Funds Lacking for Proposed Sound Wall

Dear Traffic Talk:

We are a group of longtime residents living on the south side of the Ventura Freeway, between Whitsett Avenue and Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

Over the years, the noise level has become deafening due to increased traffic and extra lanes, plus sound bouncing off the Tujunga Wash. We have talked to Caltrans many times since the early ‘80s. They were uncooperative with idle promises and passing the buck.

In the last several months, two new sound walls have been erected, one directly north of us and another one east of Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

Residential properties are impossible to sell due to the noise level, which has resulted in decreased values beyond the current depressed real estate market. This has caused a number of foreclosures in our immediate neighborhood.

My personal residence, which is priced below market level, has been available for over six months and real estate agents refuse to show it due to its location next to the freeway.

Petitions signed by all residents have been presented to state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal and Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman, and we have also met with City Councilman Mike Feuer.

The neighborhood is making a combined effort to bring this matter to a successful conclusion now.

John Hasty

Sherman Oaks

Dear John:

Your area is included on a list of proposed sound wall projects because it meets the federal and state guidelines for reducing noise in residential neighborhoods near freeways, said Pat Reid, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.

But funding for this proposed sound wall is not yet available.

In fact, funding for sound wall projects around the state has been limited in recent years by a number of factors, including a higher priority given to the seismic retrofitting of freeway bridges, the failure of several bond measures and a reduction in anticipated revenues.

Freeway walls also must compete with other types of freeway improvements and safety work--all of which rely on the limited financial resources, Reid said.

The projects now under construction were scheduled five to seven years ago, as is usual when any new project begins.

Caltrans does not know when funding will be available for the wall in your neighborhood.

Dear Traffic Talk:

I live near the corner of Citronia Street and Amigo Avenue just west of Reseda Boulevard in Northridge.

The apartments were shut down after the earthquake but have recently reopened.

But since then, people park on a daily basis in the red zones at the corners and in front of the fire hydrants on both streets.

This makes it very difficult to see oncoming traffic when turning from Amigo onto Citronia.

They are illegally parked.

Joan Massey

Northridge

Dear Joan:

The area in question is a part of Northridge damaged by the 1994 earthquake that has since been redeveloped, according to Woodroe Smith, parking enforcement manager with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

Parking along red curbs and too close to fire hydrants is indeed illegal. Smith said the area will receive extra attention from parking enforcement officers.

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