California State Long Beach (CSULB) will be holding two public meetings on their Master Plan Update draft EIR this week. The CSULB Master Plan is for planning campus development until 2035.
The draft plan sees the current 31,000 full time students growing to 33,000 “on-campus” students. Campus employees are projected to grow to 4,800 from the current 3,800.
Maintenance and upgrades to the existing facilities dominate the master plan but some new facilities construction is included. New housing for students, staff and faculty are planned.
At the corner of Palo Verde and State University Drive (East Anaheim Drive) where the campus meets the Fourth District neighborhoods of Bixby Hill and La Marina a six-story mixed use residential and commercial is planned. The 285 market rate residential units above the ground-floor commercial space will be for staff and faculty. The EIR for the master plan also calls for Palo Verde to be changed to one lane in each direction:
Palo Verde Avenue: The City of Long Beach preliminary plan along Palo Verde Avenue includes the reduction of one vehicular travel lane in each direction, providing a parking-protected bicycle lane in the northbound direction and angled parking with a bike lane in the southbound direction. The provision of angled parking on the side of the street adjacent to the campus would provide a greater opportunity for on-street parking to serve the campus, without people needing to cross Palo Verde Avenue. The City’s preliminary plans also call for lane reductions and safety enhancements, such as a protected corner, at the intersection with Anaheim Road/State University Drive. This intersection is currently all-way stop controlled
By 2035, the on-campus Parkside student housing is planned to increase from 1,387 beds to 3,472. The PCH Beachside housing will be decreased from its current 1,310 beds to 1,138 beds in order to create common and shared spaces into the current buildings.
Replacement buildings are planned for College of the Arts and Engineering. Hardscape, landscape upgrades throughout the campus as well as a renovated quad and campus entrance gateways updates.
Included in the master plan’s building renovations are:
- The Walter Pyramid
- The University Student Union
- Fine Arts buildings
- Liberal Arts 5
- Nursing
- Engineering Tech
- University Art Theater
Sport facilities upgrades include:
- Aquatics Center and pool
- Archery relocation
- Jack Rose Track (Commencement facilities)
- Baseball field conversion to multi-use
Transportation items in the EIR (link: EIR TRANSPORTATION) include:
Information of a bike lane through the Park Estates neighborhood along Anaheim Street
Carfax Avenue: Upgrade pavement markings and consider right-in/right-out only or signal warrant with the City of Long Beach.
Palo Verde Avenue: The City of Long Beach preliminary plan along Palo Verde Avenue includes the reduction of one vehicular travel lane in each direction, providing a parking-protected bicycle lane in the northbound direction and angled parking with a bike lane in the southbound direction. The provision of angled parking on the side of the street adjacent to the campus would provide a greater opportunity for on-street parking to serve the campus, without people needing to cross Palo Verde Avenue. The City’s preliminary plans also call for lane reductions and safety enhancements, such as a protected corner, at the intersection with Anaheim Road/State University Drive. This intersection is currently all-way stop controlled. It should be noted that this project would be implemented by the City of Long Beach entirely in its own jurisdiction and would not be implemented by CSULB under the Master Plan Update and is listed here due to its adjacency to the CSULB main campus.
Open the north end of the Bouton Creek Path to pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, and skateboards to provide a continuous connection from student housing and parking within the West District of campus to the center of campus;
Provide new crosswalks at signalized intersections around the campus perimeter, including Palo Verde Avenue and Rendina Street, Atherton Street and Merriam Way, Bellflower Boulevard and Beach Drive, and 7th Street and West Campus Drive. These proposed enhancements would involve new crosswalk striping on external perimeter intersections under City of Long Beach jurisdiction.
Provide new pedestrian crossings to connect the campus with off-campus destinations at Bouton Creek and Bellflower Boulevard, Atherton Street and Determination Drive, and Palo Verde Avenue and Deleon Street. These proposed enhancements would involve new crosswalk striping, and pedestrian signal enhancements on external perimeter intersections under City of Long Beach jurisdiction.
Additionally, pedestrian and bicycle focused gateway improvements are proposed for campus entry points along Bellflower Boulevard, 7th Street, Palo Verde Avenue, and Atherton Street. Due to its proximity to surface parking lots on the campus, Atherton Street is envisioned as the primary vehicular entry point for the campus, specifically at Merriam Way and Carfax Avenue. The current entry point at Determination Drive is proposed to be deprioritized for vehicles due to the proposed bicycle and pedestrian improvements at this location.
In-Person Meeting: Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 Time: 6:00 pm-7:30pm
Location: The Pointe, located in the Walter Pyramid at CSULB.
Free parking will be provided at Parking Lot G11 adjacent to the Walter Pyramid, located at 1792 Merriam Way. Please park in the spots reserved for the Draft EIR Meeting and follow the signs to The Pointe.
Virtual (Online) Meeting: Date: Thursday, September 14, 2023 Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm
Location: Zoom Conference <https://zoom.us/j/95666519969>
Meeting ID: 956 6651 9969
Or join by phone at +1 (669) 444-9171 / Meeting ID: 956 6651 9969
For more information:
EIR PUVUNGNA and HISTORIC BUILDINGS (CULTURAL) RESOURCES
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