Rendering courtesy of the City of Long Beach.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Red Car Greenway will take place on Saturday at 10:00AM, at the northwest corner of 4th Street and Park Avenue, the City of Long Beach announced today. The public has been invited to attend the start of what will become a pedestrian walking trail that will also connect to the city’s network of bicycle routes.

“The Red Car Greenway is going to be a great new open space for local residents,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “It will connect many neighborhoods in East Long Beach and provide much needed green space and recreational opportunities.”

The 3.66-acre project, named after an old Pacific Electric Red Car trolley route, will consist of a ten-foot-wide decorative concrete pedestrian walking trail and drought-tolerant native landscaping on the former Pacific Electric (PE) Right-of-Way (ROW) between Park and Ximeno avenues.

A trailhead entrance will be constructed on Fourth Street at Park Avenue, marking the beginning of the greenway, which will be crossed by a bike path at 6th Street to connect it to the city’s network of bike routes.

“The Red Car Greenway has been an empty lot for years, so I am very excited to help turn it into beautiful open space that connects Greenbelt Heights Park that was opened last September, all the way to Colorado Lagoon and Marine Stadium,” Councilwoman Suzie Price said in a statement. “Open Space is essential to vibrant communities and this project is one residents and myself are very excited to see underway.”

The project is a key component of the PE ROW Greenbelt Master Plan, which starts at the intersection of Park Avenue and Fourth Street and ends at 11th Street and Loma Avenue.

“In addition to recreation facilities, the greenbelt extension provides safe access for pedestrians and cyclists to neighboring schools, connecting our communities in a new way,” Marie Knight, director of Parks, Recreation and Marine, said in a statement.

The project will feature pathway lighting, trail boulders for seating, trash receptacles and doggie bag dispensers, wood grain textured concrete fencing at entries and secondary decorative concrete pedestrian trails along the length of the greenbelt, connecting to local streets adjacent to the greenbelt, stated the release.

“The Red Car Greenway project coupled with the Sixth Street Bike Boulevard will create an area ideal for bicyclists and pedestrians, furthering our mobility and livability goals in Long Beach,” Public Works Director Craig Beck said in a statement.

---

---

Sustainable design features of the Red Car Greenway will include a selection of native shrubs and hydroseeding mixes containing California natural grassland and coastal wildflower, while the landscape design will exceed water efficiency limits set by the state. The proposed green space will also help reduce heat island effect.

On July 11 Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to approve the construction of the Red Car Greenway, which is estimated to cost $1,050,334 and includes the contract award amount of $741,663, including contingency, and the cost for design, construction management, labor compliance and project oversight, according to the release.

The total Project cost is supported by $300,000 funding from the Los Angeles County Regional Parks and Open Space District Grant, $450,000 from the State of California Land and Water State Conservation Fund, $81,000 from the Los Angeles County Supervisor’s Office, $150,000 from Measure A (2016), and $69,354 from Third Council District Fiscal Year (FY) 14 one-time funds. The funding is appropriated in the Capital Projects Fund (CP) in the Public Works Department.

{FG_GEOMAP [33.7716918,-118.13720239999998] FG_GEOMAP}