Heschel required to fix existing traffic woes





I read with interest the open letter from the Old Agoura Homeowners Association (OAHA) regarding the plans for the Heschel School. As an architect and a member of the Heschel school family, I have followed the project with interest and could not recognize the project described in the OAHA letter.


As a resident of Westlake Village, traffic has been a concern of mine as well. I note with dismay that the OAHA letter pulls a factoid (2,600 trips per day) out of context to create a distorted picture of the traffic impacts caused by the Heschel School project. Even a cursory reading of the traffic analysis in the Heschel environmental impact report (EIR) shows several things to be true:


Traffic at the Chesebro ramp and westbound 101 freeway at Palo Comado will flow a lot better with the Heschel project than it does now because Heschel will be required to improve the intersection prior to the school opening.


In the evening, when the most severe congestion occurs, the Old Agoura community gets a free ride on the backs of the Heschel parents because there is almost no school traffic at that time and the roadway improvements are there 24 hours a day.


Since the Heschel School is serving this community and our children, these kids and their parents are our neighbors and travel our local streets, so I would argue there is little "new" traffic in any case.


Thirty-six other proposed and approved projects are listed in the EIR as well. These projects will overwhelm the Chesebro, Canwood and Palo Comado intersections next to Heschel School. If Heschel is not approved with the attendant roadway improvements, it is likely traffic congestion will get a lot worse before it gets better.


In their zeal to oppose a vitally needed educational resource for the community, OASHA has stooped to spin tactics instead of proposing real solutions that may make this vital community project even better. While I encourage everyone to read the EIR for themselves, it is too bad the community can’t rely on the OAHA to provide area residents with unbiased information and analysis. Our children need the quality education and cultural values provided by the Heschel curriculum. We should not lose this opportunity because we were misinformed.


Ken Ungar


Westlake Village



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