THOUSAND OAKS : City Asked to Delay Extension of Road

Angered by the prospect of increased commuter traffic, a group of Newbury Park neighbors urged the Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday to delay a project to extend Lynn Road.

The group asked the City Council to reconsider loaning Operating Engineers and Courtly Homes, builders of the 2,350-unit Dos Vientos development, $700,000 to construct a two-lane extension of Lynn Road.

The council unanimously agreed last month to finance half of the $1.4-million project because of traffic complaints from neighbors who live on nearby Potrero Road.

Residents complained last month that two-lane Potrero Road, which stretches from the Westlake area of Thousand Oaks to Camarillo, has become a busy commuter route for motorists traveling from Point Mugu and Port Hueneme.

Under the proposed plan, Potrero Road will stop in a cul-de-sac near Pinehill Avenue. Motorists will take Lynn Road until it reconnects further west with Potrero Road.

However, Lynn Road residents say the plan will not solve traffic problems and will create new ones for their neighborhood.

“They’re just moving the traffic problem. There are hundreds of homes affected by this,” Michelle Koetke, a resident of Lynn Road, said Tuesday. “What they’re talking about is a complete nightmare.”

Area residents say they want the extension delayed until other improvements are made to two-lane Lynn Road. The council decided to schedule the issue for a future hearing.