Suburban life in Thousand Oaks can be dangerous for teenagers, who must combat “leisure boredom” and “lax parental supervision,” a city report says.

Even though the 2009 Morgan Quitno Report ranked Thousand Oaks in the top 10 safest cities with populations exceeding 100,000, parents and teens cite “nothing to do” as something that puts local teens at risk.

“Teens pointed to the lack of entertainment and recreational options as a possible reason for drug and alcohol use among their age group,” says the Thousand Oaks Recreational Options Project report.

The project gathered opinions from 700 high school students in Conejo Valley Unified School District about the quality of recreation available to them.

They were also asked how recreation could be improved for their age group.

The project was the master’s thesis of Cornell University graduate Akbar Alikhan, an intern at the city manager’s office. He used a $1,300 grant from the Conejo Valley Rotaract Club and $700 of his own, he said.

“I learned investors are hesitant to come to the Conejo Valley to do business here because of the high cost of real estate,” Alikhan said. But there’s money to be made here, he added.

A music venue or a bowling alley could offer options to young people in the area.

Alikhan said his thesis is intended to be a policy document for the city to help T.O. develop recreation for young people.

Thousand Oaks may need to set aside some land or offer tax subsidies to attract investors.

And the city needs to make the public aware of why nothing has been built for teens, he said.

It’s mostly because of limited areas for potential development that won’t raise objections from neighbors.

“If something does materialize, residents need to make use of it. They should also take the time to have a hand in the development,” Alikhan said.

On page 32 of the 50-page report, those surveyed answered the question: “How likely is it that you would use each of the following entertainment/recreation facilities if they were available in the Conejo Valley?”

The teens responded with 82 percent very likely or likely to go to a bowling alley and 75 percent a music venue. Other answers included ice skating/hockey rink, 63 percent; dance place, 60 percent; extreme sports facility, 55 percent; boxing/martial arts, 35 percent; and an indoor skateboard park, 26 percent.

The project can be downloaded by visiting http://moretodointo.com/pdf/final_web.pdf.

For more information, contact Alikhan at aalikhan@toaks.org or call (805) 449-2117.