In the next year, Simi Valley will be updating its Bicycle Master Plan, which has not received any updates since 2008. This is a great opportunity to have a positive impact on the safety of our bicycle infrastructure and encourage people to consider other modes of transportation within their local environment.

A good example of this is an article we wrote detailing the importance of improving the active transportation infrastructure around portions of Simi Valley where residential and commercial activity is being focused.

Timeline

Current Status: Draft Plan / Community Input

The City details the steps that will be followed to refresh its Bicycle Plan. They are as follows

  1. March 15th: RFP (Request for proposals) sent out to contractors.
  2. June-July: Contract awarded to contractor seen as best fit by city staff to fulfill their requirements.
  3. June 2024 - 2025: Contractor updates the existing master plan. This includes…
    • Reviewing existing plans in the 2008 master plan.
    • Review of bicycle related collisions on city streets.
    • Conducting outreach to people who use the existing facilities or would be a good fit for a new system.
    • Solicit recommendation for new and upgraded facilities.
    • Final plan preparation.
  4. June 2025: Draft plan shown to the public for review and feedback.
    • During this period, the city has provided a survey link for community members to use to give feedback.

Our Analysis

In our opinion, this is a great plan for our community. Here are some things we like about it

  • Class IV bike path on Tapo St.
  • Class IV along Los Angeles Ave. between First St. and Erringer Rd
  • Class IV along Los Angeles Ave. between Tapo St. and Sterns St.
  • The extension of the Arroyo Simi Bike Path north from its branch between Sycamore Dr. and Sequoia Ave.

These improvements align with the recommendations that we made in our post last year and we are very happy to see them. However, we didn’t see any mention of specific design standards for things like intersections. Hopefully they are included in the full Bike Plan document.

Draft Plan With Key

Overall, this is a great expansion to the 2008 plan. Please leave your comments supporting the draft and suggesting anything else you would like to see. Draft Plan Feedback Link