About one month after Caltrans and LA Metro abruptly canceled a long-awaited scoping meeting for work on Highway 14, there’s been little explanation or discussion for when those talks might resume.  Neither agency offered a reason for the unexpected delay, which was announced a day before the meeting and pressed pause on an outreach schedule set to begin about six weeks before November’s election.  A Metro spokesman confirmed Monday there’s been no new date set for the meetings.  “I am deeply disappointed that the scoping meetings were postponed, especially after 40,000 mailers were sent out to residents and given the fact that the meetings were postponed less than a week before the first meeting was to be held,” Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Marsha McLean said in a prepared statement. “I cannot stress enough how critical these improvements are to those living, working and visiting the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys, not to mention the impacts to the goods movement along this corridor.”  The work studied so far by Caltrans, which is working in partnership with Metro on the project, had two alternatives in a state study of the road: a “no-build option” and a build option, which The Signal obtained through a Public Records Act request.  On the southbound side, Caltrans is proposing to add a lane on (Highway 14) from “Newhall Avenue Undercrossing (PM 27.0)” to the “Via Princessa Undercrossing (PM 30.772),” which would be nearly 4 miles; and from Sand Canyon Road (PM 33.423) to Agua Dulce Canyon Road (PM 40.034), which would be a little over 6.5 miles.   The northbound side, from the “Newhall Avenue Undercrossing” to Golden Valley Road, would receive a lane, a distance of about 2.675 miles, according to the preliminary plans.   The first two scheduled meetings were to be held Sept. 12 and Sept. 14 in Palmdale and Santa Clarita, respectively.  McLean said her work with regional transportation organizations like the North County Traffic Coalition has demonstrated clearly identifiable choke points that need to be addressed.  State data from Caltrans that was looked at as part of the justification for the work in 2021 demonstrates the decline in level of service that commuters have seen, particularly as more and more workplaces abandon remote options.  The project’s goal is to eliminate bottleneck locations and improve safety, according to Patrick Chandler, speaking on behalf of Metro.  He said the state’s data indicated 12 of the 17 segments studied on the state route had higher-than-average collision rates.   “Several segments of this roadway are currently operating at near or over-capacity with a Level of Service ‘E’ or ‘F’ during peak periods,” according to the project report, which equates a grade of F to traffic being at a standstill. “Backups onto the mainline lanes are creating a rippling effect of downgrading the operations of the on- and off-ramps, resulting in unfavorable weaving and merging maneuvers for traffic connecting to or exiting the mainline, adding to motorists’ frustration, and, consequently, a higher accident rate and reduced safety and operation throughout this corridor.”  The post No ETA yet for meetings on Highway 14 work  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.