Drivers may soon notice improvements on roads and new parking options in Old Town Orcutt.  Construction is proceeding on a sidewalk, a walking path and parking on Marcum Street, and according to Esau Blanco, Engineering Manager for the Public Works Department, the contractor will complete the work before the June 18th Old Town Orcutt Farmers Market. 
Over the past several years, OTORA (Old Town Orcutt Revitalization Association) has worked to develop a street scape plan to enhance pedestrian access, improve parking and “creating a town with a unique identity and charm by working with the County for funding and grants,” according to the president of OTORA, Steve Strachan. 
          The upgrades to parking and the addition of bulb outs (extensions of curbing into a roadway at street corners to provide additional space for pedestrians) is a component of the Old Town Orcutt Street Scape Plan. 
Before bulb outs are added at various intersections in Old Town Orcutt and before any changes in parking, Blanco says some resurfacing of Clark Avenue will begin next year.   
          OTORA and the County are looking into landscaping the recently installed medians between Norris Street and Highway 135.  Caltrans and County permits will be needed before landscaping begins. “We hope to eventually extend the landscaping to a future roundabout at Norris Street,” explains Blanco.  He says about 35 percent of the design of the roundabout is complete. “However, a funding source has not been identified.”    
Regarding other Orcutt traffic issues, construction is underway for a gas station and mini mart at Lakeview and Orcutt Road. This intersection has a high accident rate, and the County is looking into the feasibility of future improvements.  Blanco says the gas station is required to install traffic signage that restricts turn movements from northbound Orcutt Road onto Lakeview during peak hours. 
          Blanco also says the County is planning to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Union Valley Parkway and Hummel Drive. “Hopefully by the end of the year.”  Steve Southwick reporting