SM BEACH Looking to increase the amount of open space while protecting the Santa Monica Bay from harmful urban runoff, City Hall is considering “greening” a portion of a beach parking lot, converting it into a playing field when it is not in high demand.
City staff believes the parking lot, located at 2600 Barnard Way (just north of the playground at the terminus of Ocean Park Boulevard), would only need to be used by cars roughly four times a year, meaning families would have the run of the place most of the time.
Artificial turf would cover an 88-foot-by-355-foot portion of the lot, or roughly two bays of parking, while the remaining portion would remain asphalt so that parents could teach their children how to ride a bike or practice roller skating without having to venture out onto the often bustling bike path.
“Santa Monica is under parked and in need of a lot of green space, and this is a way of eking out a little more,” said Brett Horner, a senior analyst, Parks and Community Facility Planning.
Not only will the greening program, which is under consideration by the California Coastal Commission, create more space to play, it will also help keep the bay clean with the turf filtering out pollutants found in urban runoff. The water around the Santa Monica Pier is some of the dirtiest in the bay.
The turf will also help lower the “heat load” in the area because the grass will absorb less of the sun’s rays than black asphalt.
“Your tax dollars are hard at work here to come up with a solution,” said Neal Shapiro, who is in charge of urban runoff management for City Hall. “If it works well, hopefully other cities will follow suit.”
The pilot project, which could be completed by the end of the year, will cost roughly $1 million and include some new trees, decorative fencing and removable benches. It is being funded primarily by a $700,000 grant from the state Water Resources Control Board. To qualify for the money, city staff will be required to conduct studies of water quality to see if the turf is filtering pollutants as it should.
Horner said Memorial Day,Fourth of July and Labor Day will most likely be the occasions when the turf would have to be used for parking,but it will work,because the turf installed will be able to withstand the weight of the autos without being damaged.
Naturally, residents living near the lot have some concerns, especially when it comes to hours of operation. Some fear the lot would be used late into the evening and could become a hot spot for roller hockey or other organized sporting activities.
“We don’t want to see people partying all night,” one resident said during a meeting of the project’s design team last week. “How are you going to monitor that space and make sure trash is collected?”
City staff said the lot could only be used from sunrise to sunset.
There was also some who did not like the idea of having to park farther away from their homes. Currently some residents living nearby use the lot for parking at night. If the project goes through, they would have to go a little further north.
“Neighbors may have to walk a little further,” Horner said. “But we think the trade offs are worth doing to get this green space.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 7, 2007. Read the original PDF.