Ground to Be Broken for Transit Center

Thousand Oaks city officials and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Friday at 11:30 a.m. for the Community Transportation Facility.

Designed by Westlake Village-based architectural firm Baker Hogan Houx, the $2-million transportation facility will be built on the eastern side of the Rancho Road offramp from the Ventura Freeway. It will replace the gravel park-and-ride lot used by 80 to 100 people daily.

Officials expect construction to begin in the next two months. Completion is expected next spring.

The expectation isn’t that residents will suddenly swarm to public transportation, said Don Nelson, the city’s director of public works. The hope is it will help residents’ needs five to 10 years down the road.

Upon completion, the center will include 220 parking spaces, three bus bays, five bicycle lockers, two bicycle racks and three covered shelters. It will be paved and lighted and will have more than 60 landscaped areas. The center will provide service for the Thousand Oaks transit system, Ventura Intercity Services Transit, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and a bus service to Amtrak.

Despite the high number of public transportation providers in Thousand Oaks, only about 5% of the city’s population uses them, said Roy Myers, the city’s transportation analyst. However, the park-and-ride lot is well-used, he added.

“One of the biggest things is we found that if the park-and-ride center is nicer, people will use [it] more,” Myers said.