Bicycle safety gets renewed emphasis
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

The Bicycle Advisory Team's recommendation to implement a bicycle safety sign program was approved by the Thousand Oaks City Council. It was also agreed that a search would begin for a consultant to start a public outreach program.

The BAT- made up of cyclists, city staff, park employees and law enforcement- began looking into ways to make the city safer for bicyclists after Dr. Glenn Garvin, 49, was struck and killed by a car last September while riding his bicycle on Westlake Boulevard.

Garvin, who practiced endodontics in Westlake Village, was a North Ranch resident who was active in his community and served as a Thousand Oaks traffic commissioner.

BAT met six times and had a public meeting to gain input. The city forwarded about 70 e-mails on bicycle safety for the team to consider. The group also looked at what other cities have done. Bike clubs included in the team were Old Cranks, Amgen and Conejo Valley Cyclists.

Among the group's recommendations to the council on July 10 were signs to be posted throughout the city. The signs are designed to keep cyclists safer and are to be enforced.

On Thousand Oaks Boulevard between Moorpark Road and Duesenberg Drive signs called "sharrows" are to be stenciled on the pavement to let everyone know bikes are allowed to share the lane with cars. These sharrows will appear where the speed limit is 35 mph or lower and where there's parallel parking.

Other new signs will read "Bicyclists Allowed Use of Full Lane." These signs will be posted on streets such as Hillcrest Drive. They will be placed where an outside lane is not wide enough to be shared by a bicycle and a vehicle. Such a place would have speed limits of 40 mph or higher, with no bike lane and no on-street parking.

"Pedestrians Use Sidewalks Not Bike Lanes" would be another enforceable sign added to Thousand Oaks streets.

Traffic signal indicators calibrated to more easily notice bicyclists have also been approved. Currently, bicyclists often need to get off their bikes to go over to the sidewalk area and push pedestrian crossing buttons to get the lights to change for them.

The approved sign program is expect to cost about $15,000 per year.

The marketing/education consultant would create bilingual education material and maps and provide cyclist training and other community outreach. The public outreach program is expected to cost about $40,000 annually.