Residents Mobilize to Reduce Flow of Traffic Through Casitas Springs

Casitas means “little houses.”

The name Casitas Springs came from the days when the Chumash set up little houses near what is now Foster Park, at the northern end of Ventura Avenue. Later, other little houses were built for oil field workers.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to obtain a cute little house here for our retirement. Our wonderfully lush lot is the culmination of half a century of nurturing by the former owners. Casitas Springs is a weather-perfect scenic wonderland. We love it here.

The best part is the people. We find ourselves surrounded by a wonderfully diverse group--a grand melting pot. Casitas Springs is fashioned from interesting folks of all races, ethnicities, economic levels, ages and skills.

There’s just one downside: 28,000 cars a day drive by our home on California 33, an average of three vehicles every four seconds during peak periods. This makes coming and going extremely difficult and unsafe, not to mention the health hazards of breathing the exhaust of so many cars a day.

Even walking is a risk. Some people do not let their children go to the store for fear of the traffic. Last Halloween, we got no trick-or-treaters, although we have neighbor children all around. It is simply too dangerous to allow children on this street at night.

The school bus does not stop on Ventura Avenue because that would mean halting traffic in both directions. Thus every day the children have to walk on this unsafe street over to Nye Road to catch their bus.

After a letter carrier was permanently disabled while delivering mail here, the U. S. Postal Service set up group mailboxes to reduce stops to only one for every 12 homes. The Postal Service wrote a letter to support our bypass plea.

Simply put, the problem is that 28,000 cars a day should never go through a residential community. We need a bypass to move this mass of vehicles around our community. We need it as soon as possible--before you or I or a friend is killed or disabled.

You might expect great sympathy for our traffic situation, right? Think again.

Some people seem to feel that Casitas Springs residents are second-class citizens. I can almost hear you say, “But this is America. We have no second-class citizens!” That’s what I would have thought too. Read on.

Despite witheringly constant traffic, numerous accidents, general knowledge of the problem and numerous attempts to get some action, until recently, nothing has even been in the works.

Oh, yes, back in the 1960s, a four-lane bypass was scheduled. But faced with opposition from those who feared that it could lead to growth in growth-averse Ojai, the plan was killed. That was more than 30 years ago and still nothing has been done. Why?

It seems that some in Ojai like having this living buffer to expansion. Never mind that it is unsafe for Casitas Springs residents. Several callers--claiming to be on our side--have suggested bulldozing our houses as a solution. This is my home! Imagine suggesting such a plan for first-class citizens. How about bulldozing Ojai homes?

In 1994, Caltrans offered plans to handle the traffic. Its alternatives seemed to compete with each other to see which could be the rudest to the residents.

One would have widened the road to four lanes--cutting down trees and wiping out homes and yards. Another introduced Nye Road to the vehicular onslaught by making it one-way southbound. A third plan was for a four-lane road that traipsed carelessly through lot lines, thus threatening another part of our community.

All we need is a simple two- to three-mile-long two-lane bypass over basically level ground on an existing easement. Why is that so difficult?

The two-lane alternative would solve our problem, have far less environmental impact and attract much less resistance. However, Caltrans officials have said they would not consider “building a congested road”--even if it would solve our problem.

When we put up poetry signs to gently inform people of our plight, Caltrans took them down, saying they considered them advertisements. We seem to remember lots of campaign signs staying up for months. Measure O, anyone?

So we yield to the problems of Ojai and Caltrans, but the consensus seems to be that Casitas Springs’ problems can wait.

Time and again, we seem to be considered second-class citizens. Fortunately, Caltrans has recently “found” some money to make an engineering study of a two-lane Casitas bypass. Was this a result of recent pressure by our Assn. to Bypass Casitas? We think so.

Is this another “study” that will not lead to a bypass? We hope not.

You should know that the first-class citizens in the little houses of Casitas Springs need a bypass now. We are watching closely and are not about to go away.