That Red Light Clears the Way for Somis-Bound Truckers

Dear Street Smart:

Regarding the 118 and Somis Road junction just north of Somis: Why does the traffic heading westbound have to stop when the traffic heading eastbound is free to move on a green light?

The westbound traffic must wait at a red light while eastbound traffic continues through the intersection toward Moorpark.

I see no real reason for this.

Shaun McDowell

Camarillo

Dear Reader:

Yours is a question that might qualify as the most-asked question in Street Smart history, according to Caltrans engineer Ray Ciriaco, who drew the dubious task of answering it for the fourth time in recent years.

“The reason we split the traffic is because there is a lot of [westbound] truck traffic that turns left into Somis,” he said. “We only have a 150-foot left-turn pocket.

“If we allowed the west and eastbound traffic to go together, the westbound trucks turning left would block the through traffic,” said Ciriaco, who installed the current timing sequence at that corner six years ago.

“The operation of that signal works better the way it is,” he said. “It was really getting clogged up before and creating more problems.”

Dear Street Smart:

Please try to find out why the speed limit on the rural part of 5th Street from Oxnard to Camarillo is 45 mph, and when you reach Lewis Road and begin entering a residential area, it increases to 55 mph.

I’m in favor of the whole stretch going to 55 mph.

Unless they have traffic studies showing traffic going very slowly, it seems to me to qualify as a speed trap.

Steve Noblett

Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

Speed limits are never established without a blanket of surveys and traffic analyses.

Those who regulate how fast you can drive along various stretches of roadway base the speed limits on a number of factors, including prevailing speeds, unexpected conditions and accident histories.

“The current speed limits for traffic traveling on 5th Street are based on previous engineering and traffic surveys,” said Pat Reid, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

“Caltrans engineers will conduct a new traffic and engineering survey before the end of 1997,” she said. “If it is deemed appropriate based on the data analyzed, speeds will be changed at that time.”

Dear Street Smart:

I believe there is a potential hazard at the beginning of the Ronald Reagan Freeway eastbound onramp turning right off northbound 1st Street in Simi Valley.

The meter-on light has been placed beside the diamond lane after the turn, and the sign says that the diamond-lane law is in effect when the meter-on light is in use.

However, there is an uphill slant on 1st Street and the meter-on light is not visible until drivers have already turned onto the onramp--too late to get out of the diamond lane if the driver is alone.

The meter-on light should have been installed farther south on 1st Street to give drivers more time to move to the right before turning onto the onramp.

Barbara Pinter

Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

It is not often that state traffic analysts agree with those who write letters to the newspaper.

But based on the situation you describe, this time they concur. So much so, in fact, that based on your letter, state Department of Transportation planners are working to correct the problem.

“Caltrans is in the process of meeting with staff from the city of Simi Valley and attempting to work out a mutually acceptable resolution to the problem,” said Pat Reid, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

The bad news, though, is that there is no telling when the two agencies might get together to review and/or improve the situation.

Write to Street Smart, The Times Ventura County Edition, 1445 Los Angeles Ave. No. 206, Simi Valley 93065. 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.