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Community Corner

Crowd Gathers to Protest Caltrans

Locals are angry over the condition of Venice Boulevard.

A group of protestors gathered on Sunday to voice their anger over the potholes and other safety hazards they say plague Venice Boulevard.

Mar Vista resident Linda Jones, who organized the protest, said she has appealed to Caltrans for two years to fix the problem but to no avail.

"It looks much worse than when I first started reporting it," Jones said.

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She received a letter from Caltrans more than a month ago saying Venice Boulevard would be repaired this summer "at the earliest," she said. Jones is not convinced.

"I really don't think it's going to happen that soon, if ever," she said.

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She has also been discouraged by the response she has received from local officials, including State Senator Ted Lieu who she invited to the protest, she said. Lieu was not in attendance at Sunday's protest, but his spokesperson, Ray Sotero, said Caltrans has done some "grinding and paving" work in recent weeks. 

"They did a temporary fix and put out bids to have a permanent fix," Sotero said. "That's supposed to be done this summer."

Jones is not convinced the work will actually get done.

However, her spirits were buoyed by the response the 20 protestors received by people attending the nearby Venice-Mar Vista Farmers' Market.

"The public response was amazing," Jones said. "They were so expressive in their disgust with the state of Venice Boulevard. It was heartwarming to know our efforts were echoing what everyone was thinking."

She simply hopes that what she calls the "safety hazards" on Venice Boulevard will soon become a thing of the past before they get any worse.

"Cars are almost hitting other cars or almost hitting bicyclists," Jones said. "It's horrendous."

Caltrans was reviewing the complaints and had no immediate comment.


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