Breaking Ground on $10 Million Front Street Beautification Project
On March 9, CD 15 Councilman Tim McOsker and Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka and other port officials broke ground on the $10.3 million Front Street Beautification Project on the LA Waterfront. The site, the original flashpoint of the long battle between the port and the community over the public’s access to its waterfront, has now been turned into a project to enhance connectivity and public access to the LA Waterfront for Wilmington and San Pedro.
This project is only one half of the Front Street beautification plan focused on the north side of the street between Swinford and Pacific Avenue. The beautification effort will take up to 18 months to complete. It will also coincide with the California State Route 47 interchange project coming off the Vincent Thomas bridge. However, the south side of Front Street, which was a part of the China Shipping mitigation settlement, is still being planned and will come at a later date.
“This project is one of many initiatives in the One-Five [CD15] that will improve the quality of life for our local Port communities, as well as for all Angelenos,” wrote Councilman Tim McOsker via a press release by the port. “This new green space and multi-use pathway will serve as a safer and welcome public access link between our San Pedro and Wilmington communities. The residents have been patiently waiting for this project for over 10 years and I want to thank them for their dedication to making this project happen.”
In fact, it has been more than 15 years since the project’s inception. It has been delayed by railroad right-of-way disputes, multiple agency approvals and many other delays. McOsker even recognized
the role of Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council and other community “partners” in moving forward on this project, saying that, “sometimes conflict is good as it makes people think of better solutions.”
This was kind of an understatement as the CeSPNC spent years lobbying and negotiating with the POLA on both sides of the Front Street project and recently continued to remind them that the community had not forgotten about the port’s promises. It must also be noted that the entire legal battle over China Shipping terminal’s lease and environmental impacts, which are still being litigated, started with whether Knoll Hill would be bulldozed to expand the terminal.
Some will remember that the $65 million settlement was the beginning of the port’s turn towards better environmental practices and policies that ended what one harbor commissioner called “the 100 years war with the community.” Some still believe that the skirmishes of that war are still ongoing.
“This multi-use pathway and surrounding landscaped area will open up an entirely new section of our LA Waterfront to pedestrian access,” said Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner Anthony Pirozzi. “The beautification along Front Street will not only provide a new pathway to access our waterfront, but also fills in one of the last gaps of waterfront promenade that will connect Wilmington and San Pedro. This project underscores, once again, what port staff and community stakeholders can achieve by working together.”
“When this project is completed next year, it will provide a safe space for walking, jogging and cycling as well as connect the Central and Northwest San Pedro communities,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “It also adds another pedestrian linkage between the Wilmington and San Pedro waterfronts.”
The Front Street Beautification Project will include the design and construction of a landscaped gateway area at the northeast corner of Front Street and Pacific Avenue, just north of the Vincent Thomas Bridge (SR-47). The area will feature a 22-foot-wide multi-use pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as a 5-foot landscaped strip along Front Street. In addition to providing new linkage between San Pedro and Wilmington along the LA Waterfront, the project will feature new pedestrian lighting and additional landscaping.
The Front Street Beautification Project meets select environmental mitigation measures for both landscaping and beautification. The project will also complete a section of the Pacific Coastal Trail and is projected to be completed in 2024. The south side of the project has yet to be revealed.
For the sake of transparency, James Preston Allen is a member of the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council.