Encino Traffic Measures Fail to Pass

Encino Hills residents failed to approve a package of measures proposed by the city Department of Transportation aimed at reducing traffic in their neighborhood.

At a meeting with the Encino Community Council to announce the results of the mail-in ballot, city transportation representatives said only 35% of the area’s 4,130 residents submitted ballots. To pass, at least 40% of the ballots needed to be returned, with two-thirds of the voters approving the proposed traffic measures.

Ballots were sent to people who live south of Ventura Boulevard in an Encino neighborhood often used by commuters as a shortcut through the Santa Monica Mountains. The proposals included making traffic lights remain red longer, installing no-turn signs and adding a left-turn signal at the San Diego Freeway onramp at Sherman Oaks Avenue.

Clive Grawe, an LADOT engineer, studied the traffic patterns in the area for two years. He said because the department has to concentrate on other projects, the Encino issue “won’t be considered in the near future.”

Supporters of the measures vowed to continue their efforts to get the city’s help in curbing traffic, which they said threatens their safety and quality of life.

“The problems are too great for the [Department of Transportation] to drop and not proceed with some remedial action for the area,” said Margery Grossman, a Ballina Canyon Road resident who heads the traffic committee of the Encino Community Council.