THOUSAND OAKS : Officials Push Drive for ‘Scenic Highway’

Still pushing for official recognition of the Conejo Valley’s roadside vistas, Thousand Oaks council members on Tuesday agreed to seek new allies in their campaign to get a stretch of the Ventura Freeway declared scenic.

Mayor Alex Fiore will ask state and county officials to join him in lobbying the California Department of Transportation for “state scenic highway” status late next month.

Thousand Oaks can already count on support from local politicians in Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Calabasas.

The four cities have filed a joint application urging Caltrans to designate a 21-mile strip of the Ventura Freeway as scenic.

Such a designation would bring each city a few blue plaques and maybe some attention. But the biggest boon, officials say, would be in boosting Agoura Hills’ efforts to get rid of the towering signs that now dot that city’s segment of the Ventura Freeway.

Caltrans has already twice rejected scenic highway applications from individual cities and coalitions in the area.

But Caltrans’ Departmental Traffic Advisory Committee has set another hearing for July 29, and local officials hope they will finally prevail.

“We’ve just got to keep plugging along with it,” Thousand Oaks Planning Director Phil Gatch said.

To enhance their application, Thousand Oaks council members on Tuesday agreed to request support from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, state Sen. Cathie Wright and Assemblyman Nao Takasugi.

Wright’s field director, Bill Blankenship, said he believes the senator will back the four-city effort.