Alamitos Beach parking lot improvements complete

The city on Saturday will mark the recent renovation of Alamitos Beach Parking Lot, along with improvements along nearby Shoreline Drive to improve traffic circulation and help facilitate ADA access to the beach.

The celebration will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Alamitos Beach Parking Lot (enter off Shoreline Drive, just south of Ocean Boulevard).

“The enhancements on Shoreline Drive and at Alamitos Beach Parking Lot will improve our infrastructure for years to come, and will be especially helpful during the busy summer season,” Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal said in a written statement.

The improvements on Shoreline Drive from Ocean Boulevard to Linden Avenue also facilitate pedestrian and bicyclist circulation and access to the beach. Work included new asphalt, a new ADA-compliant sidewalk, landscaping and irrigation reconstruction, signing and striping for a north and south bike lane, and a new signalized entrance into Alamitos Beach Parking Lot.

The parking lot also got a new asphalt overlay, and bio-retention areas were created to assist with water retention and natural filtration treatment of runoff. Drought tolerant landscaping and irrigation were installed in the island planters.

Additional improvements included removing outdated individual parking meters and installing new multi-space pay stations that will allow multiple forms of payment. The parking lot was also retrofitted with new LED lights and two new light poles to enhance lighting coverage.

Work began in January, and construction was completed in May. The total cost, roughly $1.8 million, was funded from the Tidelands fund, which is funded by the city’s share of oil revenue and is restricted to projects along the coast.