City
council adresses Long Beach parks
By Joyce Kelly
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Long Beach City Council discussed Tuesday
the city’s use and misuse of the parks in
the city during the meeting.
Residents
of the expressed to the council why they
want to keep green spaces, or park areas.
They also said they wanted brown spaces,
or unused land, to be considered for parks
for the city as well.
Residents
said that the parks were used for people
to get together to have fun with their children,
friends and other members of their families.
They said that parks were what makes Long
Beach the great city that it is.
“On
any given weekend, you can see cars backed
up on the Willow exit, going to El Dorado
Park,” said Vivian Harvey, a Long Beach
city resident. “There is a need for people
to go to the parks for fun and relaxation.
The kids need a place to feel free.”
Ten
residents spoke to the council about the
ration of park space and the people in the
city. They expressed that when advertising
Long Beach, parks play an important factor.
Long
Beach has not updated its park plan since
1973. Since then, environmental activists
had been demonstrating and protesting the
city using the parks for buildings, such
as the Long Beach Police Station in North
Long Beach in Scherer Park.
Long
Beach has built and considered building
on some of the areas on the parks. Some
Native Americans and other activists protested
the building of the police station in Scherer
Park, but they were ignored.
This
time, the council decided to listen to the
residents and approve a policy that would
protect the parks in the city and would
make plans for 1,000 acres to be used for
the parks. This will create eight acres
of park to 1,000 residents.
How
to fund the parks was an issue the council
had to address, so it asked to have research
of how other cities fund their parks.
Another
item on the council’s agenda was the proposal
for an automated people mover system in
downtown Long Beach. Dan Baker, city council
member for the 2nd District, initiated the
idea.
“I
think it is a fun idea and way to move the
people in the area,” Baker said. “The project
would somehow take the people across the
bay to the Queen Mary, as well.”
Baker
said the project would pay for itself.
“It
would be self-funded through private investments
and federal grants,” he said.
Long
Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill would not commit
to the idea without viewing the presentation
of the project.
“It’s
an interesting concept that takes some study,”
she said. “We are having the presentation
at this meeting.”
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