Signs May Direct Motorists to Saticoy Shopping District

Dear Street Smart:

After reading your column last week on the installation of a traffic signal on California 118 in Saticoy, I felt compelled to write about another problem relating to the construction of the new roadway.

As part of the project to overhaul California 118, Caltrans has rerouted the highway so that it no longer passes businesses on Violeta Street, including mine.

Could Caltrans post a sign to let drivers know the way to the shopping district?

Jerry Chilcott, Saticoy

Dear Reader:

Caltrans may do just that.

A request from county officials and local businesses to post a special sign on California 118 to direct motorists to the Saticoy shopping district is wending its way through Caltrans bureaucracy, project engineer Lou Quon says.

“The plans are not final yet, but we’re pretty sure we will be able to make it happen,” he said.

If Caltrans agrees to post the signs, they should be in place when the Saticoy project is officially completed Aug. 6.

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Dear Street Smart:

I’ve discovered a very unscientific but effective method of gauging the bumpiness of a highway.

When I drive on the Moorpark Freeway in Thousand Oaks, my 18-month-old daughter shakes, and she hums to the vibration of the car seat.

I have yet to find another highway in Southern California that has this dramatic effect on her.

Are there any plans to smooth out the freeway and perhaps add a lane or two to relieve rush-hour traffic jams?

Mitch Rosenberg, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Perhaps you should start setting aside cash for voice lessons for your daughter, because you may be listening to her hum well into her teens.

Bumps in the Moorpark Freeway are caused by the movement of a particular kind of soil common in the area that swells when wet and shrinks as it dries, says Dave Servaes, state Department of Transportation maintenance supervisor.

The result is that slabs of roadway rise and sink at random, causing the bumps your daughter hums to.

The solution, Servaes says, is to rip up the roadway and install drains to flush the water out of the soil.

But plans to repave and widen the Moorpark Freeway are not scheduled until the year 2006 or beyond, according to the Ventura County highway project priority list.

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Dear Street Smart:

Several months ago, I read in your column that a signal was planned for installation at Erbes Road and Avenida de los Arboles in Thousand Oaks.

Traffic is like a parking lot at this intersection.

I’ve seen up to 20 cars lined up there and many accidents waiting to happen.

When is the light supposed to be installed?

Joyce Standley, Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Patience, please, begs John Helliwell, Thousand Oaks traffic engineer.

A light is indeed slated for installation, but there are other projects with higher priority, he says.

Barring any major traffic maintenance emergencies, the light should be installed by Christmas.