It is ironic and
fundamentally unfair that the Department of
Transportation is pursuing plans to restrict
traffic flow on public roads. Since drivers'
gasoline tax monies fund these roads, all drivers
should be able to use them. Our transportation
funds are supposed to be used to improve traffic
flow, not to harm it.
The people of
Encino have legitimate concerns about safety on
Encino's roads, but the proposed traffic-calming
scheme is a nonsolution. The only reason for
commuters to cut through residential Encino in
the first place is to avoid the severe traffic
congestion on the Ventura Freeway and Ventura
Boulevard. We cannot just add extra stoplights,
tinker with their timing, prohibit turning into
neighborhoods, and expect this problem to
disappear. If there is a problem with traffic
flow on the main roads, then the main roads need
to be fixed or supplemented with new ones. At
this point, the Ventura Freeway and Ventura
Boulevard are so overburdened that it is time to
build a new highway to supplement them.
