Council votes out bulb-outs
by Chris Wilson

Tire-marked, driven over and unattractive, the planters, commonly called bulb-outs, on North Montgomery Street, will soon be torn out.
The Ojai City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to remove all 24 planters along the street that runs between Ojai Avenue and Grand Avenue.
"These bulb-outs are a nuisance and an eyesore," said City Councilwoman Rae Hanstad. "I can't think of any of us who like them."
Ojai Public Works Director Stan Hakes reported to the City Council that the planters, intended to beautify and provide traffic calming measures on the street, had not turned out as planned. This was due in part to a funding shortfall that left no money for desired landscaping and trees and unusual drainage problems on the old street that forced a plan change separating the planters from the sidewalk.
"Many of the planters are small, the temporary planting and landscaping has been stolen or vandalized, and the rock ground cover and wood chip ground cover are not perceived as attractive to most in the community," he said.
Turning radius problems for school buses, fire trucks and the Ojai Trolley were also of concern. These presented both safety and traffic circulation problems, Hakes said.
Original constructions costs for the planters was included in the $99,000 sidewalk improvement project so the actual cost was difficult to determine. Hakes estimated, based on a linear feet assessment, that the actual cost to install the planters was between $15,000 and $30,000. The cost to remove all the planters will cost approximately $24,000 and will go to formal bid after the council gives approval at their March 12 meeting.
During public comments Montgomery Street business woman and resident Meg Goodwin of Ojai House said the bulbouts are a pedestrian hazard and don't line up with the wheelchair ramps at the curb corners. She offered her money-saving solution to the council.
"I'm sure if you want to mitigate costs just put 23 sledgehammers out there and I'm sure everybody would be happy to take a whack at them," she said.
Montgomery Street resident Sid Cohn brought a signature filled petition supporting the removal of the bulbouts. He said a recommendation to remove the planters is, "one that would be applauded."
City council member Joe DeVito said he had spoken with people on Montgomery Street and navigated each planter on the street with his car. He said he found that in order to make turns around certain planters, he had to cross over the center line to avoid hitting them.
"They should be history," Devito said. "With a heavy rain, enough debris could clog the planters and cause them to clog pushing the rain out into the street."
City council member Sue Horgan, who also supported the removal of all the planters, seized the opportunity to take on the Citizens to Preserve the Ojai's upcoming traffic initiative which will hit the November Ballot. Horgan urged council members and the public not to heed the CPO's "propaganda," in considering the initiative.
"I think we need to defeat the CPO's traffic initiative in November," she said.
Regarding the Montgomery Street planters, she said the council had been sold a traffic calming solution when they approved the sidewalks and planters for the street.
"But what we found was that the cure was worse than the illness," she said.
In other traffic news, Dr. Lois Barnes, a physician with offices on Pirie Road, called for the city to take action and do something about the crosswalk on Highway 33 adjacent to Nordhoff High School where two students were hit crossing the street this past week. Others have been hit there and one boy was killed, she said.
"It's a big road and people don't slow down or stop when you cross the street there," she said. "I don't think many people know that the highway 33 corridor is the second most dangerous corridor in the state."
She suggested putting in a stop sign because it's cheap.
Goodwin also commented on the crosswalk safety issue, leading councilwoman Hanstad to ask staff to contact Caltrans to study safety improvement options for the crosswalks.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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