Getting Over the Hurdles of Speed Hump Installation

The new Street Smart guy is slowly finding his groove, doing what he can to address safety concerns on the streets of Ventura County.

But phe-e-e-e-e-e-w.

Two weeks of this and poor Street Smart is running out of gas.

Because knowing where to find the answers is never enough.

You also have to wait while well-meaning public servants scratch their heads, consult their rule books and say: “We’ll get back to you real soon, Street Smart.”

And they do. But the answers sometimes come slower than, well, trying to get a speed hump built in your neighborhood.

Or making a left turn onto Olsen from Pederson Road in Thousand Oaks.

Or grinding your way through the gridlock that will surround the Buenaventura Mall expansion project for at least the next two or three weeks.

But Street Smart, much like the miserable traffic itself, will flow on . . . .

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Dear Street Smart:

I enjoy your feature very much.

About a couple months ago, you answered a letter regarding speed humps and informed the writer about whom he could contact and the procedure for petitioning the city to have one installed.

I tried to save that column, but the wife tossed it. Could you please mail, fax or e-mail me a copy? Or perhaps let me know what day it ran?

I would appreciate it very much.

Again, I find your column very important and useful. Thanks very much.

Ken Bash

Ventura

Dear Reader:

Street Smart would have faxed or e-mailed the answer, no problema.

However, his ego demanded that your highly complimentary letter see the right of way . . . er, light of day.

But be warned: Getting a speed hump in your neighborhood is not a task for the faint of heart.

Here’s the drill:

Call the city of Ventura’s traffic hotline at 654-7769 or stop in at Room 117 at City Hall. Ask for a free brochure called the “Neighborhood Traffic Management and Calming Program.”

It explains everything.

You and at least six neighbors will need to fill out a neighborhood action request and meet with city traffic officials about the problems on your block. You’ll also have to allow for at least six months’ worth of beefed-up police enforcement or a radar speed trailer on the street.

If the trailer and the increased police presence prove ineffective, city officials will decide whether a speed hump can work in your neighborhood.

The problem is, speed humps can slow down ambulances, police cars and firetrucks racing down your street just as efficiently as they can curtail a reckless speeder.

If the city decides a speed hump will not interfere with public safety, you will have to garner the signatures of at least 67% of the residents who would be affected.

If they agree on that much, Street Smart hopes they also agree to help you jump your last hurdle: In Ventura, residents must pick up the tab for the engineering studies and speed hump installation.

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Dear Street Smart:

I have a question regarding a traffic signal in my neighborhood.

I live in Thousand Oaks, and I’m curious about whether or not there’s going to be a traffic signal put in at the corner of Pederson and Olsen roads.

To me it is a quite dangerous area.

Cars speed up Olsen Road, and it’s a blind curve as you are trying to turn onto Olsen Road off of Pederson, particularly trying to make a left turn.

Ron Leavitt

Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

City officials have long heard complaints over the blind spot at Pederson and Olsen, but there has never been the traffic volume or collision rate to justify a traffic signal there.

It likely comes as no secret, though, that you live in a growing city.

And that growth, says city traffic engineer Jeff Knowles, has finally pushed traffic to a point where a signal is warranted. As you probably know from sad, frustrating experience, there just aren’t enough gaps in the Olsen traffic anymore to allow for safe turns from Pederson.

Still, don’t expect a signal there tomorrow. The City Council gives up the green stuff for just five new signals at a time, and won’t consider allocating any new money for them until this summer.

When the council does, however, the corner of Olsen and Pederson is likely to be among the top five contenders, Knowles said.

Figure that within 18 months, you’ll be able to make a left turn onto Olsen without bracing for what you can’t see coming around that blind curve.

“I know it will never be fast enough but it’s on its way,” Knowles said.

In the meantime, reader, please be careful.

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Dear Street Smart:

I would like to complain about the worst intersection in Ventura. It is the intersection at Mills Road and Main Street by the Buenaventura Mall.

Cars going south on Mills and onto Main Street consistently block the intersection on Main Street.

Cars trying to go north and those turning left onto South Mills cannot get across Main Street during the short green lights allotted to them.

I see no way that the construction being done further down Main will alleviate the problem, as I was told when I called the Ventura Traffic Department about this problem about a month ago.

I feel there are two possible solutions. The obvious is to shorten the green light for turning left onto Main. The other is for the police to ticket people blocking the intersection.

Please, please somebody do something.

Jeanne L. Miller

Ventura

Dear Reader:

City officials say they have tried with little success to tweak the signal timing in hopes of cutting the number of left-turn makers who block that intersection.

The problem comes from those pesky pedestrians--the fly in the ointment of many an otherwise fine traffic plan.

Apparently, state law mandates that whenever someone pushes the button to cross a street, the light must stay green an extra 10 seconds.

At Main and Mills, that means drivers turning from Mills onto Main have that much longer to make their turn. However, the next light down Main doesn’t stay green for the extra 10 seconds. It all adds up to one mean snarl.

But there’s hope. City transportation engineer Nazir Lalani said the road improvements will include dual left lanes. That will allow the city to reset the signal and prevent the gridlock that has you so frustrated.

Weather permitting, the work should be done in two to three weeks, Lalani said.

When it’s done, officials say they will decide whether the police need to start issuing a few tickets over there.

Between now and Thanksgiving, you and others tired of waiting for three light changes to get where you are going might consider avoiding the intersection altogether.

Good luck. And please keep Street Smart posted.

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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 Richard Warchol, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001, or call the Sound Off line at 653-7546. Include a simple sketch, if needed, to help explain. In every case, include your full name, spelled correctly please, address and both day and evening phone numbers. Street Smart cannot answer anonymous queries, and might edit your letter or phone message due to space constraints.