Jose Rivera, associate engineer in Oxnard Citys traffic engineering division, presented the citys Safe Routes to School report to the Public Works and Transportation Committee on Nov. 25, 2025, and recommended the committee "receive and file" the report.

The report summarizes a program developed with consultant Fehr & Peers and funded initially by a $300,000 Active Transportation Program (ATP) grant in 2021, with support from the Ventura County Transportation Commission, and later expanded in 2022 with $334,000 from American Rescue Plan Act funds. Rivera said those resources helped develop Safe Routes materials and maps covering a total of 51 schools across four school districts.

Rivera described the program using the five Es framework: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation. Engineering examples in the presentation included a newly installed sidewalk on Eddy Road near Mar Vista and Ocean View schools intended to provide a safer path for students and families.

Education and encouragement efforts cited by Rivera included school assemblies on bicycle and pedestrian safety, bike-skill workshops, a walking-bus at Rio Del Mar School and a 2024 student art competition hosted at the Oxnard Public Library that asked students to illustrate alternatives to driving. Rivera said the program also coordinates with Gold Coast Transit to promote student and after-school transit options.

On enforcement and evaluation, Rivera reported walk-audit observations of illegal parking, vehicles stopping in handicap zones, double parking that blocked crosswalks, mid-block crossings and instances where crossing guards were underused during dismissal. Rivera said the city and Fehr & Peers conducted 51 walk audits from 2021 to 2024, and named schools cited in the presentation included Lemonwood Elementary, McAuliffe Elementary, Haycox Elementary and Frank Academy.

The report compiles infrastructure, programmatic and operational recommendations and includes a one-page summary and a route map for each school showing direct neighborhood routes. Rivera listed specific recommended measures such as upgrading crosswalks, adding curb extensions, extending walk-signal phases during school rush hours, training crossing guards, and staggering arrival and dismissal times to reduce congestion.

Rivera noted that higher-effort infrastructure projects are flagged for further study and funding and that long-term improvements would require additional timelines and resources. He also stated there is no direct financial impact from the committees act of receiving and filing the report.

Rivera concluded the presentation by inviting questions; the transcript contains no recorded committee vote or formal action on the recommendation.