Work has begun to repair and re-pave the southern half of Beach Parking Lot 4S at the intersection of Ocean and Hollister avenues. The work includes access and circulation improvements to reduce pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle conflicts.
Beach administrator Judith Meister said as part of the construction of the new restroom at 2400 Ocean Front Walk, modifications were made to the Beach Trail connection adjacent to the new restroom.
Community members raised safety concerns about the changes and highlighted the pedestrian/bicycle/automobile conflicts that occur in this section of Lot 4S. As part of that review, it became apparent that there were several points of conflict in this section of Lot 4S, including the pedestrian/bicycle/automobile conflicts at the entry and exit at Hollister Avenue, the entry and exit to the short-term parking area, and the location of the traffic aisle nearest to the Beach Trail connection.
In addition to resurfacing and re-striping the lot, crews will be adding an uphill bike lane and downhill sharrows; creating a large shared promenade/plaza for bicycles and pedestrians that is separated from vehicles for safer access to and from the bike path; expanding the short-term parking to include this entire section of the lot, eliminating obstacles (bollard and spikes) and confusion about where to enter and exit; moving the vehicle exit lane away from the bike path connection; and adding two new pay machines in the long-term lot adjacent to Perry's Café.
The construction is expected to be completed by the end of June. The northern and center sections of Lot 4S remain open during the construction.
