Any Way You Stripe It, It’s a Narrow Route for Bicyclists

Dear Street Smart:

The city of Thousand Oaks has once again shown itself as “anti-bicycling” by creating a situation that puts bicyclists in harm’s way.

Following the completion of a construction job on the eastbound side of Hillcrest Drive, the bike lane between Ventu Park and the eastern Home Depot driveway was re-striped to a third of its original width.

Some sections are only a foot wide. This puts cars dangerously close to bicyclists who use this section of Hillcrest.

There are only two east-west arteries through Thousand Oaks, and on Hillcrest the city has created a potentially dangerous situation. Could you look into this for me?

Tom Robinson

Thousand Oaks

Dear Reader:

Turns out, those never were bike lanes you’ve been pedaling through all these years, said Jeff Knowles, the Thousand Oaks traffic analyst.

Rather, they are called “edge stripes” and are designed to help guide cars along and keep them away from road shoulders and make it convenient for bike riders, he said.

The city did recently resurface sections of Hillcrest Drive and move some of the striping in an effort to widen the lanes to 11 feet each, Knowles said.

But bicyclists benefited too, he said, by having smoother roads.

“What was left over [after the lane widening], we gave to the bicyclists,” Knowles said. “We also have fully improved sidewalks, and in this city, bicyclists are allowed on sidewalks.”

Knowles said he was disappointed to hear that you consider your city government unfriendly to bicyclists.

He said Thousand Oaks planners pride themselves on addressing the needs of bike riders throughout the city, and pointed out that the City Council has approved several projects that benefit the bicyclists that are not required.

Specifically, Knowles said, the city has installed extra-sensitive detectors at traffic lights so they are activated by cyclists.

They also have installed street-facing push buttons at a series of traffic lights, allowing bike riders to activate signals without walking to curbs, Knowles said.

“There are very few cities that are doing this sort of thing,” he said. “We’re not even a university town with a high bike volume like San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara or Berkeley.”

Dear Street Smart:

Hey, what’s the deal?

That newly installed left-turn arrow in Ventura going north on Seaward Avenue at Thompson Boulevard only gives 1 1/2 cars the opportunity to get through before turning red again.

That’s only one car if it’s a Caddy.

The same type of directional arrow at Seaward and Main allows from four to five cars to pass, and the Seaward-Thompson intersection is far busier.

Does someone have an electrical engineering explanation for the discrepancy?

E. S. Jarvis

Ventura

Dear Reader:

Ventura traffic engineer Nazir Lalani said no changes have been made to the Seaward-Thompson intersection for nearly five years.

But there are discrepancies in the amount of time the left-turn green arrow going north on Seaward at Thompson is illuminated, depending on what time of day you watch, he said.

For example, in the mornings, when fewer cars typically turn left onto westbound Thompson, the green arrow is lighted for 12 seconds. Other times throughout the day, the same arrow is green for nearly 17 seconds.

“That usually allows eight or more cars,” he said. “But if it’s a morning problem, we can fix it.”

By the time you read this, Lalani said, he will have added another five seconds to the morning left-turn time of that green arrow, just to see what happens.

“The movement along Thompson will suffer a little bit, and so will the southbound Seaward movement a little,” he said. “But I’ll drive by in a few days to make sure everything is moving along.”

Engineers did install a new left-turn arrow at the nearby Seaward-Ocean intersection within the past year, Lalani said.

But that arrow is designed to stay green as long as cars pass over the detector, sometimes staying green as long as 20 seconds, he said.

Dear Street Smart:

Regarding the onramp from Tierra Rejada onto the Moorpark Freeway going south: My concerns are about the bike lane. Every car that goes onto that onramp cuts through the bike lane when entering.

I would think someone would want to take a look at it before someone gets hurt. Possibly they could put in some of those small colored disks or another device to make it safer.

It’s a dangerous situation that should be addressed.

Mike Hebert

Moorpark

Dear Reader:

Engineers from the state Department of Transportation for years have been answering questions about the unusual bike lane on the Moorpark Freeway.

But engineers have examined the situation many times, and on each occasion have concluded that the existing system is safe. What’s more, they installed a series of speed warning signs this past spring in response to previous Street Smart queries.

“Caltrans maintenance crews also recently trimmed a row of pepper trees to give motorists better visibility,” Caltrans spokeswoman Pat Reid said.

Bottom line: Be careful if you’re using the bike lane, and pay attention if you’re driving past.

Write to Street Smart, The Times Ventura County Edition, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. You may enclose a simple sketch if it will help Street Smart understand your traffic questions. Or call our Sound Off Line, 653-7546. Whether writing or calling, include your full name, address, and day and evening phone numbers. No anonymous queries will be accepted, and letters are subject to editing.