Bicycle Safety

BIKE

Bicycle Safety

Who doesn’t love to ride a bike? It’s fun, healthy and a great family activity. It’s also a green alternative to driving. But before you jump on your bike, here are some tips to make sure you and your family are ready to ride safely!

Before you leave the house, get prepared. Plan your route, check your equipment and follow these simple tips.

  1.  Always wear a bicycle helmet. This is important for everyone at every age, but for riders under the age of 18, it’s the law.


  1.  Be alert. Keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t use your cell phone or wear headphones while you ride.

  1. Be visible. Make sure that drivers can see you coming by wearing bright clothing and using lights and reflectors.

  1. Practice defensive riding. Scan the road ahead so you can steer clear of hazards. Be ready to brake or change course to avoid cars, pedestrians, potholes or debris in your path.

Under the California Vehicle Code, bikes are considered a vehicle. For the most part, cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicle drivers.

    1. Motorists and cyclists follow the same rules of the road. Motorists must yield to bikes as they would to any other vehicle.

 


  1. Always bike with the flow of traffic. If you’re traveling as fast as traffic, you can ride in any vehicle lane you’d like. Ventura County does not allow riding on the sidewalk in business areas or where signs say no riding.

  1. Motorists must give cyclists three feet of space. If there is not enough room for a bike and a vehicle to safely travel side by side, cyclists are entitled to use the entire lane, no matter how fast they move.


  1. If you’re going slower than the speed of traffic, you must use a bike path (if there is one) or hug the right shoulder of the vehicle lane except when making a left turn, passing or avoiding hazards.

Be a safety role model for the young people in your life. Make biking safe and fun for the whole family by following these guidelines.

  1. Make sure that child carriers – like bike trailers and bike seats – are highly visible and installed correctly according to the manufacturer’s instructions.


  1. Children under the age of 18 are required to wear helmets. Don’t let your child ride a bike without a helmet that fits well and is properly secured. .

  1. Supervise children on bikes at all times. Never let kids ride alone.


  1. Whenever possible, use protected bike paths, also known as Class 1 bike paths, which are completely separate from city streets. Visit VCTC’s Regional Bike Map to find Class 1 bike paths in your area.


Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan

Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan

What is the Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan?

The Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) is a long-range planning document adopted by the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) that plans for the future of transportation in the County over the next 20-30 years. The 2023 CTP incorporates socioeconomic data, community priorities, and local transportation solutions while also placing a special emphasis on inclusion of disadvantaged and underserved communities to create a more equitable transportation future for all.

What is the purpose of the Plan?

The Plan:

  • Identifies future transportation needs, priorities, and funding
  • Identifies strategies to reduce emissions and improve air quality
  • Enhances equitable access to mobility options
  • Establishes a vision for mobility in Ventura County for the next 20-30 years

Recent community comments are being incorporated and the final Plan will be available by February 3.

English:

Spanish:

How will the Plan be used to improve Ventura County?

The Plan will:

  • Provide a comprehensive look at transportation across Ventura County
  • Consider future land use and transportation conditions
  • Identify community‐based transportation priorities
  • Help Ventura County meet State and local mandates and goals

What’s the project location and scope?

The Plan includes all transportation modes throughout Ventura County and will analyze walking, biking, transit, rail, freight, airports and more.

What role will the public and stakeholders play in the planning process?

The CTP update will be guided by input received from the community and project stakeholders. Two online surveys will be made available in English and Spanish during the project to solicit input from the community. Additionally, members of the project team will be visiting community events to connect with community members and get feedback.

The project will also include the formation of a Regional Advisory Committee and several Local Advisory Committees that will be engaged at different stages of the plan’s development. The committees will include representatives from major institutions and employers in Ventura County, such as local universities, Naval Base Ventura County, the Port of Hueneme as well as educational, business, and environmental representatives.

 

What is the Project Schedule?

Thanks for your feedback

Over the past year, we have heard from hundreds of community members with their thoughts on the future of transportation. The accepted Comprehensive Transportation Plan is available here here. In February 2023, the VCTC Board voted to accept the CTP and provided direction to staff to amend the plan to incorporate comments from the public and advisory committees for full adoption at a future date. If you would like updates on the CTP timing and amended plan, please sign up for the project email list below.

Virtual Community Workshop

A virtual public workshop was held on December 6th at 6:00 pm and if you were unable to attend, video recordings in English and Spanish are below. We welcome your feedback!

Meeting Slides English | Spanish
Meeting Recordings English | Spanish

If you have any questions or comments, please contact:

CTPupdate@goventura.org

To sign up for the project email list, please submit your email below:

How is this plan related to the Our Future 101, 101 Communities Connected, and the Ventura County Freight Corridors Study Projects?

Our Future 101 is an alternatives analysis and environmental assessment for highway improvements on the mainline of the freeway. These include, for example, adding regular, carpool, or auxiliary lanes and ramps.

101 Communities Connected examines more than just the U.S. 101 freeway, and takes a more general and high-level view of the broader three-mile radius around the 101 to develop a list of potential multimodal improvements for highway, transit, bikes and pedestrians, which is coordinated to provide the most efficient overall mobility for all County residents that use the corridor.

The Ventura County Freight Corridors Study project looks at freight connections beyond US 101 such as the regional highways of State Routes 1, 23, 33, 34, 118, 126, and 150, including primary and arterial roadways as well as, connections outside the .

The Transit Integration and Efficiency Study (TIES) launched in early 2021 to review transit operations and structure in Ventura County. The goal of the study is to improve bus transit throughout Ventura County by identifying strategies that will most effectively improve passenger experience, reduce operating and capital costs, and better integrate the existing operating systems.

All of the studies analyze different aspects of the transportation system, and the CTP will bring together these different areas and evaluate the transportation network as a whole. We look forward to keeping you informed about the Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan.

Is the previous Comprehensive Transportation Plan available?

The 2013 plan may be viewed here.


FSP


VC Freight Corridors Study

Ventura County Freight Logo

What is the Ventura County Freight Corridors Study?

VCTC, the Port of Hueneme, and Caltrans have partnered with the Southern California Association of Governments to develop the Ventura County Freight Corridors Study, which will identify and prioritize the most significant freight corridors for safer, more efficient, and sustainable freight connections.  We will work with community and industry groups and the general public to refine the project objective, focus analysis efforts, and develop solutions with the greatest benefit to both the County’s economic competitiveness and environmental health.

What is the purpose of the Study?

The Ventura County Freight Corridors Study will establish a more thorough understanding of the highway freight corridors in Ventura County, along with key related local roads, and use the knowledge to inform future highway planning and investment decisions.  It will identify opportunities to support cleaner freight and goods movement, while continuing to promote Ventura County’s industries, including the strong agricultural economy, as well as the region and State’s economic growth.

It will assist the Port of Hueneme and the Ventura County region to move towards achieving State and regional emission reductions goals and increase social equity by planning for a transportation system that is efficient but not disproportionately centralized around disadvantaged communities.

How will the study be used to improve Ventura County?

The Ventura County Freight Corridors Study will bring together a range of community, industry and public agency voices to develop a consensus-driven plan that identifies steps to improve the safety and efficiency of freight movement throughout Ventura County and the region.

What does it mean for my community?

Long-range transportation infrastructure decisions require careful study of an assortment of issues to preserve and improve the existing roadway network with solutions that will ensure future investments yield the greatest sustainable benefit to the County’s economic competitiveness and growth as well as human and environmental health.

The Ventura County Freight Corridors Study was adopted by the Ventura County Transportation Commission on November 5, 2021. A copy of the Study is available to download here. Ventura County Freight Corridors Study Final 10-26-21.pdf

Watch a previously recorded Public Workshop

Public Workshop #1: Project Goals and Existing Conditions (held on February 18, 2021)

Public Workshop #1 (English)

Public Workshop #1 (Spanish)


Public Workshop #2: Issues, Vulnerabilities and Opportunities, and Performance Measures (held on March 18, 2021)

Public Workshop #2 (English)

Public Workshop #2 (Spanish)


Public Workshop #3: Draft Presentation (held on September 16, 2021)

Public Workshop #3 (English)

Public Workshop #3 Slides are available here (English)

Public Workshop #3 (Spanish)

Public Workshop #3 Slides are available here (Spanish)


How is this study related to the Our Future 101 and 101 Communities Connected Projects?

Our Future 101 is an alternatives analysis and environmental assessment for highway improvements on the mainline of the freeway. These include, for example, adding regular, carpool, or auxiliary lanes and ramps. 101 Communities Connected examines more than just the U.S. 101 freeway. It takes a more general and high-level view of the broader three-mile radius around the 101 to develop a list of potential multimodal improvements for highway, transit, bikes and pedestrians, which is coordinated to provide the most efficient overall mobility for all County residents that use the corridor.

Due to the amount of recent focus in the US 101 Corridor already, the Ventura County Freight Corridors Study project will look at freight connections beyond US 101 such as the regional highways of State routes 1, 23, 33, 34, 118, 126, and 150, including primary and arterial roadways as well as, connections outside the County.

What other transportation planning efforts studied freight in Ventura County?

Past Studies of freight in Ventura County focused on access to the Port of Hueneme in the Port of Hueneme Access Study (2000) and Cities of Port Hueneme/Oxnard Truck Traffic Study (2008).

Ventura County’s roadmap for future investment in the transportation system is the Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (2013). An update to the Comprehensive Transportation Plan is slated to begin in 2021, and will consider the results of the Freight Corridor Study, 101 Connected Communities, and Our Future 101.

The State of California provides a vision for the future in freight statewide in the California Freight Mobility Plan and the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan.

Download the Ventura County Freight Corridors Study

Ventura County Freight Corridors Study – October 2021 Final

Executive Summary

EnglishSpanish