Grappling With the Difficult Mix of Children and Traffic

Children and traffic are two things that go together about as well as a dill pickle and milk.

Parents of playful youngsters know this better than anyone.

For them every sidewalk, street and crosswalk is a disaster waiting to happen.

Ultimately, though, their children are at the mercy of drivers who may or may not be aware that a 3-foot tot is very likely to bound out from behind a car on such neighborhood streets as Ojai’s Park Road and Thousand Oaks’ Gainsborough Road.

Surface streets demand more attention from those behind the wheel, but they don’t always get it.

Dear Street Smart:

I have a problem with people speeding down my street and am worried that one day it’s going to kill someone.

I live on Agnus Drive and people speed, sometimes 50 or 60 mph, getting from Foothill Road down to Loma Vista Road.

Loma Vista Elementary is right around the corner, and kids always have to cross the street, and I’m concerned that at some point there’s going to be an accident.

I walk with my children, thinking that will protect them, but it won’t.

I’d like to see a stop sign put in on Agnus Drive where it intersects Gale Way. That would do a lot to protect the children.

LeAnna Cline

Ventura

Dear Reader:

I have both good news and bad news for you. I’ll start with the bad.

According to Tim Bochum, associate transportation engineer with the city of Ventura, a stop sign will not be erected at Agnus Drive and Gale Way.

Bochum said that according to state warrants, which are used by traffic engineers to decide when a street or intersection becomes busy enough for a stop sign, Agnus Road lacks the requisite traffic needed to justify a sign.

Furthermore, the intersection “is not ideal for a stop sign” because it is a “T” intersection, meaning one street joins another without going through it.

However, there is a plan to help curb the number of speeders along residential streets.

The city Traffic Department is coordinating with police to target problem areas like yours.

The officers will begin their patrols in the spring.

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Dear Street Smart:

I have a question about a rumor I heard that there will be a stoplight put in on Santa Rosa Road near the Santa Rosa Elementary School.

The situation there is dangerous, and I have been waiting for a long time to see a light there so children can cross the street and get to school safely.

I heard some time ago that the county was going to put a light in, but was waiting for the school to repair its driveway.

What’s the holdup?

It’s an extremely serious situation. Kids are always crossing the street while cars are turning to get on the road.

Are they waiting for someone to be seriously injured or even killed there before they go ahead and put a light in?

Regina Housley

Camarillo

Dear Reader:

It’s no rumor. County traffic engineers are way ahead of you and will have a light installed on Santa Rosa Road next to the school by Sept. 1, just in time for the new school year.

County traffic engineer Butch Britt said they have been studying the road for some time and have plans ready to erect the light.

Britt said they were forced to wait, however, until the school repaired its parking lot and entry roads, which will be done during the summer.

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Peeved? Baffled? Miffed? Or merely just perplexed? Street Smart answers your most probing questions about the joys and horrors of driving around Ventura County. Write to: Street Smart, c/o Coll Metcalfe, Los Angeles Times, 1445 Los Angeles Ave., Suite 208, Simi Valley 93065, 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, 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.