"Beach Streets" Bicycle/Pedestrian Event Never Received Council Voted Approval, Which Would Have Legally Required Chance For Public Input (Pro/Con); City Spokesperson Says No Council Action Needed

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[Editor's note: If LB's second "Beach Streets" (Mar. 19 from downtown along the Broadway corridor) is anything like last year's first "Beach Streets" (along Atlantic Ave. through Cal Hts/Bixby Knolls/Uptown), bicyclists and pedestrians given exclusive use of public streets -- and especially businesses along the route -- will be very pleased. However LBREPORT.com has received emails from residents indicating that the offices of at least some elected officials shrugged concerns about the event's impacts on their neighborhoods (including City threats to tow their parked cars) although their neighborhoods are already short of parking. Some readers asked how the event was approved as it was...so we followed up.

(Mar. 18, 2016) -- LBREPORT.com has confirmed that Saturday's (March 19) "Beach Streets" event (similar to "Ciclovía" events elsewhere) that will give pedestrians and bicyclists exclusive use of some downtown and Broadway corridor streets, and in the process prevent neighborhood residents from driving or parking in a number of already-parking-impacted LB neighborhoods -- and threatened with towing if they fail to obey on March 19 -- never received publicly voted City Council approval.

Such Council voted approval would have (by law) given the public an opportunity to comment pro or con, offer suggestions and possibly prevent issues before they arose.

[Scroll down for further below.]

City of Long Beach Public Affairs Officer Kerry Gerot emailed (in response to our inquiry regarding how the event was approved and by whom):

[Ms. Gerot email] Beach Streets is a City staff run event, with support from City Council members. There was not the need for a City Council vote to close streets. The City has the authority to close streets temporarily, and the event is managed by the City's Special Events and Filming Office. This is a temporary one-day closure from 10:00 to 5:00 PM, and has been widely notified to 65,000 residents with outreach teams to affected neighborhoods. This is the same approach as was taken in the uptown Beach Streets event.

The first LB "Beach Streets" event was held last year (June 2015) along Atlantic Ave. from Wardlow Rd. to Harding St...and received near ecstatic reviews from participants, neighbors and especially area business that benefited from customers arriving on foot and by pedal power.

However LB's upcoming downtown and Broadway "Beach Streets" route is parking-impacted in ways that Cal Hts/Bixby Knolls and uptown NLB aren't. When residents come to the City's website to learn more, a webpage labeled "Resident and Business Information" tells them this:

[City website text]
Q: What If I Only Have Access To My Residence From The Route?
A: In & out access will not be available between 8:00 AM - 6:30 PM. Please see below regarding closure & opening information.
Street Closure Timeline:
6:00 AM -- No parking goes into effect along the route. Cars parked on route will be towed after 6:00 AM. No parking along the route shall be from 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
7:00 AM -- Closure begins
9:00 AM -- Hard closure of the route
10:00 AM -- Event begins
5:00 PM -- Event ends
5:30 PM -- Begin opening route
6:30 PM -- Route open to traffic

The City of Long Beach will allow free resident parking in several City parking lots for displaced residents due to the Beach Streets closures. The following lots will allow free overnight parking from Friday, March 18 @ 5:00 PM to Saturday, March 19 @ 7:00 PM.:
City Place Parking Structure -- 3rd St. & Long Beach Blvd.
City Parking Lot 7 -- 3rd St. & Long Beach Blvd.
Marina Green -- Shoreline Dr. & Linden Ave.
Cherry Beach Parking Lot -- Beach lot at the end of Junipero Ave.
Belmont Pier Parking Lot -- Termino Ave. & Ocean Blvd.
Granada Beach Parking Lot -- Bennett Ave. & Ocean Blvd.

To view the City's "Beach Streets" web page with links to the event's route map and parking map, click here.

To view the City website's description of the event, click here.

Third-party organized events, such as the LB Grand Prix, LB's Pride Parade and LB's Marathon, receive voted Council approval with an opportunity for public input. Even neighborhood block parties require organizers to show neighborhood approval (with signatures) before the City grants permits.

Movie/TV filming permits receive city staff approval and City taxpayers receive revenue in exchange for the neighborhood disruption. In contrast, the "Beach Streets" event appears to cost taxpayers money...and it's not immediately clear how much or from what taxpayer sources.

One reader noted that it appears that the event costs considerable money...while nearby streets have broken infrastructure. The City's webpage on the event states: "Funding for Beach Streets Downtown is generously provided by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, grant funding from Los Angeles County, and other local and City sources." [LBREPORT.com believes an MTA grant is involved.]

The reader added, "I called to [Mayor] Garcia's office, was told Long Beach was imitating Los Angeles and northern California."

[Follow-up] On May 12, 2015, the Council heard a "presentation" -- no public comment allowed or voted Council action involved -- promoting the 1st "Beach Streets" event (June 2015.) As indicated above, the 2015 event along Atlantic Ave. from Cal Hts/Bixby Knolls to uptown NLB received very positive reviews.