Cycling Enthusiasts Are Seeking Space on Simi Valley’s Streets

This sprawling middle-class suburb boasts miles of hiking trails, rolling hills and acres of greenbelts, but it’s one of the only cities in Ventura County with no bicycle lanes on public streets.

Cycling enthusiasts across the county call that a critical shortfall in an otherwise well-planned community, and they have set out to change it.

“Bicyclists are very concerned about this, because Simi is a gateway to Los Angeles County,” said Aaron Hanson, president of the Ventura County Bicycle Coalition. “Simi’s lack of bike lanes is hampering bicyclists’ transportation from Los Angeles through Ventura County.”

Hanson and about 20 other enthusiasts have taken their case to the Simi Valley City Council. They want a system of bike lanes and routes on city streets, as well as the creation of a bikeway master plan and a bicycle advisory committee composed of residents.

While some city leaders are supportive, others are wary--and have been for years--about the liability and safety issues bike lanes present. City traffic engineers are studying available options for on-street bike lanes and will present a report to the council at its March 19 meeting.

“My concern is that a bicyclist gets a false sense of security,” said Simi Valley Mayor Bill Davis, who has long opposed bike lanes. “You don’t want to knowingly make the city liable.”

The Arroyo Simi trail--a six-mile course set off the road on the north side of the creek for bicyclists, joggers and in-line skaters--is the city’s only public bikeway. It’s been that way for at least 10 years, said Simi Valley Traffic Engineer Hank Hein, because of a city policy banning cycling lanes along public streets.

Fillmore, a farm town of 13,200, is the only other city in Ventura County with just one off-road bicycle path, said Steve De George, bicycle map coordinator for the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

According to the nonprofit bicycle coalition, other cities of similar size to Simi Valley--Oxnard, Ventura and Thousand Oaks--each have 25 to 70 bike paths, lanes and routes. Bike paths are separated completely from the street, lanes are clearly marked areas along the side of the road and routes use signs informing motorists of the cycling course.

Simi Valley’s lack is unacceptable for a family-friendly city, Councilman Steve Sojka said.

“I think it’s sad that we don’t have any,” he said. “Before I came onto the council, I would ride with my wife and kids, and it’s dangerous trying to get around on a bike in Simi.”

According to California Highway Patrol statistics, 269 people were injured and two killed in accidents involving bicycles in the county in 2000, with 36 of the injuries and one of the deaths in Simi Valley. Just last month, a 39-year-old Oxnard man was killed as he rode his bicycle across Channel Islands Boulevard in Oxnard.

But opponents argue that installing bike lanes would simply encourage more inexperienced riders to brave congested roadways and risk more accidents--and lawsuits against the city.

One major safety concern, Hein said, is the potential for bicyclists going through intersections to collide with motorists making right-hand turns.

“They have rights to ride, and I certainly respect that, but I’m not sure there are enough streets in Simi Valley that are wide enough,” Davis said.

Councilman Glen Becerra, however, said that while the city must protect itself against liability, he can’t overlook the needs of the cycling community. He wants to see new lanes on at least one major east-west corridor, such as Los Angeles Avenue.

“If someone’s going to sue you, they’re going to sue you whether there was a bike lane there or not,” Becerra said. And Hanson said a state law giving cities more protection against lawsuits involving hazardous sports includes cycling.

Still, law enforcement agencies prefer bike paths separated from moving traffic, said CHP spokesman Dave Webb, as do pro-motorist groups such as the Automobile Club of Southern California.

“If they’re going to be on the roads, we stress that both motorists and bicyclists need to follow traffic rules,” said Carol Thorp, an auto club spokeswoman.

And some argue the Arroyo Simi trail should satisfy the city’s biking needs.

“The fact that they have an off-street bike path from one end of town to the other is something beyond what many other cities have,” said Peter De Haan, director of transportation programming for the county transportation commission.

But that trail is not sufficient for those who use bicycles as their primary mode of transportation, Hanson said. And that constituency is growing as gas prices climb and more people become concerned about the environment, he said.

Thomas Mericle, traffic engineer for Ventura--which has the most bicycle courses in the county--said on-street bike lanes serve an important function in a city’s transportation system.

Take, for instance, Lance Christensen, a 36-year-old Thousand Oaks resident who rides to work in Agoura Hills every day and travels via bicycle through Simi twice a month for meetings in that city.

“There is a lot of fast traffic and cars parked on the side of the road, making it difficult to negotiate between moving cars and parked cars,” Christensen said, adding that less-experienced riders don’t feel comfortable without a designated space on the street.

Cycling “helps the environment and your health, and gives you a better attitude in life,” said Christensen, a member of the bicycle coalition. “No one should not feel comfortable riding a bicycle.”