CAMARILLO : City to Reconsider Bike Lane Decision

Three months after the Camarillo City Council spent $6,200 to paint bike lanes along a half-mile stretch of Temple Avenue, council members will decide today whether to spend $7,000 to have them removed.

School officials and representatives of the Camarillo Baseball and Softball Assn. and the American Youth Soccer Assn. have complained that the bike lanes have created a severe parking shortage in the area. Parking is prohibited in bike lanes by state law.

“By eliminating all the parking on the street, parents attending our games will be forced to park further away and walk a half-mile or more from their cars,” said Gary Gasperino, president of the Camarillo Baseball and Softball Assn. He has asked the city for an exemption from the no-parking rule.

According to the state vehicle code, cars cannot legally park in a bicycle lane and exemptions are not allowed. “It’s like saying you can temporarily park in the middle of an intersection. Simply put, it’s against the law,” City Engineer Dan Greeley said.