Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill VOL. XXXIX NO. 26
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
June 23, 2017
A road most traveled Officials unveil road improvements intended to promote safety. Sebastian Echeverry Staff Writer
longbeach.gov
A community-advocacy organization hopes to delay building a new aquatics center on a 5.8-acre site in Belmont Shores. This rendering of the proposed building is taken from a May 2016 presentation on the plans.
Location, location, location New lawsuit objects to rebuilding aquatics center in Belmont Shore. CJ Dablo Staff Writer
A community-advocacy group who have long argued against building a new pool complex in Long Beach’s 3rd District are now taking their fight to court. Last week, the Citizens About Responsible Planning (known as CARP) announced that the group has filed a lawsuit at the LA County Superior Court. The group is challenging Long Beach’s certification of the environmental-impact report that would be needed to build a new aquatics center on a 5.8-acre site in Belmont Shore. The City plans to build the center to take the place of the former Olympic-pool complex that had been closed in 2013 and later demolished in 2015 due to earthquake-safety issues. Ann Cantrell, a member of CARP’s board of directors, is a 5th-district resident and longtime community advocate. She voiced concerns with the pool center’s design and location. “The only thing left for us at this point is to take this to court,” Cantrell said. “Otherwise, the City will go ahead and build this […] we can’t rely on the fact that the Coastal Commission might stop it.”
Cantrell acknowledged that the California Coastal Commission could ultimately deny the City’s application to build the new aquatics center. “So, we are not against building an aquatics center– a municipal swimming pool,” Cantrell said. “We think this location is the biggest problem. We’re also saying in our lawsuit that there was not enough study of the alternate locations, and that there is a better location for this.” The pool complex is a major investment by the City. According to a presentation to the city council by Assistant City Manager Tom Modica last month, the City back in 2014 had approved a $103.1-million budget for the project. He acknowledged that the final design of the aquatics center is subject to approval by both the California Coastal Commission and the City, and a more accurate estimated total will be determined when that final design has been completed. The City’s Tidelands Funds, which are dependent on the price of oil, had been expected to fully fund the project with $99 million raised within a year. That was when the price of oil was about $99 a barrel back in 2014. Modica acknowledged in his May 16 presentation that since the price of oil had gone down at some point to $29 per barrel, the City staff will be exploring the possibility of generating the money through private see POOL page 14
Long Beach officials are hoping that pedestrian and motorist safety at the intersection of Walnut Avenue and East 20th Street will improve now that it has been restructured to match traditional T-intersections found in other parts of the city. Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Sixth District Councilmember Dee Andrews and Long Beach Public Works Director Craig Beck unveiled Photos by Sebastian Echeverry | Signal Tribune the newly renovated inter- Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia (left) and 6th District Councilmember Dee section to the public during a Andrews (right) hitch a ride inside the basket of a street maintenance vehicle press conference on Monday, during a press conference on Monday, June 19 to unveil newly installed traffic June 19. signals at the intersection of Walnut Avenue and East 20th Street. “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 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. were installed during the construction. Also, street lights installed in passage for both the vehicles that Sean Crumby told the Signal Trithe area have been relocated to im- are coming through and more im- bune shortly after the press conferprove lighting of the intersection, portantly the pedestrians and the ence that this traditional layout for according to a press release. bicyclists.” the intersection will reduce driver A scramble crosswalk is a type “We wanted to widen 20th confusion. of traffic signal movement that Street,” he said. “It is important “We have standard intersections temporarily stops all motorized to create an intersection that ev- that we try to create throughout the traffic and allows pedestrians to eryone is used to, so it’s more of a city so that the drivers that pass cross a particular intersection. traditional T-intersection.” Beck said the reason for all the Deputy Public Works Director see INTERSECTION page 14 construction was “to create a safer
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