Caltrans Blames Santa Barbara for Getaway Gridlock

Dear Street Smart:

I live in Ventura and travel to Santa Barbara quite frequently on weekends to shop at the stores and eat at some of the restaurants.

But I am always afraid to go there on a Sunday for fear of getting trapped in that gridlock that takes over the freeway for miles every Sunday afternoon.

Why don’t they widen the freeway there in downtown Santa Barbara so that cars don’t back up for miles each weekend. This past holiday weekend was especially bad. It took me more than an hour to get the 30 miles to my home.

Michelle Johnson

Ventura

Dear Reader:

According to Caltrans, which maintains the freeway system throughout the state, engineers have wanted to widen that section of the Ventura Freeway for years.

Trouble is, Santa Barbara city officials have resisted, says Caltrans engineer Joe Blommer, who said he too must deal with the backup because he lives in Santa Barbara.

“We’ve had various projects that added lanes in other sections of Santa Barbara,” Blommer said. “We widened it all the way from Goleta to Milpas Street.

“We’ve come up with a plan to widen the freeway from Milpas down to the Ventura County line,” Blommer said. “But there is a great deal of resistance on the part of the city of Santa Barbara to go through with that project.”

As you know, the traffic jam is worst on Sunday afternoons when weekend travelers return to Southern California. Even Blommer agrees that the existing two-lane system works well the rest of the week. Besides, he said, “this is their town.”

Dear Street Smart:

My question concerns the street signage on Anacapa Street in midtown Ventura from the 100 block through the 400 block.

I recently received a letter saying that the correct address on the 400 block is Anacapa Street--not South Anacapa. On the 100 to 300 block, it’s signed as S. Anacapa Street, but the 400 block is signed Anacapa Street only.

One thing I’ve noticed is that the 400 block of Anacapa Street is the southernmost portion of Anacapa Street. I think the 400 block that I live on is South Anacapa Street.

It’s caused a little confusion here, so I would welcome an answer.

Michael Farmer

Ventura

Dear Reader:

City building inspector Cliff Lee agrees that the existing differences in the formal name of Anacapa Street may be confusing.

But there is reason.

“Anacapa starts at Main Street, which is the dividing line,” Lee said. “Technically, any street that goes south of Main is a south street.”

When planners first laid out that neighborhood, sometime in the early part of this century, they probably expected to build a northern leg of the avenue at a later date. But that never happened.

“Anacapa doesn’t really have a north end, but they call them [blocks] south because they’re south of Main,” Lee said. “Since there’s no North Anacapa Street, it doesn’t really matter.”

Dear Street Smart:

I am concerned about the timing of the traffic signal at the Victoria Avenue offramp southbound from the Ventura Freeway.

It seems like when you’re waiting at the bottom of the offramp for the light to turn green, if you’re not the first in line you might be in danger.

That’s because when the yellow light comes on for those drivers turning left onto Victoria, there is no delay before the light turns green for drivers heading through the intersection south on Victoria.

Most other traffic signals have a short delay between one red light and the green light going the other direction.

But too many times I have noticed cars making late left turns onto northbound Victoria from the offramp almost get hit by cars heading south. Can you check on this?

David Kelly

Ventura

Dear Reader:

The intersection you ask about is controlled by the state Department of Transportation because it is situated at an offramp to the Ventura Freeway.

Caltrans engineers acknowledge that the timing at the signal is geared to allow 3.5 seconds of yellow and only half a second of red before the opposite green light illuminates, said engineer Rey Ciriaco, who controls the Caltrans intersections in Ventura County.

“I cannot afford to put in additional red time,” he said. “My timing is so tight already, and we have to match the timing with the city’s signals. We’re running on a fixed cycle.”

You are observant to notice the difference between state- and locally controlled intersections, however. Ventura allows a two-second delay between its red and green lights.

Ventura traffic engineer Nazir Lalani said that when improvements are completed at the corner of Victoria and the freeway, and the city controls the timing, he will convert the timing to city standards.

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.