New plans for one of city's oldest neighborhoods

The Old Town West Neighborhood, one of the oldest in the city, has a new plan to develop and enhance streets, sidewalks, drainage and other areas of the community's infrastructure.

The plan also focuses on improving traffic, parking, safety and noise while preserving the small-town ambiance of the neighborhood.

"We are mainly focused on improving the right of way—adding curbs and gutters to the streets, sidewalks and drainage," said Chris Lynch, associate civil engineer for the city.

It's all a part of a master plan that is broken up into three stages, he said.

The first phase is where the city is at now, and, as more money comes along, they will continue with the other phases until the improvements are finished, he said.

The first phase will include sidewalks on at least one side of each street for pedestrians, he said.

The intent of the plan is to create one standard for the entire neighborhood, then implement it on a block by block basis to maintain each street's uniqueness.

The neighborhood has 93 single-family homes. Duplexes are within the project boundaries. The area is bounded by Thousand Oaks Boulevard on the north, Los Robles Road and the 101 Freeway on the south, Hampshire Road on the east, and Live Oak Street and Skyline Drive on the west.

The neighborhood has a rural character, with large oak trees, wide streets and homes set back from the streets. When the parcels are redeveloped the city has allowed two units on the large parcels.

A greenbelt added in the 1980s runs along the west side of Hampshire Road with sidewalks to Thousand Oaks Boulevard and a park at Royal Oaks Drive that was turned into a day laborer site by the city.

According to the master plan, residents feel the day laborer site has negative impacts on their neighborhood and would prefer the day laborer site be moved to a commercial area and the site be turned back into a park.

When it rains, water pools on the streets and onto private property, creating a hazard, the plan states.

Residents have also asked for more lighting, a reduction in freeway noise and increased code enforcement, according to the master plan.