City Unveils Esplanade Improvements

Dozens of people gathered Thursday afternoon to watch as Redondo Beach's mayor and city council cut the ribbon to officially unveil the results of the Esplanade Streetscape project.

The $3 million project took only six months to complete—"record time for a public works project," according to Steve Napolitano, who represented L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe at the event.

Improvements include a wider sidewalk, enhanced crosswalks bulb-outs for pedestriant safety, decorative benches, an 18-inch seat wall, new trash cans, drought-tolerant landscaping and a dedicated bicycle lane.

The street was resurfaced and restriped, and mosaic panels and tiles were installed along the street.

Workers also installed slightly raised steel strips along the top of the seat wall.

"[The strips] are known to be not-so-friendly to skateboarders," Councilman Steve Aspel said.

Aspel, whose district includes the Esplanade, also thanked former-Rep. Jane Harman as a driving force for funding in Congress, saying it wouldn't have happened without her.