The Problem:
Actions (and inactions) by the City of Ventura over the last few years have created a cross-town highway through residential neighborhoods on Poli Street. This increase in traffic is jeopardizing the health and safety of residents in surrounding neighborhoods.
There are more than 250 properties on Poli Street, 35% of which house children and another 20% that house seniors. Far more properties on either side of Poli are also affected. Not only is the volume and speed unacceptable, but these elevated levels can cause serious health issues.
Poli Street traffic exceeds 10,000 Vehicles per Day!
- All residents within 500 feet of Poli Street are at risk of serious health-related illnesses.
- Long-term exposure to high traffic is associated with coronary atherosclerosis and increased risk of heart attack.
- Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with increased mortality.
- Researchers found a 14% increased risk in developing dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and MS due to the increased exposure to related air pollution.
- Air pollution is known to trigger neuroinflammation, which can lead to neurological damage.
The time has come for the community to demand immediate changes.
What can you do about it?
When citizens band together and make enough noise about a civic issue, politicians listen. When you have your elected official’s attention, they can apply pressure to the administrative staff – who are the people who can actually make things happen.
But first – we have to create a unified front!
Join your neighbors to demand change before it’s too late.
Read and sign the petition here
Poli Street is categorized as a secondary local or neighborhood street, where safety and other quality of life impacts require volume limits. Traffic calming measures for traffic volume exceeding 1,000 vpd are recommended. Traffic volume greater than 4,000 vpd may be approaching the point where physical measures alone are not sufficient to preserve quality of life along a neighborhood street.
Above 4,000 vpd traffic planners and engineers look for ways to modify road networks to limit travel on the neighborhood street. Other factors can lower the acceptable traffic volume level such as the absence of sidewalks and proximity to schools.
The table below is from a paper that appeared in the Institute for Transportation Engineers Journal. The term “environment” in the table is defined as: “one where residents can live, work and move about in freedom from the hazards of motor traffic.”