Current and Recent Advocacy

Santa Paula Branch Line 

The Santa Paula Branch Line (SPBL) is a 32-mile historic railway corridor stretching from East Ventura/Montalvo to the unincorporated community of Piru in Ventura County, California. Originally built in 1887 by the Southern Pacific Railroad, it is currently owned by the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) and operated by Sierra Northern Railway. VCTC is in the stages of evaluating a "rails-with-trails" recreational pathway alongside portions of the tracks for walking and biking, aiming to connect communities like Santa Paula and Fillmore.

We are actively advocating and participating in the review process that will hopefully result in a vote to proceed with constructing the bike path.

The proposed Carpinteria Rincon Trail would extend from the eastern end of Carpinteria Avenue, in the City of Carpinteria, to Rincon Beach County Park, in unincorporated Santa Barbara County. The new, shared-use trail would provide a strategic addition to Carpinteria’s Coastal Vista Trail that upon completion, will connect Padaro Lane to the west and Rincon Beach County Park to the east. In addition to providing critical improvements in public safety, the completion of this trail segment would provide improved public coastal access and recreational opportunities, and enhancement of non-vehicular travel alternatives to the region’s significant coastal resources. Completion of the trail will also fill in a long-standing gap in the statewide California Coastal Trail. The trail further is a requirement of the Conditional Use Permit and Coastal Development Permit No. 09-1522-CUP/CDP granted to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to construct the Linden Avenue and Casitas Pass Road Interchanges and Via Real Extension Project in order to promote regional alternative transportation objectives and to enhance recreation opportunities within the coastal zone and access to coastal resources.

We have advocated and supported Carpinteria and CalTrans to promote this project.

The Ventura Slow Street (or "Shared Streets") project was originally launched in May 2020 as a temporary response to the COVID-19 pandemic, designed to help residents safely walk, bike, and exercise while maintaining physical distance. The concept has since evolved into a larger, permanent push for pedestrian and cyclist safety. These projects are part of the larger, voter-supported Ventura Active Transportation Plan, which maps out a network of safer walking, bicycling, and rolling routes throughout the city.

We are actively advocating and supporting Ventura in there expansion of these projects.

This project is taking place at the Emma Woods exit on 101 just north of Ventura. The project replaces 34,669 square feet of bridge deck and 1,220 linear feet of bridge rail. The new bridge span will be 614’ long and 55’ wide with approximately 25’ of clearance from below.Benefits include a new, cleaner structure with fewer columns and improved aesthetics. The project will also improve bike and pedestrian path accessibility from Omer Rains Coastal Bike Trail to Emma Wood State Beach. The new bridge will have increased resilience to seismic activity, enhance safety for the traveling public, and meet railroad clearance requirements.

We actively advocated for making sure there is a bicycle and pedestrian detour during construction. Below is a representation of the separated bike lane on the new bridge: