The Beach Life Challenge

CHALLENGE STATEMENT

THE BEACH LIFE CHALLENGE The City of Long Beach is seeking innovative ways to increase and enhance recre- ational assets along the waterfront by (1) drawing more visitors to the beach and (2) encouraging them to get into the water. Despite having the longest coastline of any city in Southern California, the City’s beaches do not rank among top 10 or most vis- ited beaches in Los Angeles County. As lists of great beaches in Southern California are compiled, Long Beach is consistently absent.

To achieve these goals, the City is seeking to enhance the beaches with points of in- terest that draw people to the waterfront. Points of interest might include ameni- ties, activities, art, play structures, programming, or other means to draw people to the waterfront and into the bay. Through those enhancements, a more positive image of our beaches and reputation for good water quality will be cultivated and the waterfront be an asset that is enjoyed by more local residents and visitors, con- tributing to local economic development.

THE CONTEXT The City of Long Beach is located along the Southern California coast, boasting over 300 days of sunshine and six miles of beach. The waterfront is marked by points of interest ranging from our downtown Rainbow Harbor and Pine Avenue Pier on the west to the Belmont Pool, the Belmont Veteran’s Memorial Pier, and ‘The Corner’ on the east. We have the only off-leash dog beach in Los Angeles County, known as Rosie’s Dog Beach. In Alamitos Bay, we have three man-made islands known collectively as “Naples Island.” Canals wind through the islands, creating an ideal setting for stand up paddle boarding and kayaking. In addition, our beach front is connected by a linear bike path and pedestrian path that allows users to tra- verse the shoreline. The bike path is complemented by a new city bike share pro- gram with stops along the shoreline.

The City of Long Beach has made significant investments that have led to A grades in water quality during the dry season. These efforts include installing trash traps along the Los Angeles River, cleaning the Culvert leading into the Colorado Lagoon, deploying trash skimmers in the bay, and dredging.

Combined, these investments represent the City’s ambition to promote livability. There are three parts of our city livability equation: walkability, bikability, and swim- mability. The efforts described in this challenge statement are part of making Long Beach a ‘swimable city.’

1 THE CHALLENGE As recent as 2007, the beaches received failing grades from Heal the Bay, an envi- ronmental non-profit dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds of Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy and clean. As a result of public investments in recent years all, the beaches now receive ‘A’ grades during dry weather—this is quite the transformation! Yet, a reputation for poor water quality persists. Because of this, along with the fact that Long Beach is not an ideal place to surf – a popular activity in the region – due to limited wave action, our local beaches are not as heavily used as neighboring cities to the north and south.

Long Beach’s shoreline assets are plentiful. However, while some nodes of activity are well-known and have a strong identity, such as the inner bay known for open water swimming, kayaking and stand up paddle, other areas offer fewer amenities and do not attract as many users. By enhancing the waterfront the city aims to cul- tivate a more positive image of its beaches and water quality making the water- front an asset that is enjoyed by more local residents and visitors, and will contrib- ute to local economic development.

SOLUTIONS The City is seeking to enhance the beaches with both points of interest that draw people to the waterfront as well as features that will draw people into the water for swimming and recreation.

A landscape architect, hired by the city, will develop a master plans for 4 major beach areas. To get a strong sense of place for each area. In tandem, the City is seeking ideas that may be incorporated into the plan and implemented.

Solutions may include activities that take place in the water or along the shore.

These may include: Water play features (water trampoline, water slide) Floating docks/piers Play/sports equipment Events & activities Public art Innovative and exciting ideas

Some features of solutions may feature: Durable Weatherproof Appropriate for a marine/salty environment Use for all ages, when appropriate Use for multiple abilities Enhance the environment Limit negative impacts to marine life Vandal proof Secure Ability to monitor use Repairable Safe for unsupervised use

This list is exemplary only. The City looks forward to receiving many creative solutions. 2 AWARD The City has identified multiple funding sources that may be used to assist with the implementation of the Beach Life Challenge.

Departments & Bureaus: The Tidelands Capital Improvement Project Division is currently making plans to renovate three concession stands, rebuild a fourth con- cession stand, and complete “beach nodes master planning” surrounding each concession stand. These overarching plans will serve as guides for activating each hub of activity along the waterfront and creating strong identity for the Long Beach shoreline. These funds may be used to fund innovative solutions.

City Innovation Fund: The City Council appropriated $1 million in funds to match the Bloomberg Innovation Grant. These funds may be used to fund and imple- ment innovative solutions.

Partnership Opportunities The City of Long Beach may procure more than one solution. Proposers of select- ed solution(s) may have the opportunity to collaborate with each other to build capacity, leverage skill sets, and structure a coordinated response.

The winning solutions will work with the Tidelands CIP Division as well as the De- partment of Parks, Recreation, and Marine to realize the winning solutions in Long Beach. The Tidelands CIP is working with RA-DA and Salt to complete the master plans.

Bloomberg Philanthropies, Innovation Team Grant: the City received a $3 million grant over a three year period from January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2017, to ad- dress the priorities of economic development and access to city services. Some of these funds currently support direct staff support to priority projects that in- volve access to services or economic development such as the Breakthru LB Launch, Do Grow Long Beach Challenge. Innovation Team staff include an indus- trial designer, cultural anthropologist, developer, and three project managers. Winning solution providers will have the opportunity to work with this dynamic team.

SCALE There are currently 4 beach front nodes considered for activation. Each node is centered on a City-owned beach café (concession stands). Three of the four cafes will be renovated, with one being completely rebuilt. Proposed solutions may be deployed at all 4 nodes, one node, or a combination.

DESIRED IMPACT Successful solutions will facilitate greater use of coastal resources by members of the public. This will be measured by (1) an increase in the number of visitors to the waterfront, (2) surveys which indicate a shift in public perception regarding local water quality, (3) greater revenue from parking due to greater usage, (4) an increase in the number of special events and activities that take place at the wa- terfront.

The solution will also create a positive and strong brand identity, creating notori- ety throughout the region. They may become amenities that Long Beach is known for, building a new reputation for our coastline.

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