Tuesday, June 12, 2007

New Concerns About Trucks Downtown

By Nao Braverman
A new asphalt mixing plant to be built in Santa Paula has local residents concerned about more gravel trucks traveling through Ojai, this time on Highway 150 right through the center of town.
Bruce McGowan, a branch manager for Granite Construction Co., which intends to submit plans to the Santa Paula Planning Department by the end of the month, says that the company is prepared to make a pledge not to send any truck trips through Ojai.
“We know that the community in Ojai doesn’t want that, and it is more advantageous for us not to send trucks that way because of our location,” he said.
The plant, which will get 70 percent of its materials from nearby sand and gravel mines, is considering purchasing from mines in Los Angeles County’s Palmdale as well as mines in the Cuyama Valley region. The remaining 30 percent will come from recycled materials onsite, said McGowan.
He explained that trucks coming from the Cuyama area offer better rates if they take the less direct route from Highway 166 to Highway 5 and then to Highway 126, rather than Highway 33 and Highway 150, because the two-lane highways through Ojai are more difficult to navigate.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Petion signing venue next weekend: Howard Frieberg said there will be a special area at next Saturdays Casitas Rock concert for petioners who want to gather signatures on this. Please pass it on. More on this because it's important to understand how sneaky exponential growth is, with Ojai getting impacted by both roads through town. The companys have loads of money that influence regional oversight and erodes the community simply by existing with free market capitalism where they can operate at will. This issue represents how grass roots people can deny their quality of life being pulled out by these huge operations. For a close look at how to respond effectively to prevent what is happening everywhere now, take a look at "Two Square Miles" about a small town in upstate New York taking it back. PL