The location: The bike lane in front of Los Cerritos Middle School on Erbes Road in Thousand Oaks

The problem: Motorists park their vehicles in the bike lane and wait for their children to get out of school, even though a nearby traffic sign reads "No Stopping." Bikers must ride around parked vehicles into traffic and put themselves in danger.

Possible solutions: More traffic enforcement.

Immediate action: According to the city of Thousand Oaks, the law wasn't always enforceable. The location previously had "No Parking" signs, but the city recently replaced them with "No Stopping" signs.

Deputies wouldn't issue a ticket to someone who was in a "no parking zone" when they were waiting to pick up a child because, technically, they weren't parked, according to Jim Mashiko of the city's traffic department. Officers will, however, issue a ticket to anyone they see stopped in a "no stopping zone," he said.

"Basically, it comes down to an enforcement issue," Mashiko said. The city doesn't address such matters, he said, but usually forwards all similar concerns to the Thousand Oaks Police Department.

According to Sgt. Jim Kenney of the Thousand Oaks Police Department's traffic unit, officers do enforce traffic at Los Cerritos, but there aren't enough deputies on a daily basis to enforce traffic everywhere at the same time, including about 30 schools in the department's jurisdiction.

"I've personally gone over there and written people citations for stopping in a 'no stopping zone,' so it does get enforced," Kenney said. "But it's not an everyday thing."

Other safety concerns in the city may take priority, he said, and will determine where traffic enforcers spend more time.

Have a traffic-related question or concern? Send it to "Acorn Traffic Man" in care of the address on page 4 or by e-mail to pic@theacorn.com. We'll try to respond as soon as possible.