101 Freeway Cap With Retail and More Planned For Ventura

The idea to cap the 101 Freeway is moving north to Ventura, where the Southern California Association of Governments has funded a $160,000 study of a freeway cap park for the 101 where it passes through the city of Ventura near the Pacific Ocean (there are two 101 caps in the works in LA--one in Hollywood and one Downtown). Here is how the Ventura County Star explains the concept: "the idea is to roof over the freeway with asphalt, creating a tunnel three blocks long for highway motorists." The proposal, designed by Roesling Nakamura Terada Architects, would reconnect Ventura's midtown to the beach near its popular pier by adding a conference center, a bus and train hub, and retail and commercial on top of the cap. The project is currently estimated at $400 million, but the city's leaders have cautioned against reading too much into that number because the project, if implemented, has a long way to go. But as City Community Development Director Jeffrey Lambert says: "It really is possible if we break it into bite-sized pieces ... If we don't dream, we'll never get there." In addition to the 101 projects and two plans for the 10 in Santa Monica, there is this rather underreported work going on for a cap of the 134 in Glendale.