Long Beach to host community meeting on Pacific Avenue Transformation Project next month – Press Telegram

Long Beach residents can soon provide their input on how to make Pacific Avenue more accessible and safe for everyone.

The Department of Public Works will host a community meeting next month to share information on the proposed Pacific Avenue Transformation Project, a major improvement effort that’s intended to enhance safety, mobility and accessibility along the corridor for motorists, transit riders, bicyclists and pedestrians, city officials said.

The meeting will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 2  at the Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway, in downtown.

The Pacific Avenue Transformation project will reimagine more than 1.5 miles of the thoroughfare, from Ocean Boulevard to Pacific Coast Highway, which is part of the city’s Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan – Long Beach’s implementation of Vision Zero and the Complete Streets approach, according to a press release. Vision Zero is the city’s effort to eventually get rid of traffic-related deaths entirely, while Complete Streets is a design model that’s intended to integrate the safety of everyone.

During the meeting, city staffers will present an overview of the project, which is slated to begin construction in the fall, including proposed design features, safety benefits and anticipated timelines. Community members will have the opportunity to speak directly with project team members, engage with visual displays and ask questions. Interpretation services will be provided in Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog.

Planned improvements include physically separated bike lanes, protected intersections, high-visibility crosswalks and accessibility upgrades, according to the press release.

Long Beach has many wide streets that encourage dangerous vehicle speeds, according to Safe Streets Long Beach. Reconfiguring travel lanes on Pacific Avenue will reduce the likelihood of traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries along the corridor. Reducing traffic-related deaths is something the City Council has made a priority, so Long Beach can reach its Vision Zero goals.

Pacific Avenue’s five-lane roadway will be reduced to one traffic lane in each direction, which will have minimal impact on commute times, the press release said.

The corridor will also receive new bus boarding areas and shelters, reconstructed curb ramps, sidewalk upgrades, signal enhancements and more.

Together, officials said, these improvements will create a safer corridor while strengthening connections between neighborhoods, schools and parks.

Pacific Avenue was identified in the 2020 Safe Streets Long Beach Plan High-Injury Network as having the fourth-highest rate of severe crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists. Since 2020, four people have died in vehicular collisions along the corridor, three of whom were pedestrians, according to a press release.

A traffic study conducted by the Public Works Traffic Engineering team during a 48-hour period in November 2024 showed that only 14% of all drivers traveled Pacific Avenue at or under the 25-mph speed limit, officials said.

Through outreach, including community meetings, focus groups and public events, residents have identified street design upgrades as a top priority for improving roadway safety.

Funded by a grant from the Caltrans Active Transportation Program and a Surface Transportation Block Grant, the project will also support the city’s Bicycle Master Plan by closing a critical gap in Long Beach’s bicycle network with a connection to existing east-west bikeways on Third Street, Broadway and 14th Street.

The project is also intended to create a safer connection to regional transit services, including the Metro A Line, and Long Beach Transit and Torrance Transit routes, officials said. The route will also create better access to key community destinations, such as Washington Middle School, 14th Street Park and Billie Jean King Main Library, among others.

Other improvements will happen along Pacific Avenue as well.

The city has also received a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant of $25 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve the northern segment of Pacific Avenue, from Pacific Coast Highway to Wardlow Road. Those improvements will be a separate project that is tentatively scheduled to start at the end of the year, according to the city’s website.

For more information about the Pacific Avenue Transformation Project, and how to participate and submit questions ahead of the meeting, visit lbcity.info/pacificavesouth.