14-MILE-LONG BICYCLING PATH TO LINK 2 CITIES SIMI VALLEY, THOUSAND OAKS TO BENEFIT STARTING THIS YEAR.Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - A new 14-mile bike path connecting Simi Valley to Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. could be completed this year - a project welcomed by cyclists looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. more safe routes through east Ventura County. With its rural roads winding through hills and down to the coast, Ventura County offers unique cycling opportunities. Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative officials have a master plan to spend about $18 million over the next 18 years on paths connecting the city to other parts of the county. As part of that overall plan, the new route planned for this year would start at the intersection of Katherine Road and Kuehner Drive in east Simi and wind up on Madera Road in west Simi at the border with Thousand Oaks. In between it would include parts of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Avenue, Sequoia Avenue, Fitzgerald Road, 1st Street, Long Canyon Road, Wood Ranch Parkway and Country Club Drive. The work should start in the summer or fall and be completed by the end of the year, officials said. ``Eastern Ventura County is a great place to ride a bike,'' said Aaron Hanson of Simi Valley, a past president of the Ventura County Bicycle Coalition. ``A lot of (cyclists) take advantage of the beautiful scenery and the relative lack of traffic in Ventura County. A number of them commute between Simi Valley and the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , and a number of bicyclists use the Metrolink station. But not having bike lanes really presents a problem.'' Ronald Fuchiwaki, Simi Valley's assistant director of public works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. , said an earlier system of bike paths that was marked on the city streets in the 1970s largely disappeared as the result of repaving projects, but the new system is gradually taking its place. ``I believe many of our residents have already noticed new bicycle routes appearing in various parts of the city,'' said Fuchiwaki. ``The cross-town route will be our largest project to date, and it will help connect various other portions of our bicycle routes that we have already implemented.'' The city is paying for the 14-mile pathway with the help of $378,000 from the state's Bicycle Transportation Account plus $42,000 in city funds. Under a $53,660 contract, the firm of Katz, Okitsu & Associates is designing the cross-town bike route to connect with sections that have already been built under the master plan. Hanson and Fuchiwaki said the old Simi Valley bike path system, which was built partly in response to the energy crisis and high oil prices in the 1970s, was allowed to be paved over partly out of fears of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . ``One of the factors was concern about liability. I think over time there may have been a change in opinions and improvements in signing and striping Interleaving or multiplexing data to increase speed. See disk striping. striping - data striping that alleviated the liability concerns,'' Fuchiwaki said. ``We've installed a variety of bike routes already throughout the city over the past few years,'' with the adoption of the city's Bicycle Master Plan in 2002. ``We can assume that about 51,000 residents in Simi Valley would like to bicycle purely for pleasure,'' said the master plan, prepared by Willdan Alta Transportation Consulting. ``Concerns about safety are the single greatest reason people don't commute by bicycle.'' Officials concluded that the plan for expanding Simi Valley's bike paths would save lives, and improve the local quality of life by helping reduce traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. , gas consumption and vehicle exhaust emissions. Hanson estimated one to two thousand people ride bicycles in Ventura County each day for various reasons, including pleasure and traveling two and from school or jobs. The city's goal over the next 20 years is to develop a system of 125 miles of routes, including a number of routes that loop through the surrounding rolling hills Rolling hills are like a mountain chain, only a "hill chain" of hills that roll on and on continually. You will often find them in between plains and mountains, near major rivers, or randomly anywhere. The only places without rolling hills are deserts and flood plains. . Hanson said he enjoys riding in the Lost Canyons area where a new bicycle route is being built west of the Lost Canyons Golf Course. The hillsides surrounding the golf course and a new housing development under construction are covered by green grass and wildflowers, making this a particularly beautiful time of the year for a bike ride. It is one of Simi Valley's most scenic areas, the old 10,000-acre Big Sky Movie Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated to being used as a site for the production of motion pictures. Movie ranches first came into use in southern California in the 1920s when westerns had become increasingly popular. where the television series ``Little House on the Prairie'' was filmed. Erringer Road is being extended to the golf course and could be open by fall. ``It's going to create the opportunity for a fantastic bike ride,'' he said. ``It's a great ride up the golf course, beautiful. ``There are lots of really popular rides, out beyond Moorpark and the 118 Corridor, back in the hills there,'' Hanson said. ``There is a beautiful ride out Santa Rosa Santa Rosa, city, Argentina Santa Rosa, city (1991 pop. 80,629), capital of La Pampa prov., central Argentina. It is a modern city and road junction surrounded by a rich agricultural and cattle-raising area. Road where you can go all the way to the beach. There's a loop around Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. .'' There is also a seven-mile bike path along the Arroyo Simi Valley through much of the valley from Las Llajas Creek to Madera Road, but it was closed in January because of the rains - the rushing water in the arroyo made it too dangerous. Although it will be reopened when the danger abates, the arroyo path has a rough surface in some areas because of deteriorating pavement. ``The problem for bicyclists with the Arroyo Simi bike path is that it is also used by many pedestrians,'' Hanson said. ``It's not really a bike lane, it's a multi-use path. For bicyclists who want to use it for transportation or training for racing, we want to be on the roads.'' Hanson is the regional manager for the Colavita Sutter Home Bicycle Racing bicycle racing or cycling, an internationally popular sport conducted on closed courses or the open road. Track racing takes place at a velodrome, usually a banked 1,093.6 ft (.333 km) oval. Team of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``It takes decades to implement everything,'' he said. ``It might not be completed for years to come. It's been five years since we started this whole process. Finally we are starting to see stripes on the road.'' Hanson, 38, said he has been riding bicycles since he was 18. He has lived in San Dimas, Riverside and Lake County about 300 miles north of San Francisco, and didn't have a car until he was 21. He said Simi Valley's neighbors, including Moorpark and Thousand Oaks, have done a good job of maintaining bike lanes. ``Two of the leading communities in Ventura County are Ventura and Thousand Oaks, which have wonderful bikeway bike·way n. A bicycle lane or path. systems,'' he said. ``In Simi Valley we want to get to the place were Thousand Oaks and Ventura are, and even go a little farther. It takes not only a bikeway plan funded by the city, but it also takes cyclists and citizens to constantly remind the city these things need to be done.'' Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, map Photo: (color -- ran in Simi edition only) Aaron Hanson rides his bike in the Lost Canyons Golf Course area. A bike path is planned in the region. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer Map: (ran in Simi edition only) SIMI BIKE PATH Source: The city of Simi Valley Daily News |
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