240 FIXES FOR 101 IMPROVEMENT IDEAS DRAFTED BY RESIDENTS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Six months after killing a controversial plan to widen the Ventura Freeway, residents have drafted a list of 240 smaller projects they'd be willing to accept to alleviate congestion and get traffic moving on the 101.

Their list includes the kinds of common-sense solutions any commuter would recognize, such as widening access ramps and retiming ramp meters. There's no guaranteed funding for the projects - especially because of the state budget crisis - but supporters say they'll at least have a plan backed by residents once money again becomes available.

``The very best engineers are those who live in the neighborhood and are affected by the freeway,'' said Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose office has co-chaired the task force overseeing the work, along with the city Department of Transportation and Caltrans.

``I want to push for the proper improvements to the 101 that can be made in our lifetime,'' LaBonge said. ``People's quality of life is severely impacted by the freeway, which could be corrected with modifications ... rather than multilane it or double-decking it.''

Even indefatigable opponents of freeway expansion believe the suggestions are the kind residents will be able to live with.

``A lot of them make a lot of sense,'' said Homeowners of Encino President Gerald Silver.

The residents' meetings grew from Caltrans' failed attempt to win community support earlier this year for its $3.4 billion proposal to condemn up to 1,000 properties flanking the Ventura Freeway to add two lanes.

Residents uniformly rejected that idea - and most politicians followed suit - leaving the project committee to salvage what it could in the smaller improvements that got little attention.

LaBonge's office seized the effort, winning $50,000 from the City Council to form grass-roots committees to recommend what commuters wanted and residents could live with.

``What we've been doing is developing a general consensus on the nature of the improvements,'' said Brad Rosenheim, a Valley Industry and Commerce Association representative to the 101 committee that's been looking at the area between the San Diego Freeway and the Los Angeles-Ventura County line.

``There may be individuals or folks out in the community who may find something objectionable - I can't imagine everybody will be happy with everything. What's been developed is a general consensus and a course of action.''

Some projects have already sparked opposition. Some residents are worried, for example, that closing the Haskell Avenue exit would push traffic to Hayvenhurst Avenue.

Each committee - about 50 residents in all - has tackled one geographic area along the freeway: downtown to Cahuenga Boulevard; Cahuenga to the 405; and 405 to the county line.

Improvements range in cost from under $1 million to more than $10 million, taking from two to 10-plus years to build.

``Some of them are no-brainers - a signaling issue at an off-ramp, a striping change - we can address those right away,'' said LaBonge's transportation deputy Ana Munsell. ``The bigger projects - if we change a ramp - we need to look at the impacts.''

The combined list of 240 projects is now being circulated through Neighborhood Councils and community groups, who will set their priorities.

The final version is expected to be submitted next month to the Southern California Association of Governments for inclusion in the region's blueprint for transportation planning and funding.

The residents' work also comes as SCAG has revived the 101 Freeway expansion plan as part of its long-range efforts. SCAG is holding a community meeting on that at 6 p.m. today in the community room of the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

Some residents, like Silver, see their work as a chance to fend off SCAG's long-term vision by getting the freeway running more effectively.

``That's one of the (reasons) behind the support of a lot of these communities,'' Silver said.. ``The more of these short term (projects) they can put in, that are doable in a reasonable length of time, the better. It takes the teeth out of the widening effort.''

But others on the 101 committees see their efforts as short-term improvements that will help - but not necessarily for handling the crush of commuters expected in coming years, when today's eight hours of rush-hour style congestion is expected to stretch to 14 hours.

``You're looking at what we have today and making it as effective as possible, and what SCAG is looking at is accommodating the projected growth along the corridor,'' said VICA's Rosenheim.

``If the goal is to smooth what you've got, probably this is the best you can get. If your goal is to increase capacity, this isn't going do that.

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

PROPOSED PROJECTS

Here is a sampling of some of the 240 proposed projects drawn up by residents' committees for improving the Ventura Freeway corridor. They hope to prioritize the projects next month and start working on funding.

--Continue rebuilding 101-405 interchange.

--Reconfigure access ramps at Fallbrook Avenue and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Build ramps at Canoga Avenue.

--Widen the ramps at Van Nuys Boulevard.

--Improve metering on Coldwater Canyon Boulevard ramps.

--Elevate Burbank Boulevard through the flood control basin.

--Build direct exits to the Hollywood Bowl.

--Erect barriers to prevent motorists from changing lanes when making the transition from the northbound 405 to the westbound 101.

--Create reversible lanes on some major arterials.

--Provide more buses on the 405 and surface streets.

--Widen portions of Victory and Burbank boulevards and Magnolia and Canoga avenues.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

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Traffic backs up at the Woodman Avenue on-ramp to westbound Highway 101. Resident committees have come up with suggestions to alleviate commuter congestion.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

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PROPOSED PROJECTS (see text)