Los Olivos - Grand Avenue

Location

• Downtown Los Olivos, CA
• Grand Avenue

Background

The reason we included this example is that we wanted to take a look at a successful street of a small rural town. More than Grand Avenue itself, we want to look at the intersection of Grand Ave. and Alamo Pintado Ave., which defines the core of downtown Los Olivos. Los Olivos is a small rural town with a population of 900 located about 40 miles north of Santa Barbara. The small downtown does not consist of much, but what it does consist of is centered around the intersection of these two streets. Stop signs regulate the minimal traffic of the intersection.

Notable Features

Diagonal and Parallel On-Street Parking

On Grand Ave, parallel parking is provided on the north side of the street, and diagonal parking on the south side of the street. Alamo Pintado also has diagonal and parallel parking on opposite sides of the street. Since there is little traffic downtown, drivers have the potential of driving as fast as they want. The diagonal parking serves to traffic calm the intersection, so that drivers avoid high speeds. Parking is becoming a problem in downtown Los Olivos because everyone must come into town to get their mail.

Flagpole in Center of Intersection

It is the flagpole that makes this intersection really stand out. The base of the flagpole is a white concrete monument that makes the base visually stand out so that drivers are sure to see it. Even if a driver crashed into the base, it would remain structurally intact, not affecting the flagpole. A streetlight is located on the flagpole to help drivers see at night. The flagpole’s base is small enough for drivers to turn left in front of the flagpole. The base has a 2.1-meter (7 ft.) diameter compared to the 25.9 meter (85 ft.) distance diagonally across the intersection. The flagpole is a World War I monument, so it has been there for a long time.

Park Located at the Intersection

Surprisingly, the park at the intersection is private property. Though the business association is in charge of keeping it maintained, an elderly man mows the lawn every week and pays for it out of his own pocket. It is the small communities like Los Olivos where the citizens really take the pride of ownership in their downtown.

Historic Buildings

Not only is the flagpole a historic World War I monument, buildings along the street have historical significance too. The gas station on the corner called the Los Olivos Garage was established in 1901 and is the oldest operating gas station in California. Historic architecture of the buildings in the downtown area adds to the appeal of downtown Los Olivos.

Other Features

Benches for pedestrians, and seasonal decorations are around the flagpole.

Street Maintenance

No landscaping is needed on streets in small rural towns where much of the surrounding land is undeveloped and provides natural landscaping itself. In these cases, street maintenance is minimal. Since the park at the intersection is private, this also reduces maintenance.

Public Response

This is a very popular community for tourism. Both citizens and visitors appreciate the design of the small downtown.

Transportation Philosophy of the Town

The town is too small to have a clearly defined vision or philosophy of transportation. But a high priority for them is to have a central downtown area that provides an enjoyable atmosphere for pedestrians, much like the adjacent town of Solvang.

Additional Information

Businesses along Grand and Alamo Pintado include shops, a country store, coffee shop, café, wine-tasting wineries, art galleries, and a historic gas station on the corner of the intersection.

Original Contact

Judy Hale
Los Olivos Business Association
(805) 688-1222

This information originally compiled by Eric Spangler, 1999, as part of a senior project.