Driver safety along Highway 154 addressed by local agencies

SOLVANG, Calif.- Safety committee members say this highway sees tens of thousands of drivers daily.

"I did a ride along with CHP recently and encountered trucks coming all the way from Maryland, going to Santa Maria to pick up cabbages and then back again. So it's a lot of freight travel in addition to just people commuting back and forth," said Third District County Supervisor Joan Hartmann.

Highway 154 is a popular route for drivers heading North or South on the Central Coast.

"Specificity Highway 154 there's just some inherent dangers versus the 101 for example, because in a lot of the majority of the 154, it's one Eastbound lane and one Westbound lane and there's not a barrier wall to separate the two directions of travel. So it's curvy, it's mountainous, it's rule. There's lots of animals around," said CHP Officer Michael Griffith.

Caltrans, CHP, and local government officials spoke out about how the 154 is affecting local communities.

Traffic safety and improvement efforts are now underway. Including a new roundabout and more.