Leave Calif. 150 Alone

Highway safety requires teamwork between road builders and drivers, who in some situations must be asked to show a little extra responsibility and common sense.

We’re all for the California Highway Patrol’s campaign to get drivers on narrow, busy California 118 to turn on their headlights even in daytime, but Caltrans’ twice-rejected plan to widen two bridges on winding, picturesque California 150 is two bridges too far.

Caltrans should heed the repeated rejections and leave this road alone.

For more than 15 years, Caltrans has tried to replace two bridges that cross Rincon Creek on the Santa Barbara County line as the road wiggles its way from Ojai to Carpinteria. Transportation planners say the narrow spans, built in 1927, contribute to an accident rate more than double the statewide average for rural two-lane highways. But plans have been consistently rejected by county supervisors and the California Coastal Commission, saying that doubling the width of the bridges would harm wildlife in the area and encourage speeding along the winding country road.

Now Caltrans is working to put its plans through the permit process a third time.

Fans and foes of the plan will get together on March 25 to look for a workable alternative. Surely there’s a way to address any safety problems here by giving an extra heads-up to drivers (most of whom are sightseers or area residents) rather than bulldozing away the road’s historic charm.

If asking drivers to take a little extra care can work on Highway 118, it is worth a try here.