You may wonder where the rubble, concrete barricades, and rusting chain link fences came from and where portions of the bike path have gone. At low tide, keen observers might spot the corroded automobile chassis with wood-spoked wheels that lies in the surf zone. Its curious presence marks decades-long efforts to stabilize the shoreline with everything from a demolished concrete bath house built near Surfer's Point in the 1920s to a tombstone that once marked the final resting place of someone at Cemetary Park on Poli Street. This small but important stretch of Ventura's shoreline is one of the most obvious examples of coastal erosion in the county. Living testimony to the folly of building too close to the sea, it speaks loudly to ineffectual attempts to protect such development.
Coastal tourism is California's largest ocean-dependent industry.
Along with providing a wonderful place to stroll soak rays, and throw a frisbee for the dog, the beach serves as the shore's first line of defense against relentless forces of the ocean. But this buffer is disappearing, and man is speeding its demise. On undeveloped shores the sand is free to come and go, cliffs collapse, and dunes are breached during times of high tides and surf. On developed coastlines, man frequently intercedes. Hard Solutions, Hard Consequences Because of erosion, developments that were originally built a comfortable distance from the ocean, today are finding themselves perched precariously on the edge.