Long Beach Public Works to Host Community Meeting on the Pacific Avenue Transformation Project

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PRESS RELEASE

Above: Rendering of proposed improvements between Broadway Avenue and 3rd Street as part of the Pacific Avenue Transformation Project.

Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach Department of Public Works will host a community meeting to share information on the proposed Pacific Avenue Transformation Project, a major corridor improvement that will enhance safety, mobility and accessibility along Pacific Avenue for motorists, transit riders, bicyclists and pedestrians. The meeting will take place Thursday, April 2, 2026, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Billie Jean King Main Library (200 W. Broadway).

Consistent with the City's Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan, Long Beach's implementation of Vision Zero and the Complete Streets approach, the project will reimagine more than 1.5 miles of Pacific Avenue, from Ocean Boulevard to Pacific Coast Highway to improve safety and accessibility along the corridor.

At the informational meeting, City staff will present an overview of the Pacific Avenue Transformation Project that is slated to begin construction in fall of 2026, including proposed design features, safety benefits and anticipated timeline. Community members will have the opportunity to speak directly with project team members, engage with visual displays and ask questions. Interpretation services will be provided in Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog.

Planned improvements include physically separated bike lanes, protected intersections, high-visibility crosswalks and accessibility upgrades. According to Safe Streets Long Beach, the City has many wide streets that encourage dangerous vehicle speeds. Reconfiguring travel lanes on Pacific Avenue will reduce the likelihood of traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries along the corridor. The five-lane roadway will be reduced to one traffic lane in each direction, which will have a minimal impact on commute times. Additionally, Pacific Avenue will receive new bus boarding areas and shelters, reconstructed curb ramps, sidewalk upgrades, signal enhancements and more. Together, these improvements will create a safer corridor while strengthening connections between neighborhoods, schools and parks.

Pacific Avenue was identified in the 2020 Safe Streets Long Beach Plan High-Injury Network, as having the fourth-highest rate of severe crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists. Since 2020, four people have died in vehicular collisions along the corridor, three of whom were pedestrians. According to a traffic study conducted by the Public Works Traffic Engineering team during a 48-hour period in November 2024, only 14% of all drivers traveled Pacific Avenue at or under the 25-mph speed limit.

Through outreach, including community meetings, focus groups and public events, residents have identified street design improvements as a top priority for improving roadway safety.

Funded by a grant from the Caltrans Active Transportation Program and a Surface Transportation Block Grant, this project will also support the City's Bicycle Master Plan by closing a critical gap in Long Beach's bicycle network with a connection to existing east-west bikeways on 3rd Street, Broadway and 14th Street. The transformation of Pacific Avenue will also create a safer connection to regional transit services, including the Metro A Line, Long Beach Transit and Torrance Transit routes. The route will additionally improve access to key community destinations such as Washington Middle School, 14th Street Park, Billie Jean King Main Library and more.

This plan follows other major corridor improvements supported by the Complete Streets model and the Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan. These projects include the recently started Studebaker Road Transformation Project and projects on Clark Avenue and represents an important step toward the City's vision for a safer, more connected and equitable transportation network.

A $25 million United States Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All grant has been awarded to the City for improvements for the northern segment of Pacific Avenue, from Pacific Coast Highway to Wardlow Road. These improvements will be delivered as a separate project that is tentatively scheduled to start at the end of 2026.

For more information about the Pacific Avenue Transformation Project and how to participate in and submit questions ahead of the meeting, visit .

Media inquiries may be directed to Jocelin Padilla-Razo, Community Information Officer, Department of Public Works, at 562.570.4668 or [email protected].

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