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# Welcome to SM, take a short ‘breath’
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/welcome-to-sm-take-a-short-breath/
- Published: 2004-03-11T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:59:28.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Environment, Pier, #archive-import

*Officials name that little short street near the pier*

*By Daily Press staff*

Motorists entering downtown Santa Monica from the Pacific Coast Highway soon will be forced to take a “breath of the ocean” as they drive from sea level up to Ocean Avenue on the ramp that goes beneath the pier.

Politicians on Tuesday agreed to name the short stretch of roadway “Moomat Ahiko,” a Chumash expression that means “Breath of the Ocean” or “Breath of the Sea.”

The decision followed a six-month period during which local officials solicited suggestions for naming former State Route 187, once a part of the Venice Freeway. A total of 97 names were submitted, ranging from “Karl Marx Way” to “Bum Boulevard,” “Little Short Street Near the Pier,” “Humpity Bumpity Street” and “Liberal Lane.”

Suggested by Mayor Bloom and backed unanimously by the other members of the City Council, “Moomat Ahiko” must now go through a background check to verify it translates in Chumash to “Breath of the Ocean,” as officials think it does.

Before the council members settled on “Moomat Ahiko,” each of the five present listed their favorite choices for naming the little road. “Ocean Incline” and “Ocean Hill” were put forward by City Councilman Herb Katz. City Councilman Mike Feinstein, on the other hand, suggested “Arcadia Road” and “Entrada Santa Monica,” joking he would also support “Moonlight Drive,” because he’s a Jim Morrison fan.

City Councilman Kevin McKeown first suggested “Low Road” — in jest — later saying he thought renaming the short roadway could confuse motorists, because of the signage involved. But City Councilman Ken Genser countered all roadways need to have names.

“You can’t just say, ‘I’m on a street without a name, auto club come pick me up,’ or something like that,” said Genser, who thought “Coast Highway Access” would be a fitting name. “There needs to be some way when incidents occur to describe where you are.”

— John Wood

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 11, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)