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Road communication tops Local Transportation Commission hit list |
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Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
The dust still wasn't settled as far as many were concerned at the Feb. 11 Local Transportation Commission meeting, held to address road closure and communication issues during the last spate of storms that crossed the Eastern Sierra. Mono resident Tim Hansen vocalized his displeasure with the cover story in the Mammoth Times Feb. 7 issue. “No one was killed and no one was hurt and we have to keep in mind that the public agencies have done their best,” Hansen said. In the end he acquiesced, concurring that there is room for improvement regarding communication between the California Highway Partrol (CHP), Mono County Sheriff's Department and Caltrans.
CHP Officer Joe Sobota handed out instructions for getting to the CHP Web site, www.cad.chp.ca.gov, reflecting current road issues and incidents in the Bridgeport, Bishop and Mojave areas. “When the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page opens, it defaults to the Los Angeles area,” Sobota said. “From the 'Area' drop down menu, select 'Bishop.'”
The roads that feed into U.S. 395 are of major concern to the CHP, as many motorists try to use them to get around the road blocks.
“Kids were sent home from school in Crowley Lake and the parents who work in Mammoth were not able to get to them because the road closed,” said Mono County Supervisor Tom Farnetti. “The kids being unsupervised was unacceptable. We need to find a better way to communicate to the residents when these conditions exist.”
“When the roads aren't safe, the CHP and Caltrans make a difficult decision to inconvenience people,” said CalTrans District Director Tom Hallenbeck. “Our main concern is keeping people safe.”
Crowley Lake resident Eric Olson commented on the lack of snow fences along the highway. “Snow drifts are a lot lower when there are snow fences lining the highway,” Olson said. “It might make U.S. 395 safer to install snow fences along those areas where drifts are a problem.”
Mammoth Lakes business owner Kathy Cage had several comments, including questioning the age and experience of young CHP troopers and Sheriff's deputies who patrol the roads. “This might be politically incorrect but I'm saying it anyway,” Cage said. She also questioned the process that occurs when closing the roads.
“There are two kinds of road closures: escorts and hard closures,” Sobota said. “If it becomes unsafe for the CHP, then we close the roads. We try to escort people out of the road closures and get them through so no one is stuck on the roads.”
Cage made several suggestions to the LTC Board in the event another snowstorm of similar proportions hits are are including:
— Calling Rick at Vons to warn him so they can stock up
— Calling the gas stations so they can order extra gas
— Updating the weather report on the message if a Reverse 911 system is used
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 February 2008 )
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