How To Weigh In On Plans For The Path Connecting Wolfberg Park To Will Rogers Beach

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — As the city works to plan a walking-path link between George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon and Will Rogers State Beach, officials are inviting residents to a meeting to share their thoughts on the project.

The park, which officially opened in December 2022, is required to have a pedestrian trail connecting it to Pacific Coast Highway at Temescal Canyon Road under the terms of its Coastal Commission permit, according to Kristin Ly, the city's project manager for the project.

The trail currently ends at the city property line in the park. To construct the trail, the city must obtain an easement to build on Caltrans-owned land near PCH. While officials created a rough layout for the path about a decade ago, that placement is no longer feasible due to construction activity, erosion and vegetation growth, Ly said at a Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting earlier this summer.

The city has tapped a consulting firm to create several preliminary design options and locations, which will allow the city to negotiate on the final placement of the trail with Caltrans, Ly said.

As part of that process, the firm is hosting a meeting Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, where they'll gather input from the community.

Following that meeting and other outreach, the firm will draft the options for consideration by city officials. The community will have additional opportunities to weigh in on those designs.

As for the timeline and cost, Ly said both will vary significantly depending on the route chosen. But "it will take a significant amount of time — as in 'years' kind of time" before the future path opens, she said.

Located above PCH, the 46-acre, mile-long park had officially been in the works since 1986, but the effort among residents to get it built began two decades earlier. Grading work began the following year, but work stopped in 2004 due to a lack of funding.