Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Long Beach

Long Beach’s Beach Streets Returns – Open Thread

Last Saturday’s Beach Streets in front of CSU Long Beach’s Walter Pyramid. Photos by Joe Linton/Streetsblog

LongBeachize_Ad_Concepts
This article supported by Los Angeles Bicycle Attorney as part of a general sponsorship package. All opinions in the article are that of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of LABA. Click on the ad for more information.

Long Beach's popular Beach Streets is back! Last Saturday, tens of thousands of people - on bike, foot, skate, scooter - took to a temporarily car-free route about four miles long.

Beach Streets festivals have been on hold since the COVID pandemic started; the previous one took place in 2019.

Yesterday's Beach Streets route took place in the eastern portion of Long Beach, from the north end of Cal State University Long Beach to Spring Street. Long Beach used a similar route for their 2017 event. The pleasant, largely tree-lined, flat route is mostly wide arterial streets flanked by suburban housing, the university, and numerous commercial strips. As others have noted, it is a great place to ride, but not all that easy to get to by bike from other parts of Long Beach, including from the city's Metro A Line light rail stations.

The event featured lots of programming: two music stages, DJs, a kids hub, a roller skating area, and more. Many of these were swamped by large crowds. Similar to earlier events, one worthwhile Long Beach open streets feature is that plenty of local businesses set up booths along the route: real estate agents, pet shops, dentists, yoga studios, credit unions, etc.

Beach Streets
Beach Streets University on Bellflower Boulevard
Beach Streets
xxxx
Beach Streets Instagrammable inflatable signage
Long Beach Beach Streets. Photo by Joe Linton/Streetsblog
xxx
Cyclists of all ages enjoying car-free streets at Beach Streets. Temporary bicycle parking (on right, unused) was provided at commercial centers.
xxx
xxxx
Much of the Beach Streets University route was tree-lined suburban arterial streets
xxxx
xxx
People on bike, scooter, stroller, and foot at Long Beach's Beach Streets
xxx

Readers - how was your experience at last Saturday's Beach Streets?

Find more photos from Saturday's event at the Long Beach Post.

Tip for open streets fans: In just three weeks, CicLAvia returns to its roots with a Sunday October 9 Heart of L.A. route through Boyle Heights, Chinatown, Downtown, and Echo Park - featuring the new Sixth Street Viaduct. And hopefully, Beach Streets will be back in 2023.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

New Metro Subway Railcars Started Service Today

Streetsblog got a special preview ride today. Have you ridden Metro's new "HR4000" heavy rail cars yet?

December 21, 2024

Metro Closes Out Last Round of Outreach on Underwhelming Vermont BRT Proposal

To truly improve conditions on Vermont, much more must be done

December 20, 2024

Cemeteries Push to Bury Forest Lawn Drive Safety Improvements

Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai reps call scaled-back city street improvements a "bad plan" and "permanent traffic disaster"

December 20, 2024
See all posts