'Missing link' of Erbes Road will finally get some attention

WILL BE BETTER- The city of Thousand Oaks is planning to make improvements to 3,900 feet of Erbes Road between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Falmouth Street, including adding sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides of the street. The city also plans to improve the Erbes Road/Hillcrest Drive intersection. "Slow growth" is one way to describe how, over the years, the city has handled 3,900 feet of Erbes Road between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Falmouth Street.

What project manager Mike Tohidan described as now a highpriority for the city was initially left alone by the 1997 City Council, when the rest of Erbes Road was made into a fourlane thoroughfare with sidewalks and bike lanes.

Over a decade ago, the presence of mature oak trees, multiple driveways and a drainage ditch led the council to keep part of Erbes as a two-lane road.

The current conflict between vehicles, bikes and pedestrians, however, has made adding bicycle lanes and sidewalks a necessity, Tohidan said.

"There are children walking in the street to go to school, and there are parents driving their children to school who would like them to be able to safely walk to school, if there were sidewalks," Tohidan said.

Hillcrest Christian School, Ascension Lutheran School and Colina Middle School are in the immediate area of Hillcrest Drive.

Recently about 300 mailers announcing a Nov. 13 meeting were sent to affected residents on Erbes Road. About 30 of them attended the meeting at city hall, where Tohidan and other staff members explained the city's plans for improving the street and asked residents for their feedback. Staff members also met with affected residents one-on-one before the meeting, Tohidan said.

The city budget has allotted $1.5 million for the improvements. To complete the project, about $5 million more- - primarily funded by gas taxes- - is expected in the next twoyear budget cycle, Tohidan said.

The city completed an environmental impact report that was certified by the City Council in 2005. In May 2006, a civil engineering consultant was hired to assist on the project.

Greater modifications at Hillcrest Drive and Erbes Road appeared to be needed when the 23 Freeway was being widened, but when that project was completed last March, traffic decreased as much as 28 percent for westbound Hillcrest Drive afternoon traffic and 15 percent for southbound Erbes Road traffic, Tohidan said.

"Traffic improved almost overnight, making it so we only have to do modest modifications on Hillcrest Drive," he said.

For residents who still have trouble exiting their driveways on Erbes Road, an additional 10 to 11 feet of sidewalk and a bike lane will add more sightdistance for them, Tohidan said.

Some oak trees will be lost, but new trees will be planted according to city code. Improved drainage will also be included in the project.

The city should acquire right of way by the spring of 2009, with construction beginning by the summer of 2010, he said.

Underground utilities are also required by the project.

Retaining walls are proposed in front of eight homes just north of Hillcrest Drive on the east side of Erbes Road. Single retaining walls will be a maximum height of 6 feet and will be covered with vines. Double retaining walls will be used where higher walls are required. The first wall next to the sidewalk will be 3 feet tall, with a 4footwide planter and then another wall up to 6 feet tall.

"We received input from the residents on the preferred retaining wall materials, which will be brown, split-face concrete block walls with black wrought iron fence on top," Tohidan said.