Cold Shoulder

SOMIS —  It is among Ventura County’s most dangerous roadways and one of only two routes that give west county commuters a straight shot to Los Angeles.

But plans to widen a 16-mile section of California 118 between Moorpark and Somis have angered many area residents who believe it would lead to irretrievable loss of farming in the picturesque Las Posas Valley.

“I’ve got no problem with Caltrans wanting to make the road safer,” said Pat Arkin, a member of Save Our Somis, which is petitioning county leaders to put the brakes on the project. “But what they want to do is going way over the top and in my opinion will only work to the advantage of people who want to pave over the Las Posas Valley.”

While understanding the busy thoroughfare needs to be safer for the thousands of cars and trucks that travel the road daily, SOS members believe a more balanced and scaled-back plan must be devised to preserve the valley’s bucolic ambience.

“They’re considering destroying this area because traffic backs up two times a day,” said Barbara Kerkhoff, another member of Save Our Somis. “It almost appears as if Caltrans and the county Transportation Commission haven’t considered what this means to the area and what it will do.”

Although there are no plans to widen California 34, opponents fear a project eventually will be approved that would destroy Somis.

They would prefer Caltrans use the money to make improvements to the Ventura Freeway and California 23 to accommodate increased traffic.

For California 118, they would prefer more traffic-control measures such as stoplights and passing lanes.

They also contend the California Department of Transportation is using inappropriate funding for the project and is seeking to skirt state and federal environmental laws that would require them to conduct impact studies.

Caltrans officials have denied those claims, saying their initial projects are aimed only at improving highway safety and that the necessary environmental impact studies will be conducted before the thoroughfare is widened.

Caltrans to Break Ground on 2 Projects

“The effort here isn’t to get around any laws and I think people misunderstand what these projects are about,” said Kirk Cessna, area manager for Caltrans in Ventura County. “They [projects] are not going to increase capacity on the road. They are more localized and are related to increasing safety and operation.”

Tentatively scheduled to begin work in the summer of 2001, Caltrans will break ground on two projects aimed at making California 118 a safer and a more efficient means of travel.

Caltrans planners are still working to refine the improvement plans. Initial plans, however, call for making safety and operational improvements to two sections of the roadway.

At a cost of about $3.1 million, road crews will begin widening a stretch of the highway around Somis and Donlon roads from two to five lanes. Three lanes will serve westbound traffic, with the other two lanes feeding traffic east.

Plans also call for a traffic signal to be placed at the intersection of Donlon Road and California 118, and the highway configuration to be reworked to include two left-turn lanes feeding Somis Road.

There are now no turn lanes on the highway, which leads to massive backups when one vehicle has stopped to make the turn.

The second project calls for widening and straightening the notorious Mesa School S-curve, situated midway between Somis and Saticoy.

At a cost of more than $5.2 million, Caltrans plans to add a lane in each direction with a 12-foot median and wider shoulders.

Caltrans is in negotiations with the Mesa Union School District to obtain a two-acre parcel from the elementary school to complete the project.

If a deal is reached, the school would most likely get another parcel of equal size either from Caltrans or paid for by the agency.

“Highway 118 has a higher accident rate than it should have; in fact, it’s higher than the state average,” said Chris Stephens, director of planning and highway development at the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

“Even though we aren’t the ones administering these projects, they are going to improve safety and the operation of the road.”

20 Deaths on Roadway Between 1990 and 1997

What started out more than a century ago as a narrow dusty path that led stagecoaches through the county--and later evolved into a country road--has grown to become an important connector for residents of Moorpark and Simi Valley who commute to jobs in the west county.

And as the number of cars using the road increased, so have the accidents.

According to statistics from the California Highway Patrol, between 1990 and 1997 there were 698 accidents along California 118, resulting in 443 injuries and 20 deaths.

“It’s a dangerous road, no doubt about it,” CHP Officer Dave Cockrill said. “We’re certainly not going to oppose these projects because they’re going to help traffic and potentially save lives.”

While some area residents have been vocal in their criticism of the proposed Caltrans projects, they say it’s an issue that goes far beyond whether California 118 should be transformed into a regional artery.

They say it’s a question that could determine how Ventura County develops in the next century.

“We’re very fortunate to live in an area where agriculture is so alive and vibrant,” said Arkin, the Save Our Somis member. “But it’s these kinds of projects that are a dead serious threat to the Las Posas Valley and the county as a whole.”

Although no timetable has been set, the Transportation Commission approved plans about a decade ago to widen the entire length of the highway between Moorpark and Somis from two to four lanes.

Although the $87-million project isn’t scheduled to begin until 2008, it has raised fears among Las Posas Valley residents that the acres of verdant row crops and orchards may one day yield to tract homes and strip malls.

“It’s common knowledge that widening a road to a major highway is inherently growth-inducing,” Arkin said. “And right now the county doesn’t have a system that can be counted on to protect the Las Posas Valley.”

Although farmland preservation has become a familiar refrain in Ventura County, there are a number of people, farmers included, who disagree with project opponents.

Problems Faced by Growers in Valley

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said the assumption that agricultural land will be swallowed by developers ignores a number of important factors that prompt farmers to tack For Sale signs on their property.

“I don’t know if that’s really a realistic way of looking at the situation. . . . There’s certainly a lack of evidence to suggest that,” he said. “Development typically occurs when people have not had access to the area and that’s not the case here.”

He said it’s the uncertain economics of agriculture that sometimes put farmers in a pinch to sell their land for development.

But with agriculture being such an important and lucrative sector of the county’s economy, most farmers are not expected to put their properties on the market soon, he said.

“In fact, there are some Las Posas Valley farmers who have gotten out of the industry because of problems they had with the road,” Laird said. “And if it’s improved and widened it could be better for growers in the area.”

Samuel McIntyre, president of Somis Pacific Ag Management Inc., agreed, saying one of the primary problems growers face in Las Posas Valley is inadequate infrastructure.

“I respect what [Save Our Somis] is trying to do, but saying it’s to preserve agriculture is insulting,” he said. “As a farmer, I need to move my produce to make a living and it’s a little hard to do that on” California 118.

Area farmer Craig Underwood, however, shares the reservations of project opponents, saying increased development is generally the rule when a major highway is constructed rather than the exception.

“I’m just looking at history,” he said. “Highway improvements do tend to encourage more development and they don’t always help traffic problems.”

Although members of Save Our Somis concede they may lose the battle to scale back the highway’s improvement plans, they add it’s important for residents of the county to understand how infrastructure improvements such as those planned for California 118 will dictate area development.

“I know it kind of sounds like a NIMBY thing, but these projects don’t come without a pretty heavy price and the question is where you impose that price,” Arkin said. “And the county is at a juncture where the stakes are very high and if we keep doing business as usual, Ventura County is going to be the one to lose.”