City Seeks Funds for Bike Trail, Footbridge

In an effort to get federal funds for local transportation and traffic projects, the City Council recommended five projects aimed at improving air quality and surface transportation around the city.

In December, the Ventura County Transportation Commission sent out a request for projects that might be eligible for funding through the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act, which decides who will get funds to improve air quality and surface transportation. The commission called for air quality projects that would create clean bus fleets, improve public transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and relieve traffic congestion.

The county receives $32 million in federal funds to be distributed to projects. It will rank cities’ projects and forward the proposals to the state for final approval.

The Ventura City Council opted for these projects: the Ventura River bike trail, the Highway 126 pedestrian bridge and wheelchair access ramps throughout the city.

The council also proposed two Victoria Avenue projects: improving onramps from Victoria Avenue to the Ventura Freeway, and widening Victoria Avenue from Valentine Road to Olivas Park Drive.

The long-awaited Ventura River bike trail also got a boost when the county Board of Supervisors officially transferred a 9.5-mile stretch of railroad to the city for free. The tracks, once the property of Southern Pacific Transportation Co., run from Foster Park to the ocean. Once paved, they will serve as the base of the river trail, linking it to the beach.