1/13/2014

Long Beach Visioning Study continues

Utile and RSAUD are collaborating on a visioning study for Broadway in Long Beach, California. This stretch of Broadway, which spans from Alamitos to Redondo, crosses at least four distinct neighborhoods. It includes a range of housing, from single-family bungalows to multifamily rental buildings, and business types. In mid-December RSAUD/Utile presented at a public meeting hosted by the office of City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal. The design team proposed narrowing the street from four lanes to three lanes and adding a slight “chicane” in the road in select places. This has multiple benefits: traffic calming, additional public space on the sidewalks, and shorter–and safer–crossings for pedestrians. In addition, there is the possibility of increasing parking by introducing angled parking. A lively discussion, with both private citizens and City officials contributing, ensued about public safety and improving the life of the street. Now, RSAUD/Utile is further developing the vision for Broadway, taking into consideration the thoughtful comments from the public meeting.

BroadVis_03
The proposed street redesign at Broadway and Falcon.
BroadVis_04
Before and after views of Broadway near Falcon.