CITY PONDERS BIKE PATH PROPOSAL; COSTLY, ONE-BLOCK THOROUGHFARE PART OF T.O. REVITALIZATION PLAN.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

The City Council is considering spending nearly half a million dollars to build a park and bike path along a one-block stretch behind Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Linking Hillcrest Drive to Moorpark Road with a landscaped and pedestrian-friendly pathway, the Arroyo Conejo Bikeway/Greenbelt Project was first planned more than 10 years ago as part of a series of greener, grassier areas to revitalize Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

``This is one way of putting more of a natural setting back into the area, to create a little more of a park setting,'' said Haider Alawami, associate planner with the city of Thousand Oaks.

The city began planning the project after the Ventura County Flood Control District expressed its concern that the properties along the Arroyo Conejo are prone to flooding in heavy rains. The city agreed to build a boxed culvert to help with runoff, but the city also decided to eventually replace the landscaping that was removed to build the culvert.

After getting a $125,000 grant from the Ventura County Transportation Commission, the city set aside about $200,000 in local matching funds. But with delays in negotiations with local property owners to secure easements, the city's redevelopment agency ended up using the local matching funds to pay for other projects including the Civic Arts Plaza, Alawami said.

``We finally got the properties we need. It was a long process because the city didn't want to use eminent domain, so it's been a matter of negotiations,'' he said.

The city already has spent about $100,000 to design the park with its 10-foot-wide bike path for cyclists and pedestrians in addition to acquiring the parcels needed for the project. Today, the City Council is expected to appropriate an additional $277,575 to kick off the opening phase of the project to construct the first 640 feet of the 970-foot pathway.

The total cost of the project is expected to be $420,000.

The city now plans to install raised planters, oak trees and well-kept shrubs in addition to building low-rise walls that people can sit on and a bike path for pedestrian and bicycle use.

For cyclist Herb Berger, president of the Old Kranks Bike Club, the funds could have been better used to improve bicycle access around town. He said a one-block-long bike path will probably better suit pedestrians, in-line skaters and those on a leisurely bike ride.

``All this money is going to be spent on one block to build a bike path. I think it's money down the tubes,'' he said. ``They could do a lot with that kind of money to fix up the routes, install those buttons for pedestrians and cyclists to get the signals to change, things like that.''

City officials expect to receive an additional $625,000 in federal funds from a massive transportation bill passed by Congress last month.

Those funds will be specifically earmarked to improve the city's bicycle access around town.

While the park and pathway were designed to meet the standards for bike paths and for disabled access, Alawami said he expects the area to be used less by cyclists and more by pedestrians such as those who live in the nearby residential care facility and those who work in the area.

For the 148 senior residents of the Hillcrest Royale Residential Care facility located on East Hillcrest Drive, the new path will be just a few steps away and a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

``Right now, the residents don't really have a place to walk. They either walk inside or around the building or we have to go onto the main street,'' said Inga Jakobovich, director of the care center.

``But there's no green there. It's commercial and they don't see many people or children walking there. So this will be very nice for them.

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MAP: (Ran in Conejo Edition only) THOUSAND OAKS BIKE PATH