COUNTYWIDE : Hearing to Be Held on Transit Projects

Ventura County residents will have a chance to tell county officials the best uses for about $14 million earmarked for transportation improvements at a public hearing in Camarillo on Monday.

The hearing will focus on ways to improve bus service across the county, said Mary Travis, transit program manager of the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

The commission is charged with doling out transportation funds given to the county under the California Transportation Development Act, Travis said.

“Our main purpose with this hearing is to make sure all reasonable transit needs are being supported by the Transportation Development Act money,” Travis said.

The hearing will be staffed by members of the commission’s Transportation Policy Planning Committee, made up of elected city officials and County Supervisor Susan Lacey.

Recommendations from the committee will assist the commission in making final decisions in June, Travis said.

During the 1991-92 fiscal year, about 40% of the county’s $14-million allotment went toward augmenting bus service, with the rest spent on road construction countywide, Travis said.

A large amount of funds set aside for the 1992-93 fiscal year will subsidize or improve transit systems, Travis said.

Ideas for new services include creating bus routes from Camarillo or Oxnard to Camarillo State Hospital and Point Mugu Naval Air Station. Full service between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks is also being considered, Travis said.

Possible projects include upgrading transit from Santa Paula and Fillmore to Ventura and improving the County InterConnect Service that runs along the Ventura Freeway from Ventura to Westlake Village, Travis said.

Monday’s hearing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. at Camarillo City Hall.