An Ad Hoc Committee was formed at last night’s Manhattan Beach City Council meeting to research what it would take to install a permanent walkway on the beach for people with limited mobility, in wheelchairs or with strollers, to access the shoreline.
After years of discussion on the project, city staff recommended last night that council scrap the project because Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors said the two locations – the area just north of the pier and at 42nd Street near the El Porto parking lot – could not handle a walkway.
The area north of the pier “will require excessive modification at great expense to be accessible, and is also an emergency access point for lifeguards and beach equipment when these units cannot drive under the pier because of high-tide and wave action,” according to a letter from Santos Kreimann, director of the Department of Beaches and Harbors.
The other option, the area near El Porto parking lot, could only support a walkway halfway to the shoreline, he wrote.
The council was surprised and disappointed with this.
“I’m very frustrated with this,” said Mayor Nick Tell. “I don’t know why we are stuck with such a lousy choice. We want to come to a solution.”
Councilmember David Lesser agreed. “I was flabbergasted when I saw the direction of this report,” he said, adding that he thought the staff should have asked the county tougher questions.
Evelyn Frey, 70-year resident of Manhattan Beach who turns 96 next month, began lobbying for this project five years ago.
With the special committee, the council promised to find a way to provide the walkway. “I think it’s a moral imperative to provide (the walkway),” said Councilmember Amy Howorth.
