Help widen Hwy. 118

Save Our Somis continues to claim that widening Highway 118 will bring about the destruction of their town. According to their dogma, Caltrans wants to eliminate Somis and put in a major freeway connection through Highway 34/ Somis Road.

The proposed freeway for the Las Posas Valley has been on the books since the 1950s. It just isn't going to happen in this age of state budget crunches, but that doesn't make any difference to Save Our Somis. They have sued yet again, this time the county of Ventura, to remove any and all language in the General Plan to widen and improve Highway 118.

The planning commission has already folded, and if we remain silent the board of supervisors is going to rubber stamp the commission's latest decision or face having SOS renew their lawsuit.

Because of Save Our Somis, a small clique of less than 50 shortsighted NIMBYs living in the Las Posas Valley, there will be no improvements on Highway 118/Los Angeles Avenue without a costly and unnecessary environmental impact report, let alone the threat of more litigation. We can't even get a traffic signal at the intersection of the 118 and Balcom Canyon Road, where there were a number of devastating accidents last year, without overcoming the road blocks Save Our Somis has put in the way.

What does this mean in the end? Widening the road aside, if SOS goes on unopposed there will be no passing lanes, no slowtraffic turnouts, no deceleration or acceleration lanes, no renovation to inadequate intersections, no improvements whatsoever on this dangerous and overcrowded road because there will be no political will to fix the 118.

If you use Highway 118 between the city of Moorpark and Santa Clara Avenue and care about safety and our economy, then attend the board of supervisor's meeting Tues., May 8 at 1:30 p.m. and support revamping this thoroughfare.

If you can't attend, please, contact your supervisor listed below. It's time we speak up and have our voices heard for once.

District 1 Supervisor Steve Bennett: phone (805) 6542703, email steve.bennett@ventura.org.

District 2 Supervisor Linda Parks: phone (805) 3732564, email linda.parks@ventura.org.

District 3 Supervisor Kathy Long: phone (805) 6542276, email kathy.long@ventura.org.

District 4 Supervisor Peter Foy: phone (805) 582-8010, e-mail supervisor.foy@ventura.org. Debra Tash Somis