, officials are not sold on the roundabout alternative. City traffic engineers welcome public comment. They may be reached at 654-7887.

Write to Street Smart, The Times Ventura County Edition, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. You may enclose a simple sketch if it will help Street Smart understand your traffic questions. Or call our Sound Off Line, 653-7546. Whether writing or calling, include your full name, address, and day and evening phone numbers. No anonymous queries will be accepted, and letters are subject to editing.