Costs mount for Loma light
by Kelly Feser Eells

There just may be a light at the end of the tunnel, or rather, at the intersection of Loma Drive and Highway 33.
The last that concerned residents heard about the on-again, off-again signal, "promised" by September 2000, was disappointing - when asked about the delay in August of 2001, Caltrans spokesperson Ivy Estrada stated that previously unforeseen road and utility upgrades to the area had added some $35,000 to the project.
She explained that construction plans and the budget that had been hammered out between the state and the county, which agreed to pay for a third of the project, would both have to be revised.
Perhaps most disappointed of all was former Mira Monte Elementary School Principal Larry Hartmann, who, for 15 years, nearly single-handedly lobbied for improved safety at the intersection. "Their promises," Hartmann was quoted as saying, "don't seem to mean much."
As a direct result of his efforts, flashing yellow "crosswalk ahead" lights were installed in 1995. But after a 93-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed in the crosswalk - used primarily by Mira Monte schoolchildren and frequently patrolled by Hartmann himself - two years later, a "safety index" study was initiated, with plans for full signalization announced shortly thereafter.)
Though Caltrans traffic investigator Gary Kevorkian delivers regular status reports at the quarterly Highway 33 Improvement Committee meetings, his reports rarely include any details about the on-again, off-again traffic signal. At the committee's Feb. 13 meeting, however, Kevorkian's presentation included an in-house designed map, reflecting everything from potential "areas of future study" (indicated by public concern) to feasible, nonpriority, and priority projects; and, "New signal at Route 33 and Loma Drive," per Kevorkian, is "No. 1."
In a subsequent conversation, he confirmed that, "We, the county and the state, are in the final stages of a corporate agreement. The bid process is being finalized as we speak." Kevorkian added, "Construction could begin as early as June."
In other committee business, Charlie Villalvazo, treasurer of the Courtesy on 33 campaign, reported that bumper stickers were available to get the word out. Smiling, committee chair Lanie Springer pointed to the batch of stickers - offered at $1 each or, "if preferred, a 50-cent donation" to the campaign - and told the audience, "we're putting you on the honor system."
California Highway Patrol Capt, Scott MacGregor said, "Well, we're saying it (Courtesy on 33)," a reference to his agency's increased presence in the community.
After acknowledging the CHP's ongoing participation in the grass-roots campaign, Casitas Springs resident Diana Burns wondered if it was possible to "get a patrolman, though I know it's expensive" stationed near the Arroyo Mobile Home Park, if only during morning and evening rush hours.
Springer said, "The CHP has already increased safety tremendously for us. I've driven there - through the area in question - for 30 years, and now they (other commuters) practically coast. I'm not complaining."
Villalvazo asked, "Maybe just a sign, then, like 'Radar Enforced'?"
Burns prompted the audience's laughter by adding, "Or could we just borrow a patrol car?"
MacGregor replied, "Yeah, but that only works for newcomers. Soon, people start saying, 'Hey, that's a fake car.' Besides, the problem is, usually, the people who live here." Education, he continued, "through the local newspapers, etc., is key " to solving the problem of discourteous and/or inattentive motorists. "But I'm pleased that we're making a dent."
MacGregor was similarly pleased to announce that his department's efforts to secure a traffic safety grant, a project that was still in its conceptual stages at the committee's September 2001 meeting, had jumped another hurdle. Teresa Becher, interim director for Sacramento's Office of Traffic Safety, allowed that the Highway 33 Corridor Safety Project had merit and, having been selected from a "huge pool" of applications, would be included in her office's upcoming review process.
Because grant funding is awarded on a competitive basis, OTS encourages concepts that demonstrate a "comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach" to addressing traffic safety, as well as those demonstrating an applicant's ability to work with "community-based organizations" - such as the Highway 33 Improvement Committee.
As MacGregor explained, an OTS grant, should one be awarded, will help his department fund new traffic safety measures (developed in collaboration with the committee) and assure the continued implementation of several currently in use; namely, community education and outreach; additional enforcement; and "state-of-the-art" equipment, like radar trailers. "We're happy to have gotten to the second tier," he said.
OTS plans on making grant funding available to successful applicants on Oct. 1, 2002, the beginning of its 2003 federal fiscal year. The next committee meeting is scheduled for May 8, location to be announced.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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