1:29pm | For the past few months, my path to and from work has been inconvenienced in some way by various construction projects taking place downtown. But I’m not complaining about these detours; on the contrary, it has been exciting to see important public works projects take shape. While millions of dollars are being spent to resurface streets across Long Beach, it is wonderful to see capital investment downtown focused on alternatives to the automobile.
One example of this is that the northernmost three blocks of The Promenade between Ocean Boulevard and Third Street is getting its first real update since the former Locust Avenue was turned into a pedestrian-only street decades ago. The first phase between First Street and Broadway was completed last year. Currently in the second phase between (between Ocean Boulevard and First Street), this Long Beach Redevelopment Agency-funded project will upgrade lighting, add street furniture and public art, and dramatically increase landscaping (including drought-tolerant plants). Foot traffic will now be funneled to the center of the pedestrian way, with large banks of continuous vegetation on either side. The outdoor dining patios of new restaurants like Wokano and Congregation Ale House already enliven The Promenade where it intersects with Broadway.
Changes to The Promenade during the first phase have also represented a dramatic improvement to its aesthetics and overall theme. The shift is from an emphasis on moving tens of thousands of (nonexistent) pedestrians to an emphasis on The Promenade acting as a kind of front yard to an emerging downtown residential neighborhood. Lush landscaping and pedestrian-scale lighting soften the sometimes harsh, commercial-oriented environment found elsewhere downtown, while also making the wide right-of-way appear less vast. A second phase of renovating The Promenade is now in full gear; the existing sidewalks have been removed to allow improvements to irrigation and drainage.
Last summer, we saw the grand opening of Promenade Square, the small park at the northeast corner of First Street and The Promenade. Like The Promenade itself, this new park has been designed to be more flexible than the park that it replaces; an old terraced amphitheater has been replaced with a large patch of grass that includes clusters of benches and other seating. While the space can still host performances, it is now just as equally capable of supporting outdoor yoga classes or a pick-game up of soccer or bocce ball. A wall with water rippling down it and an artfully designed fence help define the new park’s perimeter. Five-story residential and office buildings erected in the last few years also frame what is now a nice urban square downtown.
Next to the park, the First Street Transit Mall, located between Pine Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard, is now being completely renovated. When completed, the refurbished transit mall will help link The Promenade with recent improvements to the nearby East Village Arts District. Initiated by Long Beach Transit and funded through the Federal Recovery Act, these renovations to the transit mall will improve comfort for bus riders with new benches, shelters, and kiosks. Aesthetic improvements in terms of new landscaping, additional street trees, and public art will further enhance the rider experience. Those improvements are being extended a block east towards Pacific Avenue, vastly improving the streetscape of that heavily traveled block. Meters and control boxes for everything from traffic signal controls to landscape irrigation are being buried below the sidewalk, significantly reducing obstacles for pedestrians. Many aspects of these improvements should be incorporated into other future streetscape improvements downtown (and citywide).
With the last crane finally being removed from the construction site adjacent to the Transit Mall and Promenade Square, the steel structure of the new Bikestation is largely complete and the next phase of construction can take place. The two-story bike parking, repair, and information center will be the final incarnation of the Bikestation, which has been moved multiple times within a one-block radius over the past decade of development along the Promenade. Based on artist renderings and confirmed by the initial stage of construction, the new permanent home of the Bikestation (also funded by the Redevelopment Agency) will easily be one of the most interesting structures in Long Beach. Its unusual form, perimeter bike ramp, interesting internal spaces, and orange translucent cladding will make it an architectural gem.
Perhaps the most innovative element part of the various improvements taking place in downtown Long Beach are the bicycle lanes being built on Broadway and 3rd Street, running between Cesar Chavez Park on the west to Alamitos Avenue on the east. Over a six-week period, residents, visitors, and commuters will see these two streets transform from virtual on- and off-ramps from the I-710 freeway into multi-use corridors. This transformation should calm traffic speeds while making the streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. Funded through the Federal Department of Transportation, this trial project will be temporarily installed and analyzed over the next year before permanent adoption.
These bike lanes are unusual in that they are placed between the lane of parked cars and the sidewalk (rather than next to automobile traffic). This helps protect bicycles from vehicle traffic, particularly because a median is added between the parking lane and bike lane to keep riders out of the “door zone” of cars. Bicycle lanes of this kind are a relatively new concept in the United States, having been implemented thus far only in New York and Portland. The goal is to create a thoroughfare that meets the needs of riders uncomfortable mixing with the high-speed traffic that travels along Broadway and Third Street. Additionally, adding these bike lanes will necessitate removing one vehicle travel lane; this will calm traffic speeds, making these corridors more livable for residents nearby.
What all of these infrastructure projects share is the goal of improving safety, efficiency and comfort for modes of transportation beyond the automobile; they will create a much more pleasant environment for downtown residents, workers, and visitors. These transit-, pedestrian- and cyclist- friendly improvements could also attract new residents to these urban neighborhoods, potentially catalyzing private investment in the area. For the next couple months, I will continue to enthusiastically watch construction crews while I take various detours to my office. By April, most of these projects will be completed and I encourage readers to walk, bike, or ride transit downtown to experience them.