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Diane Bush dug her toes into the sandy brown beach that stretches out before her Marina Peninsula home and sighed. "There's so little unspoiled oceanfront left," she said. "Why would anyone want to asphalt over it?"
Bush, a longtime peninsula resident, and others living along the southern edge of Venice's coastline are upset about a proposal to put a bicycle path down the center of their relatively private and pristine beach.
The pathway is one of many plans being considered at a series of public hearings aimed at creating a Local Coastal Plan for Venice. But if Bush and her neighbors have their way, the proposal will be scratched.
Those opposing the bicycle route describe it as the "path to nowhere." Baker said the 1.5-mile path, which would begin at Venice Boulevard and end at the jetty where the Marina Peninsula meets Marina del Rey, is a waste of public money that would only result in more litter and crime problems.
She denied that Marina Peninsula residents are trying to discourage public use of the beach. But the bicycle pathway discussion is already shaping up as another classic dispute between rival factions, occasionally known as "the haves" and "have-mores," who have struggled over the fate of Venice for years.
Quiet Atmosphere
The 3,000 residents of the Marina Peninsula section are generally viewed as have-mores. The small area, known for its narrow streets with...