Can we get there from here?
Last night, after hearing from nearly twenty public speakers, the City Council voted 6-1 to proceed with the completion of a plan for the Victoria Corridor, the busy stretch of the street from the 126 south to the 101.
Following earlier direction from the Council and the Planning Commission, staff recommended a focus on a "workplace" alternative among the three options outlined in our draft. The 2005 General Plan puts a premium on "high wage, high value" jobs as the key to our future prosperity. City staff agrees with sentiment from the Ventura Chamber of Commerce that that Victoria is a key to retaining and attracting the businesses that provide those jobs.
Certainly the biggest point of discussion before the Council is how to handle the traffic on the eight-lane street. The plan calls for a long-term approach that would essentially narrow the street to six lanes to improve walking, biking and transit usage along that stretch (parts of the street are wide enough to also include additional "slip" or "access" lanes to provide turning into and out of business driveways as well as on-street parking.) While many people welcomed the change as a way to improve the street, there was much more skepticism about whether the plan was practical, given the amount of "cut-through" regional traffic that now uses Victoria to switch from the 126 to the 101.
The Council motion, made by Councilmember Fulton, included expanding the traffic and street design study that would be a necessary part of environmental review of the draft plan. The environmental planners will look at a range of alternatives, including leaving the traffic pattern as is, expanding the roadway further and incorporating bike lanes as well as the proposal in the draft plan. Victoria will get a very careful look at the feasibility and impact of making changes to the street.
While the plan is being analyzed and refined, the Council also adopted (by a 5-2 vote) to require new or remodeled retail projects over 50,000 square feet to be subject to a conditional use permit.
To learn more about the plan and to follow further developments, click on the City's website at:
http://www.cityofventura.net/victoria
Councilmember Fulton, who made the motion to proceed with further study of the plan, has posted his perspective on his blog at:
http://fulton4ventura.blogspot.com/
Following earlier direction from the Council and the Planning Commission, staff recommended a focus on a "workplace" alternative among the three options outlined in our draft. The 2005 General Plan puts a premium on "high wage, high value" jobs as the key to our future prosperity. City staff agrees with sentiment from the Ventura Chamber of Commerce that that Victoria is a key to retaining and attracting the businesses that provide those jobs.
Certainly the biggest point of discussion before the Council is how to handle the traffic on the eight-lane street. The plan calls for a long-term approach that would essentially narrow the street to six lanes to improve walking, biking and transit usage along that stretch (parts of the street are wide enough to also include additional "slip" or "access" lanes to provide turning into and out of business driveways as well as on-street parking.) While many people welcomed the change as a way to improve the street, there was much more skepticism about whether the plan was practical, given the amount of "cut-through" regional traffic that now uses Victoria to switch from the 126 to the 101.
The Council motion, made by Councilmember Fulton, included expanding the traffic and street design study that would be a necessary part of environmental review of the draft plan. The environmental planners will look at a range of alternatives, including leaving the traffic pattern as is, expanding the roadway further and incorporating bike lanes as well as the proposal in the draft plan. Victoria will get a very careful look at the feasibility and impact of making changes to the street.
While the plan is being analyzed and refined, the Council also adopted (by a 5-2 vote) to require new or remodeled retail projects over 50,000 square feet to be subject to a conditional use permit.
To learn more about the plan and to follow further developments, click on the City's website at:
http://www.cityofventura.net/victoria
Councilmember Fulton, who made the motion to proceed with further study of the plan, has posted his perspective on his blog at:
http://fulton4ventura.blogspot.com/
posted by Rick Cole at
8:11 AM
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