My Favorite Street Is Closed To Cars. But Not To People.

My favorite street is closed to cars at the moment. But not to people. And that’s just fine with me.

Recently, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council in Ventura, California, extended what is technically known as the “Temporary Outdoor Business Expansion Program” — more popularly known as “Main Street Moves”. Simply put, because indoor dining is still prohibited in California, Main Street in Downtown Ventura has been blocked off to cars so that restaurants can put tables on out on the street.

Main Street Moves is a whopping success. And it shows what makes a truly great street: It’s flexible, able to bend to the demands of the moment, rather than rigidly serving one purpose at all times.

I have driven Main Street thousands of times. I have also walked it, biked it, and ridden a bus along it more times than I can count.

But along Main Street, I’ve also lit Christmas trees, twirled in fake snow, eaten tornado potatoes, accompanied the police as they sorted out a marital dispute, shot the breeze with homeless people (just part of the mayor’s job), gotten into an argument with angry Tea Partiers over the constitutionality of the parking meters, watched my bleary-eyed daughter walk down Main Street to middle school with a giant Starbucks cup in her hand, dined…