COUNTY OKS NOISE STUDY FOR FREEWAY : SOUND-WALL SEEKERS PLEASED.

Byline: Ann-Marie Sanchez Daily News Staff Writer

Residents battling to have sound walls erected along the Ronald Reagan Freeway have been notified that the Ventura County Transportation Commission will conduct a study to determine how many homes are affected by traffic noise and how much it would cost to build sound walls.

The study will include homes on both sides of the freeway between First Street and Kuehner Drive. The study should be completed within 90 days, transportation officials said.

Dave Timms, who has been active in a grass-roots effort to get the walls built, said the news was sweet after dozens of meetings with city and transportation officials over the last year.

``Now the focus is on getting the study accomplished to come up with some real numbers,'' Timms said Thursday. ``I'm pleased it's moving along . . . the city and state are now starting to take a pro-active approach in making this happen.''

City officials said the county agency will offer its services free of charge and give residents a clearer understanding of which homes are most affected by traffic noise.

``It's called cooperation amongst the agencies,'' said Councilwoman Barbara Williamson, who has been working with residents to find a solution. ``We've come through to help these people and we have a responsibility to try to help them. This is serious for them.''

Timms and others living close to the freeway complain that the noise from 18-wheelers and other vehicles has become unbearable, making sleeping and often phone conversations nearly impossible.

Paving over uneven gaps on the freeway in early October has helped soothe some nerves, but Timms said the walls are the only long-term solution for peaceful living.

``We simply need to have something done in the next couple of years,'' said Timms.

Chris Stephens, manager of planning and higher programming for the county transportation agency, said he will use software technology developed by the Federal Highway Administration to pinpoint where traffic noise is the worst, in what is commonly known as a ``noise model.''

``It should give them a rough idea of the magnitude of the problem,'' said Stephens, who is working on the study. ``We'll also be able to estimate what it would cost so the city and folks in Simi have an idea of how many households to assess a portion of the costs to.''

Residents originally asked Caltrans for funding to build the walls, but their battle ended in Sacramento, where attorneys working for the state advised that the state was not required to provide a buffer for freeway noise in Simi Valley.

City officials and state Sen. Cathie Wright's office stepped in as a liaison between the residents and Caltrans and say their efforts are proving fruitful in the battle for peace and quiet.

``The basic idea is to gather solid information that we can provide to residents so they can make up their own minds,'' said Dave Butler, Wright's field representative.