Beach lot doubles as open green space
OCEAN PARK The newest recreational destination in Santa Monica is a parking lot.
There’s a new patch of grass that sits on the beach parking lot at 2400 Barnard Way, while seemingly mundane at first glance, actually symbolizes a unique marriage in the ecological movement, combining open space with a filtration system designed to stop pollutants from entering the Santa Monica Bay.
In an attempt to create more open space in Santa Monica, City Hall recently converted 83 parking spaces at the beach lot into a small park, taking out the asphalt and in its place planting a special type of grass called Netlawn, which is designed to accommodate cars when necessary.
The project is called Beach Green, designed to serve as a recreational area for visitors while at the same time providing ecological benefits for the city, filtering pollutants as it passes through the soil and preventing it from passing into the Santa Monica Bay. Considered the first of its kind in Southern California, the project, if successful, could lead to more along the city’s coastline.
“We’re just taking advantage of the natural process by putting it back in the landscape,” Neal Shapiro, a senior analyst with Environmental and Public Works Management, said.
Santa Monica City Hall on Sunday plans to celebrate the grand opening of the park with a day-long picnic and festival.
“There is a tremendous amount of demand for public open space in Santa Monica and we want to create as much as possible,” Susan Cloke, the chairwoman of the Recreation and Parks Commission, said. “The beach parking lot is a special opportunity because it’s land that comes to us at no land cost.”
The idea for a beach lot came from the RPC which took note that a park near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was occasionally converted into a parking lot during special events such as UCLA home football games. City Hall began combing the city for parking lots that could similarly be used to serve two functions — a storage for cars and available open space for the public.
After surveying lots, the staff with Community and Cultural Services chose the lot at 2400 Barnard Way, learning through a study that it is utilized the least and only reaches capacity about six days a year.
The approximately $698,000 project was mainly funded by the Clean Beaches Initiative grant from the State Water Resources Board. The California Coastal Commission approved the project in July 2007 and construction began in October. The new park is about two-thirds of an acre.
The park will be available for recreational use with the exception of the busiest beach days of the year, including Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
Staff will analyze the park over the next few years to determine whether to replicate it in other parts of the city.
“Converting asphalt to grass expands recreational possibilities,” Karen Ginsberg, the assistant director of Community and Cultural Services, said. “It’s not a regulation size field by any stretch of the imagination but with the exception of possibly six days of the year, it will be available for picnicking and kite flying.”
The grand opening will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit the city Web site at www.smgov.net.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 17, 2008. Read the original PDF.