Fewer drivers are using Lynn Road north of Highway 101 in Thousand Oaks since the introduction of traffic-calming measures and the completion of the Highway 23 widening project, city officials say.

Most dramatically, the number of large trucks has dropped by half on the curving artery on the city's west side.

Lynn Road and its northern extension, Olsen Road, have been used as an alternate route by some drivers seeking to avoid congestion on Highway 23 during the construction in recent years.

The project added one lane in each direction on Highway 23 from Los Angeles Avenue in Moorpark to Highway 101 in Thousand Oaks.

"In February 2006, there were 200 large trucks a day using Lynn Road," said Thousand Oaks Public Works Director Mark Watkins. "In April 2008, that had dropped to 100 a day."

The traffic count, which was conducted for the city, also revealed about a 6 percent decrease in traffic overall, from 21,000 vehicles a day in February 2006 to 19,800 in April of this year.

The bulk of the Highway 23 widening project was completed in March, when the extra lanes opened.

"Drivers are no longer detouring off the 23 freeway," Watkins said.

City Councilman Dennis Gillette, who lives close to Lynn Road and uses it daily, said he's seen a significant decline in traffic.

"The decline in morning and evening commute volume, especially, is very visible," he said.

The rising cost of gasoline may also have had an effect, some officials said.

Caltrans spokesman Derrick Alatorre said that from March 2007 to March 2008, vehicle miles traveled across the state fell by 1.5 percent — and are expected to continue to decline — as commuters seek alternate and more cost-effective transportation.

In addition, Gillette said, the completion of construction projects at Los Robles Regional Medical Center and the University Village retirement development near California Lutheran University also helped reduce truck traffic on Lynn Road.

Despite the reduction in large commercial trucks using Lynn Road, the city is still considering enforcing a total ban on trucks with three axles or more using the route.

"The analysis is completed, and we plan to reconvene the Lynn Road Speed Mitigation ad hoc committee one more time to discuss if we should move forward with a ban," Gillette said.

According to Watkins, efforts by the city and the police to enforce the speed limit on Lynn Road have also had an effect.

The city has spent $530,000 on traffic-calming measures, including installing radar feedback signs showing drivers how fast they are going and constructing six turnarounds where Sheriff's Department officers on motorcycles can park to clock passing motorists.

The turnarounds have made it safer for officers to work traffic enforcement on the route, and that, along with the Highway 23 widening project and the speed indicator signs, is making Lynn Road safer, said Thousand Oaks Police Chief Dennis Carpenter.

"Anecdotally, officers are saying they're finding fewer speeders, and there's also been a slight reduction in traffic collisions," Carpenter said.

Gillette said that any permanent successes from the Lynn Road project could be used as blueprints for applying the same or similar measures to other areas in the city with a volume of high traffic, including Westlake Boulevard, Erbes Road and Hillcrest Drive.