Boaters visiting Long Beach’s Shoreline Marina or Rainbow Harbor will be pleased to discover that there might be more places to tie their boats to in the future, as additional public docking space was approved by the California Coastal Commission at its meeting last month, April 11. Shoreline may see an additional 713 feet in dock space while Rainbow Harbor is slated to get an additional 300 feet of linear dock space.
Shoreline Marina at 435 Shoreline Village Drive is hoping to see its 313-foot, dilapidated L-shaped dock replaced with a 713-foot boat dock, particularly given the increased boating traffic over the past few years. Construction of a new dock was approved in 2008 but failed to take place due to insufficient funds, causing the permit to expire. Other parts of the project include dredging, 12 new piles, and an additional pumpout station. A construction date has not been set.
Rainbow Harbor’s Pine Avenue Pier in downtown Long Beach has dock space on the west side and the proposed additional space will be added to the east. Mark Sandoval, Long Beach Marina Bureau Manager, said the new site will feature recycled floating docks used by the Long Beach Yacht Club — lacking the need for new piles to be driven — and will be similar to the ones used previously for boat shows. He stated he hopes funds can be allocated to make the addition permanent. With a three-hour time limit, the dock is expected to be operational this summer.