Midtown Intersection to Be Reconfigured

Ventura traffic engineers have decided to reconfigure a midtown residential road to avoid potential car accidents, city transportation officials said Thursday.

The decision comes two months after a letter to The Times’ weekly Street Smart traffic column questioned the striping configuration at Ocean and Jordan avenues.

Nazir Lalani, who supervises traffic issues in Ventura, said his crew studied the intersection and concluded that changes are warranted because curves along Ocean prevent drivers on Jordan from seeing oncoming cars.

“We have issued a work order to place new limit lines farther out [into Ocean Avenue] so the drivers can see better,” Lalani said. “The work will be done within the next two or three weeks.”

Xan Bernay, the Ventura computer graphics specialist who wrote the letter in April, said she was delighted to hear the news.

“That’s great,” said Bernay, who complained of several near-miss accidents at the corner. “I’m going to feel a lot safer driving in my neighborhood.”

Bernay, who has lived in Ventura for less than a year, said she was surprised that her letter made a difference.

“It’s nice to see the city is being proactive in ensuring that accidents don’t occur by taking care of problems before they become more serious,” she said.