Lompoc resident starts petition to make Highway 246 safer

Kimberly Chamblee calls the roundabout on Highway 246 too dangerous for drivers.

“To have them come to a dead stop pretty much to turn is dangerous,” she says.

The roundabout forces drivers to pass through if they are going from Lompoc to Buellton or the other way around.

“The big rigs here when they come around this area you can see their tire marks they have to drive up the slope,” says Chamblee.

Last week, Ventura County Firefighter, Ryan Osler, died in an accident in this roundabout. Chamblee says his death upset her so she started a petition.

She says she hopes to get the attention of city and county leaders to get the roundabout completely removed.

So far, she says she has gotten more than 200 signatures and many people have left comments she agrees with.

Some comments say, “the roundabout is misdesigned” and “this roundabout is dangerous and should have never been built.”

However, Caltrans officials say the roundabout has helped to reduce the number of accidents in the area.

“I’ve come from Solvang myself from work and I have almost hit it because I am not use it, I can’t see it and I have been in Lompoc for almost 35 years,” says Chamblee.

Caltrans says signs are a quarter mile away from the roundabout to help drivers know it’s coming and that they need to slow down.

Chamblee says the signs already up are not enough, “they need to take it out or put lighting, more signs for people to read it you know with lighting on top of it, I don’t want to see no more lives gone.”

Find the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-bob-lingl-please-help-take-out-246-round-about