Those Nagging Obstacles That Make Daily Drive a Drag

Man, the commute’s an iffy little grind, isn’t it?

Every weekday morning is a blind date with society.

Dose yourself with coffee. Scrape the sleep from your eyes. And saddle up for another session of creep ‘n’ crawl with the rest of the bleary, work-bound world.

You hit the road--and nothing else, if you’re lucky--amid a ragtag fleet of vehicles piloted (more or less) by plumbers, secretaries, criminals, CEOs, tow truck drivers, garbage men, farm workers, students, gaffers, nurses and roustabouts.

You pray that nobody sleepier or crazier than you plays amateur physics professor by demonstrating the rough, kinetic principles of fender-kiss and bumper-slam.

And, every day, one nagging obstacle jumps in your face to make you wonder, over and over and over, “What the . . .? Whose idea was that?”

Dear Street Smart:

Would you please advise Caltrans that it has created a traffic nightmare on the westbound 118 (Ronald Reagan Freeway) at Rocky Peak in Simi Valley?

First, the onramp metering light at Topanga Canyon Boulevard is a constant green, which creates a stream of cars trying to merge.

Then, just before the overpass at Rocky Peak, the right two lanes merge. Less than 100 feet beyond that point, the right two lanes merge again!

Meanwhile, at about this point or a little farther west, the carpool lane ends and becomes a regular traffic lane, so there is wholesale (and unsafe) lane changing.

Kermit Heid

Moorpark

Dear Reader:

This is an alarming little daily torture, all too familiar to the commuting armies of Simi Valley and Moorpark.

The entire westbound freeway suddenly slams to the left by two lanes in a blur of quick, scary merges, and a fresh fast lane materializes out of nowhere.

Several readers griped about it this month. Not least was Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton, who noted: “It really clogs up right there at rush hour.”

Believe it or not, it’s all designed to state Department of Transportation specs. Signs and pavement arrows mark the merges. But the unwary often find themselves suckered into last-minute swerves, accompanied by the blaring chorus of half a dozen truck horns.

By this morning, Caltrans plans to activate the Topanga Canyon onramp meter, to help feed the newly opened carpool lane that extends about 1,000 feet into Simi Valley and then dissolves into an all-access fast lane, Caltrans officials said.

Caltrans engineers will probably “make some operational improvements” and are discussing sliding the second merge farther downhill toward Simi by re-striping the shoulder, said Dawn Helou, senior transportation engineer for Caltrans.

But if engineers find the shoulder pavement is not thick enough to carry traffic full time, the change might have to wait until Caltrans can secure funding to make it thicker, she said.

Another fix might involve making the Rocky Peak exit an exit-only lane, which would force through traffic into the first merge much sooner, she said.

Until then, dear readers, keep sharpening your footwork on the Rocky Peak Rumba.

Dear Street Smart:

I was wondering why trucks are not prohibited on the Moorpark Freeway (California 23), at least during rush hour.

It seems like every morning and some evenings, they cause a major slowdown as they crawl up the hills, forcing all other vehicles into the one other lane. Isn’t there a minimum speed on that freeway (and all freeways), which these large trucks are not keeping and should be cited for?

Eric Kassan

Newbury Park

Dear Reader:

We often wonder why half of all drivers are not kept off the Moorpark Freeway during rush hour, but that’s another sermon.

You are not alone among commuters who seem doomed to creep along behind truckloads of lemons chugging their way up that 4.5%-grade slow lane while a stream of speeding cars blocks your move into the fast lane.

Street Smart’s been there too. It’s as frustrating and patience-frying as it is fragrant.

Trucks are banned on a handful of California highways, such as the gnarly, old Pasadena Freeway. Low bridges and tight curves there cannot handle big rigs, says Thomas Schriber, a Caltrans senior transportation engineer.

But forbidding trucks from the freeways is rare: Au contraire, California’s freeways are designed to carry trucks, he says.

The far right lanes on most freeways are actually built with beefier foundations to support constant abuse from the rumbling, multi-ton vehicles that keep your fresh mail, strawberries and videos coming into your neighborhood and garbage going out.

Caltrans plans to widen both sides of the Moorpark Freeway to include climbing lanes, just as soon as it finishes widening the Ronald Reagan Freeway through Simi Valley, Schriber says.

“It’s now a matter of getting funding,” he said. “If funding can be found, we’re looking at this project occurring in 2005, possibly sooner, possibly later.”

And alas, CHP Officer Dave Cockrill says there is no minimum speed for trucks on grades.

Dear Street Smart:

A couple of months ago, someone wrote in about the new traffic signal on the Madera onramp to the 118 Freeway going east. The response involved regulating the traffic flow, which I guess made some sense.

What I can’t understand is when I pass the 1st Street onramp heading east, the signal always seems to be green. As a result, when I drive by, at least five to 10 cars pile on at the same time, causing traffic congestion. Why am I being regulated for using the Madera onramp, while those using the 1st Street ramp are not?

Sergio Sepulveda

Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

Aaah, the sacred mysteries of the onramp carpool lane.

Many have pondered that dilemma. Some even wrote. They wondered: Can a solo motorist get a ticket for using the carpool lane when the light is solid green?

Caltrans’ Pat Reid replied: “At present, the onramp from northbound 1st Street to eastbound Route 118 is ‘resting in green.’ It is not metering the flow of traffic onto the freeway, as are the other ramps.”

Caltrans plans to have all the right signs and stripes installed, and the meter switched on, by late April or early May, she said.

And if you’re flying solo, steer clear of the carpool lane. You’re asking for a CHP light show and a $271 ticket.

Said Cockrill: “A carpool lane is a carpool lane. Even though the meter isn’t being used, you still need to abide by the carpool rules, which is two or more occupants.”

Peeved? Baffled? Miffed? Or merely perplexed? Street Smart answers your most probing questions about the joys and horrors of driving around Ventura County. Write to Street Smart, c/o Mack Reed, Los Angeles Times, 1445 Los Angeles Ave., Room 208, Simi Valley 93065. Include a simple sketch if needed to help explain. E-mail us at mack.reed@latimes.com or call our Sound Off line, 653-7546. In any case, include your full name, address, and day and evening phone numbers. Street Smart cannot answer anonymous queries, and might edit your letter.