Road Improvements Are Voted Down

Avoiding a showdown with dozens of angry residents, the City Council has decided to leave intact two streets that were scheduled to be expanded in the city’s long-term blueprint for growth.

Council members voted unanimously Tuesday not to connect La Granada Drive with Conejo School Road and not to allow Erbes Road to be widened to four lanes between Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Falmouth Street.

Both decisions--which came in response to protests from dozens of residents in the area--required amendments to the city’s General Plan. Both went against the recommendations of city officials.

Council members did vote to uphold plans to widen Lynn Road north of Gainsborough Road from two to four lanes. They also voted to have city staff return to them with a proposal to consider an equestrian crossing on Erbes Road.

Dozens of residents and property owners from La Granada Drive and Erbes Road submitted statements opposing the expansions, and dozens of others were prepared to voice their opposition before the council. Citizens also submitted petitions to the council with signatures from more than 100 nearby property owners opposing the plans.

But as the council was about to consider the issue Tuesday, Mayor Judy Lazar said there was no need to even discuss such unpopular proposals, which were also attacked during the Planning Commission’s review, and council members quickly voted them down.

Lazar pointed out, however, that residents should expect to face worse traffic conditions in the future, now that the city has scrapped the expansion plans.