A three-pronged effort will soon get under way to improve the safety of bicyclists in Thousand Oaks — from hard-core cycling enthusiasts to those relying on bikes to get to work.

The City Council agreed, in a 3-0 vote, to implement a bicycle-safety sign program, to begin searching for a consultant to start a public outreach program and to hire a traffic engineer who will serve part time as a coordinator for bicycle issues.

Mayor Andy Fox and Councilwoman Claudia Bill-de la Peña were absent.

The recommendations, which include signs, striping, education and a city employee who will serve part time as a bicycle coordinator, were the work of the Bicycle Advisory Team.

The team — a group of cyclists, city and park district employees and law enforcement personnel — was created at the council's request in September after the death of a city resident, Dr. Glenn Garvin.

Garvin, who was a member of the city's Traffic and Transportation Commission, was struck and killed while riding his bike.

Cyclists who spoke before the council Tuesday night said there is a need to educate riders.

"It's easy to ride safely in the city by following the rules of the road," Bicycle Advisory Team Chairman David Chambers said. "But some cyclists don't know the rules of the road because they have gotten bad advice. In my opinion B.A.T.'s most serious recommendation is to educate cyclists."

Developing a bilingual outreach and education program will be contracted to a consultant. Potential candidates will be asked to submit proposals.

Outreach efforts, which would include a city map with bicycle rules of the road, will target cyclists, employees, landlords, parents, schools, law enforcement, city employees and transit drivers.

The outreach efforts also will target riders through new-employee orientations and tenant information. City-sponsored cyclist training to promote safe riding also was among the recommendations.

A variety of signs and striping will be added to some city streets. On streets like Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Moorpark Road, special road stencils with a bike and arrows will be painted, which will provide space for cyclists to safely position themselves.

Other signs will read "Bicyclist Allowed Use of Full Lane" and "Pedestrians Use Sidewalks Not Bike Lane."

At intersections, markings will be painted so cyclists can position themselves.

Detectors to be recalibrated

Also, traffic signal detectors will be calibrated to detect bicycles. Advisory team members who spoke before the council also urged the city to include a bicycle coordinator at City Hall.

"There is not someone on staff that any member of the community can go to to ask questions, to make recommendations," team member Steven Stanley said.

"That was one of our frustrations, that members of the public have no one to go to to get information."

A cyclist's perspective

Stanley said a staff member could look at things from a cyclist's perspective when it comes to considering land development projects.

While the advisory team called for creating the position, the council went with a staff recommendation to reclassify an existing vacant position to that of a traffic engineer who would work part time on cycling issues and the rest of the time on citywide traffic issues.

The cost for implementing the sign program is estimated at $15,000 and is included in the budget for the next two years.

The cost of the outreach program is estimated at $40,000, but a final figure won't be known until a consultant is selected and hired.

Council members will receive regular updates on the program at council meetings.