SOUND BARRIERS PLANNED ALONG RONALD REAGAN FREEWAY.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - The sacrifice of aesthetics to curb noise pollution is expected to generate raucous rau·cous adj. 1. Rough-sounding and harsh: raucous laughter. 2. Boisterous and disorderly: "the raucous give and take of American democracy" debate when residents convene CONVENE, civil law. This is a technical term, signifying to bring an action. Wednesday for a first-time look at plans for a $35 million expansion of the Ronald Reagan Freeway. The state Department of Transportation plans to install soundwalls along both sides of the 118 Freeway, from Tapo Canyon Road east to the Ventura-Los Angeles County line, and add a lane in each direction in anticipation of traffic nearly doubling by 2002. The soundwalls will be used to comply with state and federal laws that require traffic noise measured at nearby residential areas to be below 67 decibels. But blocking the view of the city's rolling hills Rolling hills are like a mountain chain, only a "hill chain" of hills that roll on and on continually. You will often find them in between plains and mountains, near major rivers, or randomly anywhere. The only places without rolling hills are deserts and flood plains. is expected to anger residents who live away from the freeway. ``We'd love to get rid of the noise,'' said Jayson Wimmer, who lives near the freeway and is chairman of Neighborhood Council No. 3. ``But people who don't live up near the freeway will say, 'You did move into this house knowing the freeway was there.' ``There could be a pretty good conversation of it.'' The two-year project, which entails converting the grassy grass·y adj. grass·i·er, grass·i·est 1. Covered with or abounding in grass. 2. Resembling or suggestive of grass, as in color or odor. Adj. 1. center median to traffic lanes, is expected to begin in the summer of 2003. Plans call for sound barriers ranging from 10 to 14 feet high to be installed along all non-business areas along the six-mile project. A recent Caltrans study showed noise levels of 66 to 72 decibels in back yards adjacent to the freeway. The sound barriers would reduce those levels to 60 to 64, said Ronald Kosinski, a Caltrans chief environmental planner. ``Sixty-seven is not quiet,'' he said. ``You can carry on a conversation at a 67-decibel reading. If you go out there and hear the difference, you'll almost always support the wall. But when we have commercial areas, we don't put up walls. It blocks the visual access, which is why they locate next to the freeways.'' Although Caltrans officials stressed that they want resident input on the project, the noise-reduction laws might limit debate to ensuring that the soundwalls mesh in design with the area's topography. The walls are made of concrete blocks, but residents would determine the walls' architectural design This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. , color and whether they would display a mural mural Painting applied to and made integral with the surface of a wall or ceiling. Its roots can be found in the universal desire that led prehistoric peoples to create cave paintings—the desire to decorate their surroundings and express their ideas and beliefs. . Simi Valley City Councilwoman Barbra Williamson said she would wait until the hearing, scheduled for 6 p.m. in City Hall, before voicing her opinion. ``If you live in Simi Valley, you need to attend this meeting and let your voice be heard,'' she said. ``You can't wait until it's over with and then complain because you didn't like what happened.'' CAPTION(S): map Map: Proposed soundwalls for 118 freeway |
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