DON’T LOOK NOW BUT SUMMER’S JUST around the proverbial corner. When I moved to Santa Monica 33 years ago (as a mere child, well, not quite) summer was my favorite season. But each year the beach gets more congested and noisier. On a typical summer day, hordes of skateboarders bang their wheels on anything that doesn’t move, while helicopters buzz the beach like a scene from “Apocalypse Now.”
I sound like a grouchy Andy Rooney, but one of my biggest gripes is the battery model cars that people race in the parking lots. The high pitched whine from those cars could make coyotes howl. Years ago in Panama, we blasted rock music to harass Manuel Noriega into surrendering. The process took weeks. With these model cars, Noriega would have sprinted out of the Presidential Palace, hands over his ears, screaming “No, mas!”
Gripe No. 2 is the ATVs the police use on the beach. They’re loud, stinky and have the look of storm troopers. There are plenty of lifeguards, and these days everybody’s got a cell phone so I question the need. Some surfers jokingly call the ATVs the “Bikini Patrol.” At least why couldn’t they be solar-powered? I try to enjoy the solitude of the beach, but when I hear the ATVs approaching, it sounds like Daytona raceway. And when they head back to base, they open the throttle full-bore like it’s a sand dune drag race.
There’s a bright spot this season, however, and it’s the color green. Part of the beach parking lot north of Ocean Park Boulevard was recently covered with grass of a type that can hold up under the weight of cars. Other than Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day, this lot is hardly used, so it was an ideal candidate for this pilot project.
On May 18 (a week from Sunday) the city will celebrate the grand opening of “Beach Green” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They’re encouraging residents to bring a picnic lunch to have on the grass. Activities will be geared to small children with bicycle decorating, soccer clinic, gymnastics/tumbling and possibly even a chalk artist to work with the kids. The other day, looking at the lush grass I found myself thinking, “What a great idea,” not an expression I recall using too often lately.
The idea began in 2002 with the Parks and Recreation Commission. In 2003 the city applied for a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board and in 2004 it was awarded $698,830. That sounded like a lot for some grass, but in fact it was a fairly big deal tearing up the parking lot and preparing the area for turf. I love that it’s the exact opposite of the Joni Mitchell lyric “Big Yellow Taxi,” “They paved paradise for a parking lot.”And I also love the notion, that, instead of being re-paved with asphalt from time to time, the lot will only have to be mowed.
After four years of parking data was analyzed to demonstrate to the public, and the Coastal Commission, that a portion of this lot was not used during the vast majority of the year, the project got final approval. Work began on Oct. 9, 2007.
A total of 83 asphalt vehicle spaces were converted to turf, an area 85 feet wide by 320 feet long, which is longer than a football field.
And no, this doesn’t mean L.A. is finally getting a pro football team. The area will be used for picnics, Frisbee, kite flying and informal ball playing (And, for me, napping on Sunday afternoons).
On the summer holidays the grass will be used again for parking. So far everyone seems to like the idea, even the neighborhood dogs. I haven’t had actual conversations, but I’m guessing they’ll much prefer grass to a parking lot, for obvious reasons.
Here’s another bonus. The turf will filter runoff from rain and can demonstrate how to improve Santa Monica Bay’s water quality. Monitoring will measure pollutant levels before and after passing through the turf. At the west end of the Beach Green is a fancy looking solar powered irrigation controller. The project is so green, Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ed Begley, Jr. are going to arm-wrestle to see who officiates the grand opening (Okay, I made that part up).
I hope the Beach Green is a big success and the city tries it in other lots. Then each year we’d have more green to look at (Not that asphalt isn’t aesthetically pleasing). For me, I enjoy that grass isn’t exactly conducive for skateboards or model car racing. Now if only the city would just do something about the helicopters and the police ATVs, I wouldn’t have to sound like Andy Rooney.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 9, 2008. Read the original PDF.