Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Sixth District Councilmember Dee Andrews and Long Beach Public Works Director Craig Beck unveiled the newly renovated intersection to the public during a press conference on Monday, June 19.
“This intersection is about improving safety in central Long Beach and the midtown area,” Garcia said. “This improves walkability in the sixth district.”
Construction on the intersection began in October 2016 and was completed in May 2017. The major improvements included the widening of East 20th Street and the realignment of Alamitos Avenue and Wesley Drive.
Officials believe these improvements will result in a more efficient and recognizable intersection, which will reduce confusion from drivers. Alongside the improvements to the road itself, scramble crosswalks, new sidewalks and bike paths were installed during the construction. Also, street lights installed in the area have been relocated to improve lighting of the intersection, according to a press release.
A scramble crosswalk is a type of traffic signal movement that temporarily stops all motorized traffic and allows pedestrians to cross a particular intersection.
Beck said the reason for all the construction was “to create a safer passage for both the vehicles that are coming through and more importantly the pedestrians and the bicyclists.”
“We wanted to widen 20th Street,” he said. “It is important to create an intersection that everyone is used to, so it’s more of a traditional T-intersection.”
Deputy Public Works Director Sean Crumby told the Signal Tribune shortly after the press conference that this traditional layout for the intersection will reduce driver confusion.
“We have standard intersections that we try to create throughout the city so that the drivers that pass through have uniformity,” Crumby said. “This is a confluence of multiple streets coming in at the same place, and we realigned the intersection to meet the current standards.”
As previously reported in the Signal Tribune, the City has a system called the Pavement Management Program (PMP), which focuses on the condition of the asphalt of all the roads in the city, according to Crumby.
“[The PMP] helps prioritize and best manage the funding that we have delivering projects in the future,” Crumby told the Signal Tribune. “This is safety improvement, so this was federally funded with a grant. So [the intersection project is not] part of the PMP.”
Prior to the improvement project, Andrews said he would see the principal of Nelson Middle School hold up a stop-and-go sign to let children know when it was safe to cross the road.
“I used to come here and watch the children scramble to get across the street,” the councilmember said.
The mayor also mentioned that students and staff from Long Beach City College would also benefit from the new changes to the road.
Two weeks ago, the mayor presented various new building projects to the public during an event called “Building a Better Long Beach.” He said all the projects mentioned at that event, and the various roadway projects ongoing throughout the city, are all part of a massive plan to improve Long Beach.
A major project reveal showcased at the event was the housing plan called the California State Long Beach Downtown Village, which aims to bring students to the downtown area.
“All the projects including, the CSULB Downtown Village, are all part of a larger opportunity to help develop the city and to help bring students downtown,” Garcia said. “We are excited about all the projects.”
[aesop_image img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Intersection-2-1.jpg” credit=”Sebastian Echeverry | Signal Tribune” align=”center” lightbox=”on” caption=”A Long Beach Public Works employee removes the covers off new traffic signals at the intersection of Walnut Avenue and East 20th Street on Monday, June 19.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”]
