Road-Paving Proposal Becomes 3-City Tangle

A dispute over a short dirt road is being paved with grief for three cities at the western edge of Los Angeles County.

The Westlake Village City Council Wednesday night refused to allow the paving of a half-mile extension of Lindero Canyon Road near Westlake Village’s boundary with the cities of Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills.

Council members said that, before they will authorize Lindero Canyon Road’s improvement, the proposed developer of the road, the Prudential Insurance Co. of America, needs to try to convince Agoura Hills to build a short bypass connection to nearby Reyes Adobe Road.

The reason? Officials said they fear Westlake Village will be flooded with traffic from Thousand Oaks unless the Agoura Hills bypass is built when Lindero Canyon Road is completed.

Westlake Village officials said residents of the 1,146 homes being built in Thousand Oaks’ North Ranch area will use Lindero Canyon Road as a shortcut to the Ventura Freeway unless Reyes Adobe Road is completed to handle part of the flow. But, because a costly bridge is required for Reyes Adobe Road to reach Westlake Village, its completion is uncertain, according to Agoura Hills officials.

Thousand Oaks officials have pressed for approval of the Lindero Canyon Road paving as a way to relieve congestion on their own Westlake Village Boulevard--now the only access to the North Ranch residential area.