The following is an opinion-editorial submitted by local restaurateur and communtiy activist John Morris and does not necessarily reflect the views of the lbpost.com.
Don’t Leave Us Behind – A new proposed partnership between the Long Beach community and its Port
by John Morris
9:10am | In response to the recent lbpost.com article entitled, Has The Port of Long Beach Exaggerated The Panama Canal Threat?, the answer is absolutely yes.
The Port of Long Beach has exaggerated the Panama Canal threat. The fear has been solely about losing market share. The Long Beach Port will be ready to accommodate 20+ million containers a year, starting in the next 15-20 years. A Long Beach Port official recently told me that the port will minimally grow 5% a year and currently handles 5 million containers a year. This estimate of 5% growth per year is a conservative estimate though, with the port seeing growth margins of 18-20% in years past.
We all know the Port of Long Beach is recognized around the world for its leadership with its green and technology initiatives, far ahead of other current and future facilities. They’ve always done a great job in being listed as one of the busiest ports in the world. What’s been forgotten is the price the community has had to pay for the port’s success. Specifically the Long Beach community. We have the take our heads out of the sand; the growth and expansion of the port has had its negative impacts on the community. Don’t get me wrong, some issues have been directly addressed by the port including air quality and other green initiatives. The glaring issues still on the table are problems with water quality and future traffic congestion. The 710 Long Beach Freeway will only to continue to get busier with truck traffic coming from the continued growth of the port.
We all know there is work being done to make the 22 cities above us to be responsible for their waste discharges into the Los Angeles River. But we also know that this will never single-handedly give us the water quality we deserve on our waterfront. We need the port to acknowledge that the expansion of Pier J (where the Queen Mary sits) was the turning point in the degradation of our beaches. If the L.A. River had not been diverted to its current location away from the port, the filth would have had to have been dealt with directly because it would have entered the port, possibly clogging up shipping lanes. But now, every time Long Beach sees rain, we also see trash lining the shore. Need another example? The Catalina Express once had to stay docked at its Long Beach location because the water levels were too low due to the silt problems we have from the L.A. River runoff.
The water quality inside the actual Port of Long Beach is pristine. Our visiting ships have clean water to sail through, but the on the community side of the rocks, no one will enter the water for any recreational purpose. Although we all know that we can fish for lobster in the port, right?
What’s the solution?
Wouldn’t it be great if the Port of Long Beach, with the growth period that’s coming, became partners with the community and made cleaning up the waterfront a top priority? With a percentage of increased revenue from this upcoming period of growth can and should be directly tied to Long Beach water cleanup.
Mayor Foster took great steps to orchestrate Proposition D on the ballot. Five-percent of gross amount of profits vs. ten-percent of net profits. The money can only be used for the Tidelands which is the Long Beach waterfront areas.
Speaking with Diane Creel, former CEO of Earth Technology, a local Long Beach environmental firm, there are numerous options available to clean the runoff water before it hits the ocean. The first idea is a water treatment plant. I believe it’s time that if the Port is going to strive to be #1 in the industry, it needs to also strive to return our waterfront community to the place it was before the Pier J expansion.
The other night I went out on the waterfront, I saw the beautiful city skyline and Rainbow Lagoon, and I envisioned a Mission Bay (San Diego) waterfront facility and tourist attraction. Visualize standing at the lighthouse, overlooking the water and watching the latest Cirque De Soleil production. If the port would finally, truly step up, just think how much love they’d get back from the community. We need to activate our waterfront to the max – for the community, for the businesses AND for the city.
Submitted by John Morris
A rendering proposal that Morris began circulating two years ago for the future of the Los Angeles River, which in this example would be diverted through the Port of Long Beach alongside a new water treatment plant, theme park and golf course line the shore.