Shore has even charted the minimum median widths for u-turn and other maneuvers based on calculations by a National Cooperative Highway Research Program published by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies.Shore and others have said that installation of a median barrier will necessitate U-turn maneuvers.Mary and Mike Shore along with five other property owners farm collectively more than 1,000 acres of citrus and avocados that use Timber Canyon Road access.The idea for the median got its start in March 2007 when the City Council approved – over the objections of Ginger Gherardi, the then Executive Director of Ventura County Transportation – to send a letter to state elected officials and the Caltrans District 7 Director urging the construction of a center divider barrier on Highway 126.The Council, led by Bob Gonzales who made the motion and Ralph Fernandez who seconded it, also asked that the Fillmore Council and Supervisor Kathy Long also sign the letter.The motion passed with full Council support.In January a community meeting was held that drew more than 100 attendees all for the most part opposed to the barrier.Caltrans had rejected such a barrier – now with an estimated price tag of $19.1 million and a 2010 installation date - as unnecessary in 1995.At the January meeting Shore had questioned why the speed limit on the highway was raised from 55 mph to 60 and said it should be lowered, as “the greater the speed limit, the greater the injuries.”
Highway 126 travelers to slow down with lowered speed rate
May 28, 2008
Santa Paula News
Travelers on Highway 126 will have to get used to change and slow down after Caltrans lowered the speed limit to 55 mph on the stretch linking Santa Paula and Fillmore.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesTravelers on Highway 126 will have to get used to change and slow down after Caltrans lowered the speed limit to 55 mph on the stretch linking Santa Paula and Fillmore.The move to lower the speed to what it had been in the past was taken by Caltrans after area residents objected strenuously to higher speeds that they say contributed to crashes that helped earned that portion of the highway the nickname Blood Alley.The new signs went up in recent weeks on the 6.7-mile stretch of highway between Hallock Drive to just west of E/Levee Drive in Fillmore.The lower speed limit did not take effect until all the signs were placed.The step is welcome said rancher Mary Shore whose Timber Canyon Ranch and home are along the highway.“Caltrans has installed guardrails and reflectors on some portions of the highway,” she noted, “I appreciate their efforts in making safety a priority.”Highway residents and businesses remain leery of a Caltrans’ plan to construct a concrete barrier along the same stretch noting that the agri-businesses can utilize semi-trucks up to 70 feet long, which require plenty of space for entering and turning off the highway.Shore has been very active in the proposed action by Caltrans to place the barrier between the east and westbound traffic lanes on the four-lane highway.
