Driving in Ventura is not the most enjoyable activity. We all have to do it. Our aging infrastructure is an important issue I intend to address. The condition of many of our streets is poor to dangerous. This can lead to accidents and very avoidable damage to our cars. Our town has been incorporated since 1866 it has endured a lot of wear and tear. I intend to focus on fixing our streets and making them safe and enjoyable to drive on.
Another thing I intend to focus on is making traffic flow more smoothly. Traffic from one end of our North to South main streets like Victoria to the freeway does not flow without stopping at multiple lights. If I’m stopped at a red, once I’m released I frequently have to stop at the next lights as they turn red too. The lights should be timed so as to deliver traffic to the 101 freeway without a lot of impediments. That costs us all more in fuel, time and air quality.
People have few incentives to choose alternatives to hopping in their cars for a quick errand. Bicycling is not as easy as it might be. I want to deliver better bike lanes. I love the idea of the free downtown trolley. I would advocate a better means for people to get together for carpooling. Perhaps even a way for people who live in Ventura but work in Santa Barbara (or the revers) to be able to access inexpensive mass transit to commute to and from work each day. We add a lot of traffic to that stretch of the 101 every day. We can do better.