A bright red metal caterpillar has been newly installed on new fencing that lines the Pacific Avenue Garden in downtown Long Beach.
2:49pm | Caterpillars are nothing new in a garden flush with plots of soil and vegetation, but the bright red, fifteen-foot version is far less common.
That’s what greets you as you enter the Pacific Avenue Garden, the only community garden in downtown Long Beach and a centerpiece of the Pacific Avenue Taskforce that aims to incorporate numerous downtown improvements over the next year.
“Pacific looks way better and different and more vibrant today than it did a few years ago and will continue to do so,” said 1st District Councilmember Robert Garcia, whose office hosted the event.
The taskforce already counts street repaving, painted utility boxes, new bike racks and other projects as its successes, with many more similar ideas planned.
At right: Pedro Costa of the North Pine Neighborhood Alliance (NPNA) and Councilmember Garcia address the crowd.
At the moment, the caterpillar is the most prominent addition to the nine-year old community garden that is in need of a facelift. The fencing is new and so are painted electricity boxes, but there is more work to do. A dynamic mixed-media mural looks down on faded garden plots, though officials say that fixing these is the next step.
The taskforce has already injected more than $1 million into Pacific Avenue, according to Garcia, using a combination of private, federal and city resources. That money has taken the form of small improvements like electricity boxes and large improvements like updates to downtrodden apartment buildings. The goal is to improve the street from Broadway to Anaheim (street repaving has been completed to 7th Street and the next phase will complete the repaving to Anaheim).
The garden is used by residents of the nearby Pacific Towers and a few senior community members.
Joe Corso, of Long Beach Organics, took the job of garden director one year ago.
“It’s just a perfect fit and we’re so grateful that this was literally done for us,” he said. “Our goal is really to quilt garden space across the city.”
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