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This article was originally published on Common Edge.
From the hills behind the City Hall in my adopted hometown of Ventura, California, it’s less than 1,000 yards southward to the Pacific Ocean. This constrained piece of topography creates a small urban gem of a downtown: streetscapes, restaurants, stores, offices, residences, parking garages, and a beachfront promenade, all within eight or so square blocks, creating a lively streetlife that connects a historic downtown to the beach.
But this narrow slot is also a critical part of California’s coastal transportation corridor. Laced throughout the thousand yards are five local streets; the Union Pacific coast line, which also carries Amtrak trains; and U.S. Highway 101, the Ventura Highway, which carries 100,000 cars and trucks a day through downtown Ventura. Without this slot, it would be simply impossible to traverse the California coast; the nearest alternative freeway route, I-5, is 45 miles inland. (Like many places in So