Beach Parking Lot Remains Closed

In the near-record heat of summer 2006, it’s been a major challenge for Pacific Palisades residents to reach Will Rogers State Beach, which is ironic, since the town practically rests on the ocean. The reason for this inconvenience (and loss of parking revenue) is the fact that parking lot 2, which holds approximately 500 cars and is situated along PCH from Temescal Canyon to Potrero Canyon, has been closed down since January. Originally, the County’s repaving of that lot and construction of a new lifeguard station and bathrooms on that site were scheduled to be completed in June, by the start of summer. A delay occurred because the County received a grant last November that would help implement natural gas for beach vehicles. It did not receive approval from the Board of Supervisors until May 25. After it was approved, the new completion date for Phase Two was set for mid-July. In order to provide natural gas, a pipeline would have to be laid that would extend under the Will Rogers beach parking lots to the maintenance yard at the far end of the west parking lot. Last Friday, Andy Gump fencing was being installed along the bike path/pedestrian walkway. “The fence went up today for safety reasons,” said a worker who did not wish to give his name. Even as the fence was being installed, heavy equipment continued to dig in the parking lot as workers finished laying new storm drains. According to a second worker on site, that portion of the project is supposed to be completed this week. “The existing storm drains were too small and were made of a metal that was corroding,” the worker said. “We ran into moisture when we dug up the pipe.” Water that drains from the Palisades seeps underground until it reaches the ocean. “We had to dig down farther, than back-fill with gravel and compact it,” he explained. In addition, several boulders were found near the Temescal Canyon entrance and had to be dealt with before the new ABS pipes could be laid. Dusty Crane, a public affairs representative for L.A. City Beaches and Harbors, did not have a new timeline for the completion of the natural-gas pipeline or the parking lot, although she did acknowledge that the completion date of the entire five-phase project including the reconfigured Temescal entrance has been pushed back from March 2007 to May 2007. Crane said the lifeguard station’s completion was also delayed. “There was unanticipated deferred maintenance not originally included in the project that needed to be addressed,” she told the Palisadian-Post. She could not provide a new timeline. Meanwhile, some residents cope with the lack of beach parking by parking across PCH from the old lifeguard station at the mouth of Potrero and waiting for a lull in traffic before dashing across the busy road to gain access to the beach. The Junior Lifeguard program, as well as the Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos Beach Volleyball Camp and the Sand and Surf camp, were all relocated this summer. Approximately 150 children from the Will Rogers Lifeguard program had to transfer to a Santa Monica site with drop-off in a small lot north of the Jonathan Club. “The Junior Lifeguard program my son has been in for the last four years was moved from Will Rogers tower 15 to tower 8 in Santa Monica due to construction,” Virginia Plavec wrote in an e-mail on July 12. “Now that the Santa Monica lot is being repaved, is it possible to re-do beach parking over the winter season? This is a hazard to the children, the traffic is horrendous, and someone is going to get hurt.” “How stupid is that?” said parent Denise Marsh. “They’ve had all winter to work on this project and they pick the middle of summer to do it.”