A Virtual Community Meeting Will Take Place March 14
By LILY TINOCO and SARAH SHMERLING
Potrero Canyon Pedestrian/Bike Bridge Project leads attended the Thursday, March 7, Pacific Palisades Community Council to provide updates ahead of a Virtual Community Meeting on the evening of March 14.
The project includes the development of a bridge, which, when complete, will connect Will Rogers State Beach to George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon.
The PPCC meeting introduced Potrero Canyon Pedestrian/Bridge Project Manager Matt Negrete of Jacobs Engineering, Community Outreach Lead Jason Jackson of Arellano Associates and Project Manager Jose Beristain from the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, who walked attendees through a presentation on the project.
Negrete briefed attendees on his background, explaining that he has worked on transportation projects for the past 25 years all throughout California. He said he “is excited to be working on this project.”
“It’s going to be transformative, in terms of providing access from the park to the beach,” Negrete said.
Beristain, as part of the Bridge Improvement Division, said he has been familiar with this project since he started in the geotechnical division in 2009. He was involved with the initial grading and landscaping phases of the project.
Beristain explained there are two Coastal Development Permits that tie back to the initial construction of Potrero Canyon, and as part of those permits, the Bureau of Engineering was required to perform a pedestrian-crossing feasibility study, which was completed in August 2016. The final results of that study, he explained, determined that a bridge was “the most safe and economical alternative.”
In 2021, they were able to secure $11 million in funding for the project from Senator Ben Allen’s office.
At this point in time, Beristain said his team is working alongside Caltrans in the Project Initiation Documents phase, which he described as the “infancy of the project’s life, essentially.”
Negrete said Jacobs Engineering will be working in partnership with the city for the next two years to keep the community informed. Public outreach is currently slated for March 2024, October 2024 and April 2025, for this phase.
“We are doing a very comprehensive outreach for this project,” Jackson said during the meeting. “What we have planned for you is e-blast[s], social media, working toolkits into community leaders that can help disseminate information, working with the council office and the senator’s office, to help leverage their community and outreach … as well as fliers that we have placed in public counters and posting boards throughout the community …
“It really is the goal of outreach to involve as many and as broad a community as possible … This is about all the Pacific Palisades.”
For the first outreach effort, the Bureau of Engineering will host a Virtual Community Meeting to discuss facets of the Potrero Canyon Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge project on Thursday evening, March 14, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
“Learn how the project will include enhanced safety features, integration with the George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon, community connectivity, sustainable, active transportation, [and] landmark aesthetic and recreational value,” read a flier ahead of the meeting.
The city is soliciting responses to a survey about the project (potrerocanyonpedbridgesurvey.org), with a chance to win a $50 gift card.
“Help the city understand how the bridge will benefit you and your community,” read an email. “Be sure to share the survey and project with your friends and family. The more input … the better the project.”
Looking ahead, Beristain said once the team gets approvals from Caltrans, the Coastal Commission and additional stakeholders, they will transition over to the design phase—which will involve getting plans ready for construction, a completely separate phase and task “that won’t happen for a couple of years.”
For more information or to register for the March 14 meeting, visit potrerocanyonpedbridge.org.