Sleepless or Sweep-Less in One Ventura Neighborhood

Dear Street Smart:

My question is not about traffic, but it is about streets. I am wondering why the street cleaner needs to be cleaning at a very early hour in the morning.

Every Wednesday morning, the big, noisy machine with the flashing lights on top comes around to clean our street, at what I think is too early a time. The last two weeks, they came at 4:48 and 5:15 a.m.

I called the city and talked with a very nice man, who said he would talk to the driver. But that was more than a month ago and nothing has changed.

If there is some reason why this job needs to be done at such an early hour, I would be interested in knowing about it. It seems like the job would be more difficult that early because there are more cars parked on the street at that time.

I know this is a small matter, but I think that common courtesy to residents by the city should include keeping loud machines off the streets until at least 6 a.m.

Cathy Schwemm

Ventura

Dear Reader:

Maintenance officials in Ventura have heard this complaint from your neighbors before.

But because you live close to two hospitals and a major commercial district, there is no real alternative, according to Lyle Swaney, who supervises street maintenance in Ventura.

“When the hospitals start staffing up for their daily operations, which is about 6 a.m., the employees start parking along the streets,” Swaney said. “Once they start parking, there’s no sense in sweeping.”

The city maintains a fleet of three street-sweepers to sanitize more than 600 miles of city roads, Swaney said. Each street is cleaned at least once every two weeks, with certain areas, such as the downtown shopping district, being swept more often.

“We try to be as courteous as we can,” said Swaney, who said his sweepers are kept constantly busy. “We sweep about 35,000 curb-miles a year.”

Dear Street Smart:

This is concerning the retrofitting work that is ongoing at the junction of the Ventura and Moorpark freeways. The onramp at Rancho Road that goes onto the Ventura Freeway heading south has been closed for months.

The work crews are working on every part of the road except that section, which is basically the only part of the job that calls for a road closure. This leaves the motorists no other choice but to use the ramps at Moorpark and Hampshire roads, which are already overcrowded.

Tom Hollow

Newbury Park

Dear Reader:

Although you and hundreds of others have been inconvenienced for several months, state Department of Transportation officials say the ramp onto the freeway will be reopened by the time you read this.

“They’ll occasionally close it to do work on the ramp itself,” Caltrans engineer Alan Davis said last week. “But Rancho Road should be open within a couple of days.”

Davis said workers retrofitting that section of the Ventura Freeway were forced to remove about 50 feet of the ramp to get access to the footing that needed to be retrofitted, causing the lengthy timetable in improving the ramp.

The entire retrofitting project, including the Ventura Freeway interchanges at Borchard Road and Wendy Drive, are scheduled to be completed by mid-June.

Dear Street Smart:

Please give special thanks to all concerned for cutting the red tape that hampered smoothing over of the railroad crossings along Pleasant Valley Road and getting the project done.

I have written several letters to you concerning the railroad crossing on Pleasant Valley Road at 5th Street near Wood Road, and greatly appreciate the efforts of all involved in accomplishing this fine repair.

I sincerely appreciate your efforts in researching and publishing the status along the way in getting this much-needed project completed.

Wendell E. Steiner

Camarillo

Dear Reader:

You have Southern Pacific Railroad to thank for the work. After months of prodding by county transportation officials, the railroad evened out the roadway to remove the bump when crossing the tracks.

Write to Street Smart, The Times Ventura County Edition, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. You may enclose a simple sketch if it will help Street Smart understand your traffic questions. Or call our Sound Off Line, 653-7546. Whether writing or calling, include your full name, address, and day and evening phone numbers. No anonymous queries will be accepted, and letters are subject to editing.