The City of Long Beach has 15 upcoming bikeway projects as part of its Bicycle Master plan as noted during a presentation at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The City has a target goal to complete 300 miles of bicycle lanes by 2040. Long Beach currently has approximately 165 miles of bikeways, according to Mobility Programs Officer Fern Nueno.
Nueno noted that in order for the City to reach its goal, it needs to build 8 miles of bikeways per year. Its record was set in 2019 when it created 3 miles of bike lanes in one year.
The 15 upcoming bikeway projects—the majority of which are separated bike lanes—are slated to be completed within the next three years, Nueno said, with the projects totaling about 33 miles.
Of the fifteen projects, ten (which include bikeways on South Street, Market Street and Orange Avenue) are grant-funded through Cal Trans Active Transportation Program, Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Sustainable Community Program and Metro Measure A Active Transportation Program.
Four of the projects (which include Del Amo Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue) were added to already planned repaving work and one (Spring Street) is paid by local return transportation dollars.
The Downtown Walkable Corners project, which is federally-funded (Caltrans Active Transporation Program) is estimated to cost $8.8 million, according to the presentation. Its goal is to increase the visibility of pedestrians and bicyclists.
The project boasts concrete medians to protect separate bike lanes along 3rd Street and Broadway. According to Nueno, 190 curb extensions and pedestrian medians will be proposed for downtown with Magnolia Avenue, Alamitos Avenue, 7th Street and Ocean Boulevard as the limits.
Another federally-funded upcoming project is the Pacific Avenue Cycle Track, which will extend from Ocean Boulevard to Pacific Coast Highway—identified as a “high injury corridor,” Nueno said.
The project includes bus islands, shorter pedestrian crossings and a separated bikeway among other traffic calming elements. The goal of the project is to reduce vehicle speeding, bus dwell times and a more “comfortable” experience for bicyclists, she said.
The project is estimated to cost $8.3 million, according to the presentation.
The State-funded Pine Avenue Bike Boulevard project extending from 8th Street to Willow Street will have an estimated total cost is $4.1 million.
The project will connect downtown to the Willow Street Metro A line station—a gap identified in the Bicycle Master Plan, Nueno said.
The bike route, which will be “suitable” for those from ages 8 to 80, will prioritize bicyclists and pedestrians and will introduce traffic calming features in the form of raised intersections, traffic circles among other features.
All three projects have a 2025 projected completion date.
A Del Amo Boulevard project—part of a repaving project—is the City’s effort to move away from bollards and paint to more permanent concrete elements, Nueno noted. (Many council members expressed their distaste for bollards.)
This project boasts a one-way bike lane from Atlantic Avenue to Orange Avenue with the bikeway separated by concrete separators. The bikeway will connect Orange and Atlantic Avenue bikeways.
Councilmember Mary Zendejas asked staff to take accessibility into consideration when designing the bike paths.
Zendejas, who uses a wheelchair, noted that there’s a bike lane near her home that prevents her from accessing wheelchair-accessible vehicles because they block the bike lane.
Voicing the concern of his constituents, Councilmembers Al Austin noted that he consistently hears from residents about the need for consistent application.
Austin noted that some corridors have bike lanes that have a specific design for a stretch and the design changes along the same street noting that the level of protection changes. City Traffic Engineer Carl Hickman said a plan for design consistency is in the works.
“I think it’s very important for us as we move forward to not just look at new opportunities but we need to reevaluate the infrastructure that we already have to improve upon it and make it as consistent as possible,” Austin said.
