Thousand Oaks staff outlines restriping proposals tied to 2026 pavement project, including buffered bike lanes

Senior Traffic Engineer Jim Michiko briefed the Traffic and Transportation Advisory Commission on May 28 about proposed restriping concepts to accompany the citywide 2026 pavement project. Staff identified five candidate segments where narrowing vehicle lanes during resurfacing could allow buffered or wider bike lanes and other traffic‑calming treatments.

The 2026 resurfacing program will repave roughly 50 miles of the city’s 380‑mile street network. Michiko said the city times striping changes with pavement work to avoid grinding off paint later and to take advantage of the “blank slate” after resurfacing. The five candidate segments are portions of Erbs Road, Jans Road, a 2.5‑mile stretch of Canyon Road, a short segment east of Orchard Road on Michael Drive, and a quarter‑mile of Parkview Drive.

Proposed changes include creating a buffer between the bike lane and the Number 2 travel lane on Erbs Road for about 2,000 feet; extending an eastbound Jans Road bike lane about 500 feet; adding a 4‑foot buffer on the Canyon Road segment by slightly narrowing travel lanes and bike lane; adding a westbound buffered bike lane on Michael Drive’s 600‑foot segment; and a new 6‑foot buffered bike lane on a quarter‑mile segment of Parkview Drive with on‑street parking removed, which staff said should have no impact because there is no residential frontage along that stretch.

Michiko said engineers generally aim for a 6‑foot bike lane where feasible (state minimum is 5 feet) and will narrow vehicular travel lanes to 11 feet from the common 12‑foot standard to create space for buffers. The commission heard examples of previous conversions — including going from four lanes to two with a center turn lane plus bike lanes — and Michiko said such changes have reduced collisions and speeds in past projects.

Commissioners asked how candidate streets are selected; Michiko said staff starts with the capital resurfacing list, then evaluates curb‑to‑curb widths and opportunities to narrow travel lanes without affecting necessary turning movements. Several commissioners asked whether narrower lanes increase motorist problems; staff and a police representative said they have not observed negative effects and that radar surveys show modest speed reductions of 1–3 mph after narrowing.

Michiko said the proposal will be shared with the city’s Bicycle Advisory Team; past advisory input has generally supported adding buffered bike lanes during resurfacing projects. Funding for paving was described as primarily from gas taxes, including the state’s SB 1 appropriation and federal/state grants such as CMAQ and ATP for active transportation projects; staff said the city’s pavement needs analysis suggests roughly $11 million annually is optimal while current funding is about $7–8 million, creating a structural gap driven largely by inflation and rising costs.

The commission received the item as information and did not take a formal vote.