Public Invited to Attend Red Car Greenway Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled for Saturday, August 19

Long Beach, CA

The public is invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the Red Car Greenway, on Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., at the northwest corner of Fourth Street and Park Avenue.

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

The Red Car Greenway is a 3.66-acre project that 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 Avenue and Ximeno Avenue. The Project will feature a trailhead at the entrance on Fourth Street at Park Avenue, and will be crossed by a bike path at Sixth Street, which connects to the City’s bike route network.

“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,” said Councilwoman Suzie Price. “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 for the PE ROW Greenbelt Master Plan, which starts at the intersection of Park Avenue and Fourth Street and extends northwest to 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,” said Marie Knight, Director of Parks, Recreation and Marine.

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.

Public Works Director, Craig Beck, also praised the project for advancing the City’s mobility goals, saying, “The Red Car Greenway project coupled with Sixth Street Bike Boulevard will create an area ideal for bicyclists and pedestrians, furthering our mobility and livability goals in Long Beach.”

The Project incorporates sustainable design features that include a selection of native shrubs and hydroseeding mixes containing California natural grassland and coastal wildflower. The water efficient landscape design will exceed the efficiency limits set by the State. The proposed green space will help reduce heat island effect and provide pedestrians and cyclist paths for improved connectivity and safety.

On July 11, 2017, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the construction of the Red Car Greenway.

The Red Car Greenway 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. 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.