City Residents Seeing More Lights, Cameras, Roadblocks

Dear Street Smart:

Lately I’ve noticed a lot more filming going on in downtown Ventura.

It seems like every time I turn a corner, there’s a police car and officer blocking the street to make room for a camera crew. Sometimes the road closures last all day.

My question is: Why do the roads have to be closed while the filming is underway, and who pays for all that overtime for the police officers?

Chris Hansen, Ventura

Dear Reader:

The folks at City Hall who issue permits agree that more and more studios have discovered Ventura in recent years.

That’s because Ventura has relaxed its restrictions on filming, and producers have just recently discovered the city as an interesting shooting location, said Richard Newsham of the city Community Services Department.

“There is a lot more filming going on all over Southern California,” he said. “Most filming used to occur in the Los Angeles zone, and now they’re interested in visually new and interesting places.”

As for the disruption to traffic, Newsham said the film companies typically ask that streets and roads be closed only periodically.

“The traffic control generally is intermittent,” he said. “They shut down the street only during the actual filming.”

Filming brings with it money and publicity, Newsham said, and doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime.

“Film companies must pay for any city costs that they incur--police services, fire services or other personnel,” he said. “In our city, it’s a cash-and-carry situation.”

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Dear Street Smart:

My gripe concerns the traffic light at the intersection of Easy Street and Madera Road in Simi Valley.

The opportunity for cars traveling west or east on Easy Street to cross or make a turn onto Madera Road is limited to three seconds before the light changes to orange.

While I understand that the timing of the signal is extended if there are a number of cars waiting at the signal, three seconds is insufficient for one or two cars to clear the intersection before the signal changes.

William Luckie, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

Traffic engineers routinely monitor the efficiency of traffic signals and intersections, and tinker with the timing sequences accordingly.

But in the case of Easy Street crossing busy Madera Road, the signal works just fine, said Bill Golubics, Simi Valley traffic chief.

“Drivers are given a minimum of five seconds of green time, and that normally is enough time to cross,” he said. “If they’re off to a slow start, they might see the yellow come on and they might feel anxious.

“But we’ve found that five seconds is ample time to enter the intersection and then cross.”

By the way, the industry standard for such an intersection is as little as four seconds of green and three seconds of yellow before the red light illuminates.

Golubics rigged the timing at the Easy Street-Madera Road corner to five seconds of green, 3 1/2 seconds of yellow and then a half-second when all the lights are red.

“We’re giving them a little extra yellow and a half-second of red,” he said. “This is in the interest of efficiency, accommodating high volumes of traffic on Madera Road, which is a major street.”

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Dear Street Smart:

When I go to the Vons shopping center in west Ventura, instead of driving down Ventura Avenue, I get on California 33.

I get off on the Main Street exit, then when I hit Olive Avenue, instead of being able to make a left turn into the shopping center, I have to go on Main Street. But there are those newly installed lights, so I make a left on Main and then wait for the light to change.

Why can’t they make a little alley or remove the barrier so people can turn into the shopping center from Olive Street?

Reggie Reginato, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Traffic officials in Ventura agree that the Olive Street setup, as it now exists, is somewhat awkward.

The good news is that much of that area is being reviewed as part of a bike trail plan, said Nazir Lalani, who oversees traffic circulation in Ventura.

“We are going to be making some major changes to Olive Street as a result of the Ventura River Bike Trail,” Lalani said. “We will try to see if there is some way to address that turn when the bike trail project is completed.”

In the meantime, as a result of your letter, Lalani adjusted the signal at Garden and Main streets so that drivers exiting California 33 destined for Mission Plaza will no longer run into the red light.

“I had been synchronizing the lights for Main Street, but I noticed that the dominant traffic flow was having to stop,” he said. “Now they get the green, and they can make a left into the shopping center straight away.”