OAK PARK : Route for Express Bus Service Sought

Oak Park should be included on a route planned to bring express bus service to eastern Ventura County, a member of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council said.

Under a proposed route prepared by the Ventura County Transportation Commission, the bus line never enters Oak Park but runs to the south along Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Speaking at the council’s meeting this week, member Ron Stark said buses should go down Kanan Road, which cuts through the center of the unincorporated community of about 13,000 people.

That would give senior citizens and students better access to the service, he said.

Mary Travis, manager of transit programs for the commission, said the route proposal is only a draft.

“We’re very open-minded about Oak Park and the need for service in the community,” she said. Travis said the commission originally bypassed Oak Park because it thought residents could use existing Dial-a-Ride services to get to express bus stops.

Travis said she will appear at the council’s April 27 meeting to discuss the proposed bus service.

The service, paid for mostly by federal funds, would link Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark College and Moorpark. It also would connect with Metrolink stations in Moorpark and Simi Valley.

Travis said the transportation commission will seek public comments about the bus service in the summer.