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Long Beach City Hall Told Two State Agencies Different Versions Of Its Traffic Plans for 7th/Alamitos/MLK In Seeking State Taxpayers Funds To Enable Project Sought by Councilman Robert Garcia




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(April 16, 2012, 11:45 a.m.) -- The City of Long Beach obtained $900,000 in state taxpayer funds after telling one state agency a version of traffic plans for the 7th St/Alamitos/MLK intersection that conflicts with what the City told another state agency in seeking roughly $2.8 million in state taxpayer funds to facilitate a project sought by 1st district Councilman Robert Garcia.

Documents obtained by LBReport.com under the CA Public Records Act show the City of Long Beach sought and obtained $900,000 from Caltrans based on an application that explicitly stated that the City plans to leave open two lanes of northbound MLK Ave. between 6th/7th Sts.

Meanwhile, in purusing a separate grant from the CA Dept. of Parks and Recreation, the City indicated in its application that it plans to close off those traffic lanes entirely. Based on those representations, the state parks agency announced on April 5, 2012 that it had awarded LB City Hall $2.8 million.

City Hall's conflicting representations to the two state agencies were uncovered by LBReport.com using documents obtained under the CA Public Records Act, prompted by claims made at a May 9, 2011 media event by Councilman Garcia to promote the 0.84 acre of greenspace that he calls "Armory Park." LBReport.com reported on May 12, 2011 that the graphics displayed by Councilman Garcia (showing all of MLK Ave. closed between 6th and 7th Sts.) at the press event conflicted with what City Hall said in its application to Caltrans seeking a $900,000 traffic grant. In that application, the City stated that two northbound lanes of MLK Ave. would remain open...and further indicated that an alternative plan evaluated by the City to remove both northbound and southbound lanes on MLK Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets" had been considered and rejected.


May 9, 2011 press event by Councilman Garcia, flanked by DLBA Exec. Dir. Kraig Kojian (left) and architect Brian Ulaszewski (right)


Graphic displayed as "proposed" at May 9, 2011 Garcia press event

On April 5, 2012, the CA Dept. of Parks & Recreation announced it had awarded competitive park grants statewide with LB City Hall slated to receive $2.8 million to construct green space at 7th/Alamitos/MLK. LBReport.com made Public Records Act requests to the state parks agency and to LB City Hall to follow-up.

Among the documents disclosed by the CA Dept. of Parks & Recreation is an email from one of its staffers directed to three Long Beach Parks & Recreation staffers. The state parks agency staffer asked two questions (below in black)...and LB's Parks, Rec & Marine staff replied (below in blue):

1. Is the City still planning on converting all of the lanes as shown in the Prop 84 application?
Yes, the city is still planning on converting all of the lanes as shown in the Prop 84 application.

2. If so, will there be any issues between the park plan and the CALTrans grant? In other words, is the CALTrans grant for the street-work in harmony with the park plan (closing off the lanes) or is there a conflict? Please explain. There are no issues between the Caltrans grant and the Prop 84 grant. The Caltrans grant, independent of the Prop 84 grant, eliminates 2 of the 4 lanes of MLK at the location of the park. The grant leaves open space in approx. half of the space "to be constructed separately from the grant." The Prop 84 grant builds on the Caltrans grant and eliminates the additional two lanes of traffic on MLK and develops the resulting open space into park space.

Asked in May 2011 about what City Hall told Caltrans in seeking traffic mitigation funds compared to what he described at his press event, Councilman Garcia told a website he co-created that it's the City's intention to eliminate all traffic lanes on MLK between 6th and 7th regardless of what the city stated in the traffic fixing grant application.

"Our plan is to take all of them (the five traffic lanes) out," LBPost.com quoted Garcia as saying in May 2011.

City Hall's December 2010 grant application to Caltrans stated that the City had considered and rejected a plan to block of MLK [that would create the one block (0.84) greenspace. It sought Caltrans disseminated Highway Safety Improvement (HSIP) Funds by stating in pertinent part that "To reduce injury collisions the project proposes to eliminate through traffic on MLK Avenue between Seventh and Sixth Streets by converting the roadway from a two-way to a one-way. South of Seventh Street MLK Avenue will be reduced from five lanes in two directions to only two northbound lanes. The northbound traffic will be channelized into two right-turn lanes at Seventh Street."

The City's grant application further stated: "An alternative plan evaluated by the City was to remove both northbound and southbound lanes on MLK Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets" and "in order to retain right-turn capacity, at this time, the City proposes only removing the southbound lanes."

The application acknowledged that the City of Long Beach "will leverage the safety improvement funds to create new open space in a park poor high-density area of downtown Long Beach," but wasn't more specific.

The grant application stated in pertinent part:

...In downtown Long Beach, MLK Avenue and Alamitos Avenue intersect the one way couplets of Sixth Street and Seventh Street, creating complicated intersections which have resulted in injury collisions. The intersection of Seventh Street and MLK Avenue has a high number of collisions as compared to other intersections in Long Beach.

Citywide, the intersection ranked second in terms of most collisions between January 1, 2005 and September 1, 2010. This project was chosen in order to address the patterns of broadside and northbound crashes at Seventh Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue which contribute to its high ranking, and reduce collisions involving bicyclists and pedestrians.

The City of Long Beach has been taking steps to address the high collision rates since 2002. The City has conducted two traffic studies and is working with community members to develop a comprehensive solution to reduce collision rates.

Infrastructural improvements made to this area have included installing modernized signals with manual synchronization, modifying signal timing to increase yellow times and all-red times to create a gap between the two signals, installing signs that explain lane assignments, and painting the median islands at Seventh Street and MLK Avenue. Additionally, the City has a planned and funded improvement to add program visibility heads to northbound MLK Avenue. The City of Long Beach is now prepared to eliminate through movement in order to simplify traffic through the study area and improve safety...

To reduce injury collisions the project proposes to eliminate through traffic on MLK Avenue between Seventh and Sixth Streets by converting the roadway from a two-way to a one-way. South of Seventh Street MLK Avenue will be reduced from five lanes in two directions to only two northbound lanes.

The northbound traffic will be channelized into two right-turn lanes at Seventh Street. North of Seventh Street MLK Avenue will become a right-in/right-out T-intersection. A channelizing island will allow westbound right-turns onto MLK and southbound right-turns onto Seventh Street.

Furthermore, the cut-through drive from Alamitos Avenue to MLK Avenue will be closed and replaced with a continuous median. This turning movement from Alamitos Avenue is no longer necessary with the lane removals on MLK Avenue. Lane removal will eliminate the pattern of injury collisions involving northbound traffic. It will also reduce injury and property damage because the majority of collisions involved at least one vehicle traveling northbound. Broadside collisions are widely regarded as the type of collision most often resulting in severe injuries, so collision severity should also be reduced...

The grant application continued:

City staff and consultants have completed two traffic studies at the project site. The studies determined removing the southbound lanes on MLK Avenue and consolidating the signalized intersections would provide acceptable traffic operating conditions.

Furthermore, the study showed the improvements would not result in reduced level of service. An alternative plan evaluated by the City was to remove both northbound and southbound lanes on MLK Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets. In order to retain right-turn capacity, at this time, the City proposes only removing the southbound lanes.

In summary, reconfiguring the traffic flow at the project site will address the most common injury collision patterns, broadside collisions, collisions involving northbound traffic, and collisions involving pedestrians without compromising intersection level of service. Furthermore, the City of Long Beach will leverage the safety improvement funds to create new open space in a park poor high-density area of downtown Long Beach.

When notified it had received $2.8 million from CA's Dept. of Parks & Recreation for the project, LB City Hall issued a press release quoting LB Mayor Bob Foster and Councilman Garcia, and Councilman Garcia also transmitted a mass emailing, that doesn't disclose the inconsistency and simply declares the project will move forward. LBReport.com publishes the City Hall release and Councilman Garcia's email dispatch text below.

[City of LB release text] The State of California recently awarded $5.3 million in grant funds to the City of Long Beach for park development activities at Armory Park, and Drake / Cesar Chavez Park.

"It is so gratifying to again add urban open space and grow our parks portfolio," said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster. "The Drake/Chavez Greenbelt increases active recreational opportunities and bicycle connectivity while Armory Park is an incredibly creative, community-driven idea that has been 5 years in the making. Our focus on park space is paying off -- these are both huge wins for Long Beach residents and I can't wait to see these finished projects."

Long Beach faced fierce competition in this Statewide grant solicitation, as over 400 applicants submitted proposals that totaled $1.3 billion for a only $150 million of available Statewide Parks Program funding. Long Beach bested over 400 applicants, and will receive $5.3 million for park improvements at Armory Park, and Drake / Cesar Chavez Park.

"Building Armory Park has been a passion of mine since first coming into office, and I am delighted that the East Village will finally get its park," said First District Councilman Robert Garcia. "In addition, these grants will also fund phase one of the Drake/Chavez expansion that will include two new soccer fields and play areas."

Funding will assist with the development of Armory Park, a new 0.84 acre park at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, Alamitos Avenue and Sixth Street. Armory Park will host a new playground, half-court basketball court, exercise equipment and skate elements – all features that have been popular at various parks through the City. Long Beach’s newest park will also feature an art garden and sustainable landscaping around a brand new multi-use plaza and amphitheater. These facilities will be available for community use, free of charge.

Improvements that are planned at Drake / Chavez Park feature a Greenbelt that will connect the two parks, and a parkway trail leading to Anaheim Street. These accessibility components, coupled with two new soccer fields that will be constructed in the future, will provide ample green space for positive recreation.

The City’s Parks, Recreation and Marine Department is a leader in the industry. Recognized for providing outstanding facilities, programs, and management that reflect the needs and interests of a diverse community, the National Parks and Recreation Society awarded Long Beach the prestigious Gold Medal Award. The City has held this recognition for the past three years, and will continue to uphold these values as new parks are developed in areas of need through the City.


[Garcia mass email text] The State of California just announced that they have awarded the City of Long Beach a total of $5.3 million for the development of two parks in the First District. These funds will fund the creation of the long awaited Armory Park in the East Village and Phase 1 of the Drake Park Expansion project.

Long Beach faced fierce competition in this Statewide grant solicitation, as over 400 applicants submitted proposals that totaled $1.3 billion for a limited amount of Statewide Parks Program funding. We bested over 400 applicants.

Armory Park has been a passion project of mine ever since my good friend and architect Brian Ulaszewski conceived it. He proposed this park over 5 years ago and has hosted dozens of community meetings and forums to engage the surrounding neighborhoods about the positive impact building a park in this location would have. In addition to solving safety issues, the new park will create green space in a neighborhood that has none.

When I was elected to office three years ago, I promised Brian that we would get this project done, and thanks to his dedication and ideas, we have taken a huge step forward. Armory Grant has been awarded $2.8 million that will be combined with an additional $900,000 that we have already been awarded to build this new park. The grant will allow us to reconfigure the corner of 7th and MLK, and begin to close down MLK from 7th to 6th to build the park. We will be turning the most dangerous intersection in Long Beach, into a beautiful green landscape.

In addition, we have also been awarded $2.5 million to begin Phase 1 of the Drake Park expansion project in the Willmore City Neighborhood. The state grant will fund building out two new soccer fields, walking trails, and play areas at Drake Park.

Mayor Bob Foster also released a statement today praising our Parks team, and I agree:

I am so proud of our Parks, Recreation and Marine Department staff for their continued success at securing grant dollars to improve our community. Being able to create additional open space and recreational opportunities is huge win for Long Beach and our residents. I look forward to breaking the ground of our new Armory Park and improved Drake/Cesar Chavez Park.

I will send more info as soon as I hear more. This is a great win for Long Beach, the East Village, and Willmore City.

Go Long Beach,

Robert Garcia

LBReport.com earlier today invited comments/responses from Caltrans, the CA Dept. of Parks & Recreation and City Hall which will be reported as received. Further to follow on LBReport.com.



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