Pacific Coast Highway is famous for being a scenic coastal drive for visitors to much of the Golden State. But not in Long Beach, where it cuts through town as a busy — and deadly — thoroughfare. While the view cannot be upgraded to coastal, Caltrans, in partnership with the city of Long Beach, is looking to address the safety issues.
The state agency has two proposals on the table to reduce the seven-lane street to five to make way for protected bike lanes on either side of PCH. While the highway is owned by the state, PCH was identified by the city in its 2016 Bicycle Master Plan and subsequent 2020 Safe Streets Action Plan as needing improvements, including bike lanes.
During an Oct. 15 virtual briefing with City Council and other stakeholders, Benjamin Medina, a transportation planner for Caltrans, outlined the two proposals for bikeways running from the traffic circle to the Los Angeles River:
Alternative 1
A street level bike lane separated from traffic by a three-foot-wide median, including painted lines as well as bollards or other dividers, renderings show. The bike lanes would take the place of the two outer lanes, leaving two driving lanes in each direction as well as a middle lane for turning at intersections…