City Plans to Prohibit U-Turns at Narrow Intersection

Dear Street Smart:

As an attorney specializing in defending people involved in accidents, I have noticed an unsafe intersection in Ventura.

The danger exists because U-turns are permitted at the intersection of Telephone Road and Scandia Avenue.

The city allows U-turns at this intersection even though the road is not wide enough for many cars to make the turn safely.

Drivers end up running onto the sidewalk, backing up into the intersection or swerving onto Scandia, possibly into oncoming traffic.

Once I saw a pedestrian almost get hit by a truck that got stuck at this intersection while trying to make a U-turn.

Clearly, U-turns must be prohibited at this intersection to prevent a serious if not fatal accident from occurring.

I reported this situation to the city several months ago, and no action was taken.

I am sure the interested insurer for the city would be rather disturbed at the city’s gross neglect at not correcting an obviously very dangerous condition.

Such neglect could expose the city to significant liability if an accident were to occur at this intersection.

James G. Connery, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Such “neglect” will soon end, as the city has promised to ban U-turns there.

In response to your complaint, city traffic workers trundled over to Scandia and Telephone and measured the turning arc at the intersection, traffic engineer Nazir Lalani says.

Lo and behold, they found that it was something of a squeeze for a passenger vehicle and nearly impossible for a delivery truck to make the turn without endangering life, limb and sidewalk.

Look for prominent “No U-Turn” signs within the next month.

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Dear Street Smart:

As a Westlake Village resident who lives near the Hampshire Road off-ramp of the Ventura Freeway, I’m worried about the impact of traffic when the Civic Arts Plaza opens next month.

I noted that there are signs in both directions on the freeway directing people to the Hampshire off-ramp, a one-lane exit.

Even now traffic tends to get backed up at this exit.

Someone needs to address the question of whether or not the exit can be widened to two lanes to avoid extremely long lines of vehicles on the freeway.

Has the city of Thousand Oaks, the county or the state made plans to improve this exit?

Don’t get me wrong, I really am excited about the new facility and plan to attend as many events as my budget allows. But this situation is a crisis waiting to happen.

I hope someone besides me is thinking about it.

Sharon L. McBride, Westlake Village

Dear Reader:

You are not alone.

Many, many city leaders and traffic types have been puzzling over the very problem you write about, says Thousand Oaks traffic engineer John Helliwell.

Hampshire Road near the Ventura Freeway is already one of the most congested roadways in the city, Helliwell says.

The solution?

A $1.2-million road-widening project, funded 80% with federal highway dollars and 20% by the city of Thousand Oaks.

The project, scheduled for completion within the next year, includes widening Hampshire Road and installing turning lanes and pedestrian and bike paths.

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Dear Street Smart:

In a letter that appeared Aug. 8, Mr. Paul Hill of Ventura wrote that he is fed up with trying to turn left from eastbound Telegraph Road to southbound Victoria Avenue.

Well, I am 11 years old and won’t be able to drive for five years. But in thinking it over, I think Mr. Hill has identified a problem that is not likely ever to be solved.

As I see it, it would not just be difficult to turn left from eastbound Telegraph to southbound Victoria--it would be impossible!

Kevin C. Olesky, Ventura

Dear Reader:

Right you are.

And right is the key word here.

It would indeed be impossible to turn left from eastbound Telegraph to southbound Victoria.

Mr. Hill’s frustration actually concerned a problem that does exist: the difficulty of turning right from eastbound Telegraph to southbound Victoria.

Mea culpa.