The changing face of a beach area.

The beach access area in Ventura town is going through another change. If anyone has come into town this past week and gone into the Fair Grounds area you’d have seen the construction is starting… actually the demolition is what’s happening, construction comes later.

The 2 dollar fair grounds parking area and up to pipe is being rearranged. If I understand correctly the parking area is being relocated back to the street that currently runs between the parking area and the fair grounds. The current parking area will be removed and combed over with a more natural cobble and sand approach to the waters edge.

Sounds all reasonable.. we’ll see how it plays out with what the ocean wants to do over time.

There is another part to the changes which will take place below Figueroa st. along the promenade. If I understand this will change beach access by removing the inside point stairs and relocating them a couple hundred feet toward the pier from where they are now. As well, more large rocks will be added to the revetment in front of the promenade a couple hundred feet above the existing inside point beach access stairs.

The problem with the promenade is that the ocean wants the area where new rocks are going to be set. The ocean wants to remove the inside stairs… the ocean wants it’s space back… and then some maybe. But, a certain group of people wanted to take that space away from the ocean and they don’t want to ever give it back. In order to protect what the group of people did they must add to what they did so as to stop the ocean from doing what it wants to do. Lofty plans that over time have consequences.

Consequences from the first set of rocks for the revetment changed the way surf breaks along the point and, maybe more importantly, how sand is distributed below that particular stretch of coast line.

I remember how the surf at the point was before the current revetment…. It was better. I don’t think adding to the revetment will make it better than it is now, it will probably be a change for the worse… or is it another change for the worse?

D.R.

A flat seven foot high tide winter morning after some rain at the top of the point before the group of people started doing what they’ve done to the area.