Plans for traffic circle put into motion





EXPLANATION—Calabasas City Councilmember Fred Gaines discusses the proposed traffic roundabout with concerned residents.

EXPLANATION—Calabasas City Councilmember Fred Gaines discusses the proposed traffic roundabout with concerned residents.

Calabasas residents and city officials come at you from different directions when they discuss the proposed traffic roundabout at Las Virgenes Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Calabasas has installed traffic circles at other locations in the city to slow traffic and reduce the potential for collisions. The roundabouts also improve landscaping and aesthetics, officials say.

But while traffic circles work well in Europe where drivers are accustomed to them, they haven’t been as successful in America where drivers aren’t used to navigating them.

About 30 people attended a workshop at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center on Malibu Hills Road last week to get information and provide feedback on the city’s plans to improve traffic conditions at the Las Virgenes-T.O. junction with a roundabout.

“Your input is vital,” Peter Valk, traffic and transportation commissioner, told attendees.

The intersection is a major gateway to several neighborhoods in the vicinity of Lupin Hill Elementary School north of the 101 Freeway.

And when new retail development is completed at the northwest corner of T.O. Boulevard and Las Virgenes Road, an existing four-way stop will no longer adequately control traffic, city representatives said.

Construction of the neighborhood shopping and office center started last December.

The project was approved by the county in 1995 as part of the 110 Mont Calabasas residential development. The city annexed Mont Calabasas and the adjoining 5.2-acre commercial lot in 2011.

The shopping center will have 35,000 square feet of office space and 25,800 square feet of retail space, consisting of mom-and-pop shops. It will generate over 400 car trips per day.

During the workshop March 24, representatives of the city and the traffic and transportation commission introduced two options to improve traffic flow at the junction, a roundabout or traffic signals.

The roundabout would be similar to an existing one at Parkway Calabasas and Camino Portal.

Traffic backups at the Las Virgenes-T.O. intersection only occur during peak school hours, officials said. But with the addition of the shopping center, the four-way-stop design will no longer suffice to address the congestion.

City Engineer Robert Yalda said the objective of the workshop was to hear from residents regarding ways to reduce the impact of school and retail traffic at the intersection.

Before the presentation began, several people objected to the roundabout, saying that type of design has failed to meet the mark elsewhere in the city.

“There is no room for a roundabout,” Mary Ann Warden said, adding that the city is allowing too much development in that part of town.

“If there is a fire in that neighborhood, there is going to be all kinds of craziness from those apartment buildings and those condominiums that are already there,” she said.

“For me, it’s a disaster waiting to happen,” another speaker said.

But city representatives said the roundabouts have worked well on Parkway Calabasas and in other residential areas.

Yalda said the city has not yet decided what it will do.

“I’m not here to sell anything. Yelling and screaming is not going to get the job done. . . . Nothing is decided yet. I’m here to get your input, but give us a chance,” he said.

Bob Ferber, a retired prosecutor who lives on Parkmor Road, said the city neglected to take pedestrians into consideration.

“Families and mothers with baby carriages cross that intersection. But there is nothing in your presentation about that,” Ferber said. “It seems it’s a trend in the city of ignoring pedestrians.”

He suggested that traffic lights would be safer for cyclists and people on foot.

Another speaker urged the city to reduce the speed limit on Las Virgenes Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard. He said the current 45 miles per hour limit is too high for the two thoroughfares that are right next to the homes.

Yalda said the city does not set the speed limit. Regarding emergencies, he said authorities already have an action plan in place to evacuate residents in case of a fire or other disaster.

He urged residents to share their ideas to help the city improve traffic flow at the intersection.

Statistics show that roundabouts reduce delays by 70 percent during peak hours. Also, in addition to decreasing accidents and congestion, a roundabout is the best alternative to reduce speed, which lowers the intensity of impacts in the event of crashes.

The developer of the shopping center at Las Virgenes Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard paid $50,000 in traffic mitigation fees for the intersection. The roundabout or traffic lights would cost about $250,000. But signals require electricity and maintenance that is more costly, Yalda said. The developer fee was set a long time ago when construction costs were much lower, he said.

At the end of the presentation, attendees looked at displays and talked to city representatives to get more details about the various options available at the intersection.

Seventeen people favored roundabouts, and six preferred a signalized intersection. Three wanted to keep the intersection the same.


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