Highway 67 Traffic Flow Could Change by Adding Traffic Light

A Ramona Community Planning Group community workshop attracted about 40 people Wednesday night. The purpose was to hear proposals for alleviating traffic near the intersection of Highway 67 with Dye and Highland Valley roads.

Carl Hickman, a licensed traffic engineer and a member of the planning group, gave a Power Point presentation with computer modeling to show the difference between the current situation and the changes that could occur with the installation of a traffic signal at the Mussey Grade Road intersection with Highway 67, approximately one-half mile south of Dye and Highland Valley roads.

“We are trying to provide solutions that are sound from an engineering standpoint,” Hickman said.

The planning group’s Highway 67 Subcommittee met four times with representatives from CalTrans in the past 18 months and also with County Supervisor Dianne Jacob. Hickman said the improvements to Highway 67 are now scheduled on SanDAG’s Regional Plan for 2050.

“None of us will be in this room in 2050,” Hickman said. “Something needs to be done now. We can’t wait until 2050.”

The Dye and Highland Valley roads intersection with the highway was changed to its current configuration in 1991, Hickman said. Prior to that, the two roads intersected separately with the highway.

Hickman said the planning group has been working with CalTrans for more than 10 years to try to solve the traffic congestion in Ramona. He said many promises have been made by the state but nothing has yet to be done with the exception of a few traffic studies.

The peak traffic time with vehicles returning to Ramona in the early evening is between 4 and 5 p.m., according to Hickman’s own studies. He did a traffic count April 12 in preparation for his report at the workshop. He parked at the intersection between 4 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, counting vehicles coming and going from all directions. He counted 1,325 cars and trucks during this time and used these figures for his computer model.

Hickman then showed the effect on the traffic flow if a signal light should be added at the Mussey Grade Road intersection. Traffic coming into Ramona from the south begins to slow down at Archie Moore Road, he said, which is 2.6 miles from Mussey Grade. In Hickman’s opinion, the cause for the slowdown is not Archie Moore Road but drivers slowing down or stopping to allow other vehicles to turn in or out of Mussey Grade Road from the highway.

Several local residents voiced their opinions at the workshop, which was held at Ramona Community Center.

Eileen Sampson asked what time of the year the improvements to the intersections would be made by CalTrans. Hickman said it’s impossible to know when that may be but if it were to start immediately, he estimated the project would take at least nine months to complete.

“There is no way to know when this would go to construction,” Hickman said. “We don’t know if the county and Caltrans will approve this.”

He added that the cost of the project, which could run into millions of dollars, will also be taken into consideration by CalTrans.

Resident Julie King said she doesn’t believe a delay at Mussey Grade Road with the addition of a traffic signal will improve the congestion. She also expressed doubts in the reliability of Hickman’s model and projections.

“I drive this road every day,” King said. “I do agree there needs to be an improvement … I want this to remain a rural community and I don’t want stop lights at every corner.”

Hickman defended his model, saying that the existing conditions shown on the model relate to the volume of traffic currently on the highway, and that with the addition of a signal light, it would bring about improvements in traffic flow.

Two members of the planning group also addressed the workshop with their concerns. Kevin Wallace said he is against having more traffic signals and wants to keep Ramona rural.

Angus Tobiason, a resident of Mussey Grade Road for 75 years, gave a brief history of the area when most of the roads were unpaved and there were no stop signs or traffic signals.

Action on making suggestions to the County and CalTrans for improvements was tabled until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the planning group. A request was made that Hickman prepare a computer model showing what improvements to the flow of traffic could be generated without the addition of a signal light at Mussey Grade Road.

Hickman agreed to make another computer configuration but predicted there would be no improvements without the addition of the traffic signal.

The next meeting of Ramona Community Planning Group is at 7 p.m. May 5 at Ramona Community Library, 1275 Main St.