Shortcut-Takers Got Message When Barriers Went Up

Dear Street Smart:

I want to complain about the closing of Calle Contento in Thousand Oaks to through traffic. I’m not sure why this is closed, but it essentially makes this a private area for the people who live there and inconveniences everybody else.

If these people want a private area, they should put up gates and be responsible for maintaining their own street.

The closure of this street has created a very dangerous situation. Now, to get from Sunset Hills Boulevard to Moorpark Road, you must turn left on Olsen across four lanes of traffic.

I strongly urge that Calle Contento be opened again to through traffic.

Richard Dozario, Camarillo

Dear Reader:

Traffic chiefs in Thousand Oaks don’t see things the way you do, and here’s why.

Calle Contento is a steep residential street that, until recently, linked Moorpark and Olsen roads. Lots of commuters, mainly from the Santa Rosa Valley, used it as a shortcut to and from the Moorpark Freeway, says John Clement, Thousand Oaks’ public works director.

Clement says too many cars were cutting through this residential neighborhood, and many were exceeding the 25-m.p.h. speed limit. To discourage this, the city posted signs, telling commuters to keep off Calle Contento during rush hours. But he says most motorists ignored the signs.

Finally, the city installed a barrier at the Moorpark Road end of Calle Contento to eliminate the short-cut altogether. “The city tried many less-restrictive solutions,” Clement says. “This was the only one left in our arsenal.”

Because Calle Contento is still open to traffic from the Olsen Road side, Clement says, it is not a private road.

Regarding the tough left-hand turn at Sunset Hills and Olsen, a traffic signal may be installed there within a year or two. In the meantime, you could take the Moorpark Freeway north to Tierra Rejada Road, which also connects to Moorpark Road.

The Calle Contento shortcut may have been a hit with commuters, but it now appears to be history.

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Dear Street Smart:

As one is leaving Oxnard’s “two towers” area, turning left onto Vineyard Avenue from westbound Esplanade Drive, there are two left-turn lanes.

When the light turns green, these cars pull into the intersection and wait, expecting the opposing traffic to cross the intersection or turn left.

Instead, the opposing traffic just sits there. They obviously have a red light. But because there is no left-turn arrow here, the cars turning left onto Vineyard must cautiously conclude that the opposing traffic will stay put.

Precious time is wasted as each driver makes the determination that it is safe to turn left.

Bonnie Neil, Oxnard

Dear Reader:

This stretch of Vineyard is a state road, so the light is controlled by Caltrans. If the agency installed a left-turn arrow for westbound cars turning left onto Vineyard, it would violate its “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control,” says Luu Nguyen, a Caltrans transportation engineer.

This is because a left-turn arrow would conflict with the pedestrian crosswalk on the south leg of this intersection, Nguyen says. Because there is no crosswalk on the north leg, eastbound traffic does get a left-turn arrow.

To make this all work, Caltrans set up “split-phase” signals. This means the eastbound traffic goes through the intersection first, then stops for a red light. After those cars stop, the green light comes on for westbound cars, including those making a left turn.

As a result of your inquiry, Caltrans recently sent a staff member out to watch the intersection for almost an hour. He reported that “the signals operated smoothly, and the motorists making those left turns promptly responded and did not appear to be confused.”

Caltrans says your complaint was the first it has received concerning this corner since the signal was installed in 1987. Nevertheless, Nguyen vows that the agency “will continue to monitor this location to ensure its smooth operation.”

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Dear Street Smart:

I live in Leisure Village, so I travel Santa Rosa Road in Camarillo almost every time I leave home.

There are quite a few traffic lights on this route that seem to be the “on-demand” type. As a result, it is a very rare day when one can make the trip without making several stops for red lights.

Some time ago, I read in the paper that these traffic lights would be arranged progressively so that the traffic would flow smoothly. Is there any hope that this will be implemented in the near future? Or ever?

Madelyn McKean, Camarillo

P.S. When you talk to Caltrans, please tell them that we all appreciate the improvement at the freeway interchange.

Dear Reader:

Don’t lose hope! You’re not the only one who has been waiting for an end to the stop-and-go signal setup on Santa Rosa Road.

More than a year ago, Camarillo traffic crews wired together the Santa Rosa signals between the Ventura Freeway and Los Pueblos Drive.

But Camarillo could not program these signals for a smooth traffic flow until Caltrans finished rebuilding the Santa Rosa freeway interchange, says Roc Pulido, a city traffic assistant.

That 18-month project was recently completed, and about two weeks ago the city synchronized its traffic lights with the Caltrans signals at the freeway.

“You can now go from the freeway to Los Pueblos on green the entire way without stopping,” Pulido says.

And soon, the traffic situation on Santa Rosa will get even sunnier. Pulido says the city has received a state grant to cover the cost of synchronizing Santa Rosa’s remaining signals between Los Pueblos and Leisure Village Drive East.

That project should be completed within a year. For the people who drive Santa Rosa Road, it seems like everything’s coming up--what else?--roses.