Westlake Boulevard Sidewalk & Bicycle Lane Improvements
Location
Thousand Oaks, CA – Westlake Boulevard between US 101 and Triunfo Road
City or County Responsible for Project
City of Thousand Oaks
Category
Safety or Intelligent Transportation System Projects
Author
Nader Heydari
City of Thousand Oaks
2100 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard
805-449-2392
Project Description
Westlake Boulevard (State Route 23) is a busy and active thoroughfare of the City. It is part of the City’s “scenic highway system” and a popular bicycle and pedestrian route (designated Class II bike lanes in the City’s Bicycle Facilities Master Plan). This corridor did not have continuous sidewalks, which required pedestrians to walk in the bike lanes or on the shoulder. At the U.S. 101 interchange, pedestrians and bicyclists had to navigate through the northbound and southbound on-ramps. Over the past four years there have been multiple bicycle-vehicle collisions in this area. The City received Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant funding to improve pedestrian and bike safety on Westlake Boulevard from Triunfo Canyon Road to the northbound US 101 ramps (approximately 1.1 miles). This $1.45 M project addressed these important pedestrian and bicycle safety issues by providing new continuous sidewalks, enhanced green bicycle markings including bicycle box and bicycle loop detectors, curb ramp construction and rehabilitation, high visibility crosswalk marking, and rectangular rapid flashing beacons at all four US 101 on-ramps. The sidewalks provide pedestrians a safer travel way. High visibility crosswalks improve safety by enhancing the pedestrian route, and curb ramps were reconstructed to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The enhanced bicycle markings will allow motorists and cyclists to travel in their respective lanes, thus avoiding confusion and lowering risk of collision at intersections and the US 101/Westlake Boulevard interchange. Rectangular rapid flashing beacons were installed at the US 101 southbound and northbound on-ramps to provide advanced warning for vehicles that a pedestrian is entering an uncontrolled crossing. As a scenic and popular corridor for pedestrians and bicyclists because of its proximity to leisure, recreation, entertainment, retail and residential, public interest was high. Steps were taken to ensure that the improvements were aesthetically pleasing and compatible with surrounding development. Extra care was taken to manage and address the existing mature trees and landscape along the route. The new street improvements include meandering sidewalks – which helped minimize the removal of trees, retaining curbs, slough walls and retaining walls to minimize impact to trees. Public and community input resulted in additional project improvements including enhanced landscaping, vista sitting areas, designated bike boxes, and a parallel decomposed granite path where feasible.
Add Comment