City Officials Respond to Resident's Concern About Park Sorrento Improvement Project Road Safety

Calabasas resident Lyn Benson Kabakoff is concerned about safety issues involving the construction and completion of the Park Sorrento improvement project and recently wrote a letter to Calabasas Patch as well as to the members of the Calabasas City Council.

"Is anyone else disturbed with the construction on Park Sorrento which is supposed to slow traffic down? I am a homeowner and I believe it is an accident waiting to happen," she wrote.

In response to her concerns, Mayor Fred Gaines forwarded her letter to Robert Yalda, director of public works, who consulted a project engineer in order to respond to her questions.

The Park Sorrento Traffic Circles and Landscaping Improvements project was presented twice to the public, first at the April Traffic and Transportation meeting and, secondly, at the May 22nd City Council meeting when it was approved, said Yalda.  

"The project was recommended by the Calabasas Park Homeowners Association in a letter to the City that outlined their approved traffic mitigation and beautification projects throughout their immediate community," he said. 

A major issue for the the project go-ahead was in response to drivers exceeding the speeding limit in the area.

"Complaints of speeding in this neighborhood have risen significantly in recent years," Yalda said. "In addition, a recent study of accidents on Park Sorrento identified that 42 percent of all accidents were speed-related. For these reasons, Staff investigated different traffic calming improvements to be implemented in the area."

The roundabout portion of the road cuts off the handicapped portion of the sidewalk, Kabakoff wrote.

"I already saw a jogger and a child almost hit in less than an hour," she wrote.

There will be room between the splitter island and the travel lanes for pedestrians to safely cross the cul-de-sac streets, according to Yalda. In addition, the path will be identified with "breakings with the traffic striping," he said.

Kabakoff wanted to know why the city approved three roundabouts "right on top of each other."  

"Wouldn’t it have been more beneficial if they were evenly spaced or why put them in at all?," she wrote.

Three roundabouts in succession have a higher rate to slow motorists to the legal speed limit than a single one, Yalda said. In addition, traffic circles are best placed at intersections where the minor street has minimal traffic volumes, he said. 

Four intersections that match specific criteria are Park Mirasol, Park Olivio, Park Jacaranda and Park Adelfa, he said. Park Mirasol was not chosen because it has significantly more traffic than the other three intersections and would have subsequently created more delay, he said.

"Why didn’t the city just put in stop signs? Wouldn’t that have saved the city and taxpayers a lot of money?," Kabakoff wrote.

According to Yalda, the affected intersections do not meet the state warrants for a stop sign. 

"Additionally, stop signs cause more traffic delay," Yalda said. "Since Park Sorrento carries a significant amount of traffic, traffic circles were a better choice to minimize motorist delay."

Kabakof wondered how larger vehicles, especially emergency vehicles, are going to get through roundabouts without causing some sort of damage.

The traffic circles were designed to accommodate the fire trucks and school buses that presently use the roadway, Yalda said. Neither the fire department nor the school district had objections to the project.

"City staff reviewed several alternatives and determined that the installation of three 12’ diameter landscaped traffic circles on Park Sorrento at the intersections of Park Adelfa, Park Jacaranda and Park Olivo would provide the most effective and safe traffic calming influence without causing drivers with any significant delay," said Yalda.

The safety-inspired speed-reducing effects of roundabouts and landscaped medians result from the following: 

• Landscaped medians narrow the traffic lanes, which has the tendency to reduce driving speed

• Traffic circles force drivers to slow down at intersections so that they can successfully maneuver their vehicle around the traffic circle.

"The lower traffic speed will, subsequently, lessen the frequency of vehicle collisions and improve the overall safety of the neighborhood," Yalda said.

At present, the project is at 60 percent completion.