Name ONE thing you think would make Ventura County better? (Los Angeles: sales, apartment)

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Cyanna

Yes, but can you imagine being a cop in some areas of Van Nuys, Panorama City or Pacoima and being told you HAD to live there? Maybe if the city made the areas more habitable it would draw more police and other professionals.

Works both ways. If Simi didn't have so many cops living there (and not just Simi cops and Ventura Co. Sheriffs but cops from LAPD, LASD, and other L.A. County agencies) it would probably be less safe.

Besides Van Nuys, Panorama City, and Pacoima don't have their own police departments like nearby Burbank does. But then if Van Nuys was a separate city with its own school district like Burbank is it never would have declined to the level it did beginning in the '80s. (You claimed once that Van Nuys' decline started in the mid-60s ; this doesn't jibe with anything I've observed or ever heard. Van Nuys was blue collar and working class in the '60s and '70s and not a place for "professionals" but it was a perfectly functional community. BVN existed but they were smaller back then, nowhere near as dangerous, and only confined to one section of Van Nuys.)

I can name four police officers who live right here near me and even they won't go out at night when they are off shift. But I do see your point.

Glad you can see my point. And I'm glad there are cops living in Van Nuys, that's good news for a community that doesn't see much good news. BTW, isn't "Hell Town" the nickname for Stockton? At least I've only heard it used as a nickname for Stockton....

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by majoun

Works both ways. If Simi didn't have so many cops living there (and not just Simi cops and Ventura Co. Sheriffs but cops from LAPD, LASD, and other L.A. County agencies) it would probably be less safe.

Besides Van Nuys, Panorama City, and Pacoima don't have their own police departments like nearby Burbank does. But then if Van Nuys was a separate city with its own school district like Burbank is it never would have declined to the level it did beginning in the '80s. (You claimed once that Van Nuys' decline started in the mid-60s ; this doesn't jibe with anything I've observed or ever heard. Van Nuys was blue collar and working class in the '60s and '70s and not a place for "professionals" but it was a perfectly functional community. BVN existed but they were smaller back then, nowhere near as dangerous, and only confined to one section of Van Nuys.)

For some people the decline of Van Nuys did begin in the late '60's, which is why so many decided to move to areas in Ventura County or outer areas of Los Angeles. Some "visionaries," for lack of a better word, could see the writing on the wall. One of my clients was a retired LAPD officer with the Van Nuys division, joining the force shortly before the Black Dahlia murder. He and his wife used to tell me about the steady decline they witnessed and of the violence and crime being carried out by those they called "migrant workers." Funny enough, they lived right around the corner from where I am now, and they also moved to Simi the same year my parents did, 1967.

Glad you can see my point. And I'm glad there are cops living in Van Nuys, that's good news for a community that doesn't see much good news. BTW, isn't "Hell Town" the nickname for Stockton? At least I've only heard it used as a nickname for Stockton....

Yes, there are cops living here, but the ones I know are all pretty much "fresh out of the wrapper" and they are saving to....guess what?...move to Simi Valley or Moorpark

I've never heard of Stocton benig refered to as "Hell Town" but I feel it is an adequate description for the area I currently live in. At least it is a more polite term than others around here in the area are calling it

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Cyanna

For some people the decline of Van Nuys did begin in the late '60's, which is why so many decided to move to areas in Ventura County or outer areas of Los Angeles. Some "visionaries," for lack of a better word, could see the writing on the wall. One of my clients was a retired LAPD officer with the Van Nuys division, joining the force shortly before the Black Dahlia murder. He and his wife used to tell me about the steady decline they witnessed and of the violence and crime being carried out by those they called "migrant workers." Funny enough, they lived right around the corner from where I am now, and they also moved to Simi the same year my parents did, 1967.

I've never heard of anyone besides yourself claiming that decline in Van Nuys began as early as '67, including people I know FROM Van Nuys. GM was pumping out Camaros and Firebirds, high paying blue collar jobs were plentiful, and life was good from all accounts with minimal violence and crime. The big white flight wouldn't occur until GM and Lockheed closed and the blue collar jobs at the studios dried up. It wasn't a fancy neighborhood by any means but wasn't pretending to be Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, or Toluca Lake. Just an unpretentious working class neighborhood for unpretentious working class people, some of whom happened to be brown or yellow. And like many unpretentious down to earth blue collar neighborhoods across the USA once the factories left taking the jobs with them the neighborhoods went to crap.

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by majoun

I've never heard of anyone besides yourself claiming that decline in Van Nuys began as early as '67, including people I know FROM Van Nuys. GM was pumping out Camaros and Firebirds, high paying blue collar jobs were plentiful, and life was good from all accounts with minimal violence and crime. The big white flight wouldn't occur until GM and Lockheed closed and the blue collar jobs at the studios dried up. It wasn't a fancy neighborhood by any means but wasn't pretending to be Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, or Toluca Lake. Just an unpretentious working class neighborhood for unpretentious working class people, some of whom happened to be brown or yellow. And like many unpretentious down to earth blue collar neighborhoods across the USA once the factories left taking the jobs with them the neighborhoods went to crap.

I think it would be a matter of personal perspective. Maybe the people you know who are FROM Van Nuys have a different view of what it was like back then. According to my sister, (who is 11 years older than me, so was 15 when my family moved to Simi from Van Nuys) our parents decided to move to Simi because our neighborhood at Balboa Blvd, across from Birmingham High, was starting to see a rise in crime due to the amount of hippies and war protestors in the area. The influx of those from the inner-city of Los Angeles moving into the area also made them feel unsafe. This was probably due to what they witnessed in their hometown of Camden, NJ, when an influx of inner city people moved in and ruined the city. Camden is now considered one of the most dangerous cities in the USA, and has been for many, many years. My parents wanted to avoid living through that again.

As for all those other neighbors who followed quickly behind my parents, I cannot answer for them. All I know is that they were originally our neighbors in Van Nuys, and then eventually they became neighbors in Simi Valley. I grew up with at least 20 families in Simi who followed us from Van Nuys.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Cyanna

Is there one thing missing which would make Ventura County an even better place for you to live?

Yes, there is one thing lacking -- better public transportation, vastly enhanced pedestrian spaces, and each city completing its bicycle network. Ok, that's three, but they are really one and the same.

Generally on this issue, I say west Ventura County is doing a better job than the east county. Oxnard/Ventura are much easier cities to walk, bike or bus to destinations than Moorpark/Simi Valley, and certainly easier than Thousand Oaks, where I think people are born in cars.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

Generally on this issue, I say west Ventura County is doing a better job than the east county. Oxnard/Ventura are much easier cities to walk, bike or bus to destinations than Moorpark/Simi Valley, and certainly easier than Thousand Oaks, where I think people are born in cars.

Its about socio-economics, thousand oaks is the wealthiest city in Ventura County and as a result has the least need for public transit. Even if you create more bus lines, bike lanes, etc they would not be used much.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by user_id

Its about socio-economics, thousand oaks is the wealthiest city in Ventura County and as a result has the least need for public transit. Even if you create more bus lines, bike lanes, etc they would not be used much.

Honestly, they can do what ever they want in Thousand Oaks. In a few years that city will be behind the curve. I prefer to live in a place where I'm not a slave to my car. And, I'm not even poor!

[Cyanna]

Simi Valley's public transportation has improved over the years, but still has room to expand. But as a kid I never used the bus. I would walk from the east wnd to the west end with my friends or ride my bike. My brother and I also used to make regular visits to the Northridge Mall by riding our bikes over the Pass Road. Some areas of Simi are still very unwalkable in regards to local shopping, while the central and north west ends are getting better.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

Honestly, they can do what ever they want in Thousand Oaks. In a few years that city will be behind the curve. I prefer to live in a place where I'm not a slave to my car. And, I'm not even poor!

Thousand Oaks is not going to be behind because it does not conform to what you think it should do. Whether or not a city has good pubic transportation depends on the need/desire for public transportation. In what way would Thousand Oaks benefit from improving its public transit system? Because it would be hipper?

You can prefer whatever you like, but public transit is not efficient in lower density areas like Ventura County. Asking for more public transit is really just asking everyone else to subsidize your lifestyle choices, if you had to pay the true cost of it you'd never use it!

[user_id]

Originally Posted by Cyanna

Simi Valley's public transportation has improved over the years, but still has room to expand. But as a kid I never used the bus.

From what I can tell one of the main functions of Simi's public transit system is transporting students, this is the only time the buses are any where near capacity.