Vibrant Art, Climate Resistant Landscaping, Safety Enhancements: Clean California Revamps Huntington Beach’s Oak View Neighborhood

Published: Sep 26, 2024

Contact: Christianne Smith

Phone:(424) 413-1104

HUNTINGTON BEACH- Caltrans and the City of Huntington Beach celebrated on September 25 the completion of the Oak View Neighborhood Cleanup and Beautification Project, a $6.5 million effort to provide an extensive facelift of Ash Lane and Oak Lane in the Oak View neighborhood. This includes installation of safety and lighting improvements, drought-tolerant landscaping, and public art elements.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Oak View Family Resource Center with Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, residents and Caltrans representatives. The project was made possible through a $5 million grant through Governor Gavin Newsom's Clean Californiainitiative - a sweeping $1.2 billion, multiyear cleanup effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs and engage communities to transform public spaces. Huntington Beach also provided a local match of $1.5 million toward the project.

"Caltrans selected this project for a Clean California Local Grant based on its grand vision for tangibly improving quality of life by creating a safer and more beautiful neighborhood for students, families and residents," said Lan Zhou, Caltrans District 12 director. "It is truly a forward-thinking project that is also reducing water usage, increasing shade coverage, and reducing the urban heat island effect."

Oak View Elementary School is located within the project area, which included a 3-block stretch of Ash Lane and three blocks of Oak Lane. Other beautification elements include water-efficient irrigation, traffic and street signage, and roadway improvements to an alley. Safety upgrades feature new traffic striping, pedestrian lights, sidewalk paving, curb ramps, and tactile warning strips.

"I am deeply grateful for the incredible collaboration between Caltrans, the City, and our Public Works team that has transformed this community," said Mayor Van Der Mark. "These improvements reflect our commitment to making Huntington Beach safer, more beautiful, and where residents can thrive together."

The project also features a "Keep Your Neighborhood Clean and Beautiful" anti-litter campaign and monthly cleanup events designed to prevent illegal dumping by collecting bulky household waste items.

Since launching Clean California in July 2021, Caltrans and its local partners have picked up more than 2.7 million cubic yards of litter - enough to cover nine lanes of Interstate 5 with trash from San Diego to the Canadian border. This substantially increased the department's previous trash collection efforts and can largely be attributed to Clean California, along with other Caltrans litter removal efforts. Caltrans has hosted more than 600 free dump days in communities throughout the state - resulting in the collection of 14,000-plus mattresses and 52,000 tires. The initiative has enlisted more than 60,000 community clean-up volunteers and created 18,267 jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated, on probation, or experiencing housing insecurity.

In Orange County alone, Clean California has invested more than $60 million, including $15 million in local grant projects, $22 million in highway roadside improvement projects and $23 million toward litter collection efforts. Learn more about Clean California's impact in Orange County.

For more information about transportation and other infrastructure projects funded with state and federal investments, visit RebuildingCA.ca.govand Build.ca.gov.