Beach Cities Strand, Esplanade, Pier, Parks Close Due to Coronavirus

UPDATE ALL LA COUNTY BEACHES NOW CLOSED

While I was still drafting this post, it was announced that now ALL public beaches in LA County have been closed.

Here’s what we know as of now. An official announcement will be made later this afternoon.

Supervisor Janice Hahn announced that Los Angeles County will immediately close all beaches to the public, “to stem the spread of COVID-19 among the greater Los Angeles community. The crowds we saw at our beaches last weekend were unacceptable,” Hahn said in a statement.

“In order to save lives, beaches in LA County will be temporarily closed. I understand that this is a huge sacrifice for everyone who enjoys going to our beaches. But we cannot risk another sunny weekend with crowds at the beach spreading this virus. This closure is temporary and we can always reopen these beaches when it is safe to do so.”

The health order states that all beaches, piers, public beach parking lots, beach bike paths and beach access points within LA County jurisdiction will be temporarily closed. There is no end date.

The speed at which this is all evolving in real time is breath taking.

ORIGINAL POST

Since CA Governor Gavin Newsom issued the Stay at Home order on March 19th I’ve been noticing way too many people still in close contact at the beach, on the Strand and Esplanade, and in parks. Let me add that when I say I’ve noticed this, it is from the relative safety of my car. With the windows up.

When my wife and I were driving though Hermosa Beach last Sunday, March 22nd. I couldn’t help but notice that things just seemed a bit too normal. (We were delivering food to a family member.) In fact, if you didn’t know better you would have thought it was just another day.

Yesterday driving down Aviation Blvd, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of people on the track and in the field at Aviation Park near the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Just too many people too close together. But what do I know, after all. I’m just a Real Estate Broker.

But I guess someone with a higher pay grade has noticed because now we have a number of closures going on taking away the option of visiting the places we all love.

None of this should be a surprise because the while the stay at home order allowed for short walks near a person’s residence, Newsom specially also said people should not be congregating at public places, including California’s beaches.

I guess someone didn’t get the message.

HERMOSA BEACH STRAND - Beach

You may not have know that Hermosa Beach has one of the few city-owned beaches in Los Angeles County. Beaches in Torrance, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach are under LA County jurisdiction.

That gives them the ability to effectively close it down which will also effectively remove it as a thoroughfare between the county-owned beaches of Manhattan Beach to the north and Redondo Beach to the south.

“We understand the desire to be outside and in nature is more powerful than ever. While most people are staying home to slow the spread of COVID-19, the actions of a few who choose not to follow the rules can cost the lives of many. The sooner we close the beach and Strand, the better our chance to slow the spread of COVID-19,”

said Hermosa Beach City Manager Suja Lowenthal.

If you are wondering why this hasn’t gone into effect immediately, it’s because to implement the closures, City Staff will be erecting signs and barriers at access points to the beach and Strand over the next two days, and the Hermosa Beach Police Department will be patrolling the beach to enforce the closures.

REDONDO BEACH ESPLANADE, Pier and Parks

Redondo Beach will be putting restrictions on coastal hot spots in an effort to curb crowds during the coronavirus pandemic.

Effective at midnight Friday, Redondo Beach will close:

• The Redondo Beach Pier, International Boardwalk and parking structures, except for the purpose of picking up food at city-designated locations from restaurants providing to-go orders and employees of those restaurants still providing service.

• The Esplanade

• Veterans Park and parking lots, including the public parking areas adjacent to the Elks Lodge

• All public walkways, stairways, ramps and paths that provide access to the beach

• The coastal bluff trail between Knob Hill Avenue and George Freeth Way

• The pedestrian path adjacent to the beach bike path between the city’s southern boundary and the Redondo Beach Pier

• All walkways and stairways that provide access from private residential properties to the Redondo Beach Pier and International Boardwalk

• George Freeth Way, including the street, sidewalk and parking

• Czuleger Park, except for the purpose of entering and leaving residential properties next to the park

• Redondo Bike Path

• Moonstone Park

• The sidewalk, bike path and public parking on the west side of Harbor Drive

• The personal watercraft hand launching facility and the access road behind Seaside Lagoon

• The public boat hoist in the Redondo Beach Marina

• The Redondo Beach Marina parking lot, except for the purpose of picking up food from restaurants providing to-go orders, for employees of those restaurants, and for live-aboard residents in the marina

• Aviation Park

• The north Redondo Beach bike path from Robinson Street to Felton Lane The dog park at Dominguez Park City Park basketball courts City park tennis courts

So basically you can walk on whatever street you live on.

You may have noticed that the list doesn’t specifically say the beach because that would be up to LA County. They just closed every way to get onto the beach.

The City Council will meet Tuesday to approve or modify the closures, which will last until at least April 24.

Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, on his Facebook page, said he directed the beach closures after participating in two conference calls this week with Los Angeles County officials and multiple mayors, including those from El Segundo and Torrance.

They all expressed concerns about overcrowding last weekend, he wrote, especially on bike paths where social distancing was “impossible.” Public health officials have urged folks to keep at least 6 feet of separation between themselves and others. “We really do not know how many residents or visitors coming to our towns have this new virus or where we are on the infection curve,” Brand wrote. “We live in a densely populated area and we need to flatten the infection curve.”

MANHATTAN BEACH

You may have noticed that the gates to the Pier have been closed for a while. With the lead in this story being about the County closing the beaches, I guess it makes the rest of my comments sort of moot at this point.

THINGS WILL RETURN TO NORMAL

Here’s some pics of my wife and I before all this happened.

Beach - we are coming back!