FIXING 101 GRIDLOCK PANEL TO EXAMINE RELIEF FOR VENTURA FREEWAY.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

A regional steering committee faces critical decisions this week on how to relieve congestion on the gridlocked Ventura Freeway - from dreamy proposals to double-deck it from Thousand Oaks to downtown, to mundane ones such as adding exit lanes at some off-ramps.

In all, the committee made up of officials of Caltrans and local and county governments along the 101 Corridor have come up with 12 possible scenarios - most of them costly, like double-decking and an elevated train - that will be narrowed to two or three on Wednesday for debate at public hearings in coming months.

Armed with $4.5 million in local and state startup money, the officials say this study is not just another round of paper shuffling but the launch of a process that will lead to projects costing billions of dollars over the next two decades.

``One of the main goals of the study is recognizing we can't just build our way out,'' said Linda Taira, project manager at Caltrans. ``We have to have greater vision and look at everything that will provide the mobility.

``I think the political will is there because everybody is so frustrated. ... It's just something that seems to be a high priority to everyone.''

Daily News articles on gridlock at the 101-405 stirred a debate five years ago that has moved to local, state and federal officials to begin a series of studies and freeway improvements now under way.

The steering committee, which grew out of a transportation summit of officials in the Las Virgenes-Malibu area two years ago, is by far the most ambitious effort to solve congestion problems along the 101 Corridor.

Pressure for improvements has grown rapidly in communities west of the San Fernando Valley.

Those small cities have grown rapidly, and with the boom has come congestion in both directions on the Ventura Freeway, where the freeway handles 172 percent of its capacity as it runs through Agoura Hills and Calabasas.

Bold vision

Five of these cities chipped in $1 million for the study through the Las Virgenes Malibu Council of Governments, and some officials are pressing for nothing short of bold vision for the future freeway.

``Adding a lane or two to this freeway isn't going to solve the problem,'' said Agoura Hills City Councilman Jeff Reinhardt, who helped lead the charge for the three-year study now under way.

``It can buy us some time, but really the long-haul solution is really to increase the capacity of this corridor.''

The attitude of leaders in the western suburbs meets stiff resistance from local groups on the Valley floor. They see nothing but the same recycled ideas that would force them to stomach lower property values, endure years of construction and end up with more concrete and noise.

Homeowners of Encino President Gerald Silver, who helped form the Coalition of Freeway Residents more than a decade ago, said he doesn't like plans to double-deck the freeway anymore today than he used to.

``They want to be able to zip through the Valley and bypass all of the traffic to get to downtown L.A.,'' Silver said. ``This has significant benefit for ... beyond the West Valley. This would create a huge burden on the people in the Valley.''

Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Association who attended one of the first meetings in March when plans were presented, added: ``Our position's always been, if it's not going to be done right, don't do it.''

Like Caltrans, Reinhardt sees widening the freeway as costly and time- consuming because of the large amount of real estate that would need to be scooped up.

Popular options

Building up emerges as the most likely option - either with an elevated train, busway or combination with car-pool lanes through the Valley and, in some scenarios, continuing downtown, he said.

``Mobility is such an important part of everything else we do here in Southern California - earning a living, so much of our quality of life depends on our ability to move about,'' Reinhardt said.

``Is this an instance where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?''

The Ventura Freeway has gotten few improvements since its 40 miles were built a half-century ago - the biggest change was an additional lane built more than a decade ago.

In the meantime, entire cities have come to life - Calabasas, Hidden Hills and eastern Ventura County's population have soared.

The segment from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to the Hollywood Freeway through the Valley that carried 280,000 daily vehicles in 1998 is expected to see 360,000 by 2025, officials said.

``Just to maintain how bad it is right now, how miserable the congestion is, by the year 2020 we'd have to add two to three lanes of freeway in each direction,'' said Caltrans' Taira. ``It doesn't work to have one person in every single car as we grow. Well, you've seen it, it's gridlock.''

Ten of Caltrans' 12 options call for new construction plans while two are no-build strategies.

The study's steering committee - made up of representatives from area cities, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles County and Caltrans - will meet Wednesday at 10 a.m. at MTA headquarters downtown, but there will be no public comment period.

Those remaining choices will then be presented to community groups at meetings being planned for August.

The no-build options include such projects as rapid buses, more parking at major transit hubs and expanded freeway ramps.

Among the other options are adding car-pool lanes or elevated lanes for car pools, buses and other high-occupancy vehicles, an elevated or ground-level train from Thousand Oaks to the Red Line's Universal Station or busways to the western suburbs.

Range of fixes

Virtually all of the options would also include a wide range of improvements for arterial streets - such as increasing MTA's bus fleet, building more parking at the North Hollywood and Universal Red Line stations, bringing a rapid bus from Sylmar to Ventura Boulevard, better timing of traffic lights.

They would also include other freeway improvements - additional exit lanes at 10 ramps off the Ventura Freeway through the Valley to help prevent backups, including at Laurel Canyon, Van Nuys and Sepulveda boulevards, among others; improved auxiliary lanes across the Valley floor.

Some strategies also mention the possibility of other long-sought projects - such as building the missing connectors between some freeways, like the 134/170 interchange, for example.

In Ventura County, the options would all also include widening the Moorpark Freeway from four to six lanes between the 101 and the Ronald Reagan Freeway.

Also, the proposals for the trains or buslines contain more than a dozen stations between Thousand Oaks and the Valley, with park-and-ride facilities along the way and a railyard to house the train cars.

``We're still piling through all the information. We're just not there yet,'' said steering committee chairwoman Laurie Newman, a senior deputy to state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-West Los Angeles.

``It's such a variety of things, some people want a double-decking, some people didn't. There's a lot of interest in transit solutions. People realize there's only so much you can do to the main line of the freeway. There was a lot of interest in doing something.''

The Las Virgenes Malibu Council of Governments is slated to vote its position at a meeting on Tuesday, a representative said.

A steering committee member for Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy believes it's too soon to say which options will stay or go.

``I think people are really wanting to make sure the public gets its input,'' said Samantha Bricker, transportation deputy for the supervisor. ``At this point I think no one has a real preference.''

Estimates are that the proposals would cost billions of dollars - some would require several billions - funding which would have to be sought with broad congressional and local political support from throughout the region.

Reinhardt says it's time to redo the region's transportation priorities to get the 101 on the list.

``You look at poor old 101 and literally nothing has been done since it was spawned off the drawing board in the 1950s,'' he said. ``Here's a chance to not only catch up with demand that's out there and project ahead.

``If there's resolve within the community, it's possible to get the project in the hopper and started in 10 years.''

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The 101 Freeway Corridor Improvement Study, designed to speed traffic between Thousand Oaks and downtown, includes the following 12 options:

--Use existing plans for car-pool lanes on the San Diego Freeway; widen the Moorpark Freeway in Ventura County; and improve the Kanan Road interchange on the Ventura Freeway. Also, utilize more buses and create more rapid bus lines, including a north-south route from Sylmar to Ventura Boulevard and the East-West Busway from Warner Center to the North Hollywood Red Line Station.

--Utilize more buses and rapid bus lines and the East-West Busway. Add exit lanes at 10 off-ramps along the Ventura Freeway. Improve eastbound and westbound auxiliary lanes through the Valley. Improve traffic signals. Support ride-share programs. (These elements also would be included in each of the options listed below.)

--Improve bus and rail lines, with few highway improvements. Consider improvements to local arterial streets.

--Add one traffic lane in each direction where the Ventura Freeway is now four lanes.

--Add one car pool in each direction along the Ventura Freeway from Thousand Oaks to just north of the Harbor Freeway.

--Add a traffic lane in each direction where the Ventura Freeway is now four lanes, and one car-pool or HOV lane in each direction from Thousand Oaks to just north of the Harbor Freeway.

--Add two elevated car-pool lanes in each direction along the Ventura Freeway, from Thousand Oaks to just north of the Harbor Freeway.

--Create a busway between Warner Center and Thousand Oaks within the Ventura Freeway right of way.

--Create an elevated busway between Warner Center and Thousand Oaks.

--Build a train within the Ventura Freeway right of way from Thousand Oaks to Universal City Red Line Station. The route would have 18 possible stops, along with park-and-ride lots and a new rail yard.

--Build an elevated train within the Ventura Freeway right of way from Thousand Oaks to Universal City Red Line Station. The route would have 18 possible stops, along with park-and-ride lots and a new rail yard.

--Build an elevated train, plus one car-pool lane in each direction, from Thousand Oaks to Universal City Red Line Station. The route would have 18 possible stops, park-and-ride lots and a new rail yard.

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes

Box:

(1) POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS (see text)

(2) PROPOSED VENTURA FREEWAY TRAFFIC FLOW IMPROVEMENTS

Warren Huskey/Staff Artist

SOURCE: US 101 Freeway Corridor Improvement Study