Eighth Street sidewalk upgrades in sight
Hermosa Beach is inching closer to long-awaited upgrades to sidewalks on Eighth Street, one of the city’s few roads connecting the beach and Pacific Coast Highway.
At its Tuesday night meeting, the City Council received updated construction plans for the stretch of sidewalk between Valley Drive and Hermosa Avenue. The work would bring curb ramps and driveways on the stretch into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and would create a minimum sidewalk width of 4.5 feet. According to the City’s Public Works Department, plans for Eighth Street are now complete, and total cost estimates for the improvements are just over $1 million.
However, as city engineers and consultants brought designs to completion, they realized that minor work would have to be done on private property on six addresses along the stretch of improvements, said Public Works Director Glen Kau. The work, needed to smooth over connections between the upgraded driveways and curbs with the rest of the sidewalk, is expected to be minor and not impact any structures, but city officials are hoping to get residents in the area on board with a walkthrough of the proposed plans, tentatively scheduled for Nov 28 at 5:30 p.m.
The council has felt pressure to move on Eighth Street for more than a year. It is a designated Safe Route to School, but gaps in the sidewalk often force students, as well as those in wheelchairs and pushing strollers, into the street with traffic. The pace of construction irked some residents who were anxious for shovels to hit the pavement, and became an issue in last year’s City Council election.
Councilmembers have said that part of the complication with Eighth is the unusual number of encroachments on the public right of way. Some, including a property near Eighth and Hermosa which is among the six where work on private property will be necessary, have built entire patios. Under the city code, residents may make limited additions on city rights of way, but do so knowing that the city could someday take the property back for public use.
City Manager Suja Lowenthal said that, when she arrived in Hermosa earlier this year, she was surprised at the prevalence of encroachments. As they examined the plans, council members said they were interested in a broader look at the issue.
“Particularly where private property is significantly encroaching on public property, I would not hesitate to remove those encroachments to make sure that the community gets the benefit of a nice wide sidewalk,” Councilmember Justin Massey said to Kau.