UPPER LAKE >> Road conditions have been an issue in the county for some time, despite constant work on highways and streets. Residents can name their least favorite drives, from Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake, where vehicles steer to the middle of the lane to avoid potholes, to the rattling stretch of Main St. in Lakeport.
One road that many drivers consider hazardous is the Upper Lake Lucerne Road in Upper Lake. Kenn McCarty, a resident along the road said he has tried to get the situation changed, but the county has not taken up his request to change the speed limit.
The most recent request denied by the County Road Department was in March of this year, according to McCarty.
He wants action taken to reduce the 55-mph speed limit to 35 mph, have potholes filled, a culvert replaced and a redbud cut back on a hairpin curve on the road.
“The lack of reasonable responsiveness on the part of the county is frustrating. As we say in the equestrian community: ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.’ We thank Supervisors Denise Rushing and Jim Steele for attempting to advocate on our behalf. The County Road Department, however, is unwilling to drink from the citizen advice,” McCarty said.
A fatal accident occurred near the Konocti Vista Casino entrance and authorities responded by cutting the speed limit there to ensure safety, McCarty questions why the same is not done on the Upper Lake Lucerne Road.
“When a fatality occurs on a problematic section of Upper Lake Lucerne Road which has 20 residential homes, the county sees no reason to reduce the speed limit from 55 mph to the requested 35 mph which is normal for residential roads,” McCarty said.
When McCarty approached District Supervisor Jim Steele with these issues, he said Steele told him he could cut the brush himself and/or organize a petition and have it signed by the residents to lower the speed limit on the road.
In hopes for change, Steele said he did bring these issues to the Public Works department to get what could be addressed done and make the road safer since the request was put in.
“He (McCarty) asked for a culvert to be replaced, potholes to be filled and said there was redbud that was obstructing the view around a corner,” Steele said. “I drove by and the potholes were filled and the culvert replaced. I believe the corner was signed as 15 mph to reduce speed. I don’t know about the redbud.”
To Steele’s knowledge, no accidents have happened at the curve of the road McCarty was concerned about. Public Works is continuing to work on the safety of the road as well as others to prevent any accidents or injuries from occurring.
“I believe they did great work in that area and it’s difficult to get to all the issues in Lake County. I appreciate the fact we were able to get the work done based on all the backlog,” Steele said.
