Talk:Ventura, California

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As much as I love the Ventura area, I recently traveled there on business and was saddened to find a large number of homeless people lining the beautiful beaches and in the state park. I'm not sure what is causing this rise in homelessness in the area, but I think it should be noted in the Demographics discussion as I felt unsafe at times riding my bicycle along the paths. V-town is the best city in the world and no one can argue that.

The entry for Ventura, California states that Olivos was granted the property for the Olivos Hacienda by the Spanish gov't in 1841. Pretty sure that by 1841 Mexico was independent from Spain & that a Spanish land grant in that year would have no validity. Could the year given in the entry be incorrect?

You're right. Mexico gained independence in 1821. I checked http://www.ventura-usa.com/about/index.cfm?action=heritage and it just says that the land grant was given in 1841, but it doesn't say by whom, although a reasonable assumption would be Gov. Juan Bautista Alvarado. howch e ng {chat} 06:50, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Highway Link Between Ventura and Los Angeles

After consulting long-time residents and viewing photos from CalTrans and other sites, I have corrected the article's statement that travel from Los Angeles was slow and difficult until the "Ventura Freeway" was completed in 1969. That road, Highway 101, was a four-lane (and often six-lane on gradients) expressway that was completed by CalTrans in 1959. A photo from CalTrans can be viewed at: http://gbcnet.com/ushighways/US101/101pics9.html

My corrected text is: "...until the completion of a four-lane expressway (US Highway 101) over the Conejo Grade in 1959. This route, now further widened and improved by 1969, is known as the Ventura Freeway, which directly links Ventura with the Los Angeles metropolitan area."

The original Highway 101 was built over the Conejo Grade in 1930, and it was a two-lane concrete roadway, requiring very careful steering and braking on the downgrades.

The main article also neglects to mention another link from the Los Angles area: a four-lane expressway (101 ALT) that has existed for more than forty years along the coast, through Oxnard, to Santa Monica.

mm Faculty Univ of Nevada, Las Vegas

Additional note on US 101: starting in the late 1970s, IIRC, it was upgraded to 6 mainline lanes, with 2 auxiliary lanes in places, and 2 truck lanes on Conejo Grade. This is when the freeway was jogged slightly south in Camarillo so the double row of eucalyptus trees could remain.