Residents Pleased with Ximeno/15th Changes

Residents living near Bryant Elementary and the intersection of Ximeno Ave. and 15th St. have been pleased to see the city’s Public Works department modify its project that’s been making changes designed to improve mobility access and street parking as part of larger Elevate ’28 city improvements.

Area residents have been concerned about losing access to their neighborhood by some of the changes Public Works was going to make in the original design.

Their concerns came from a Public Works letter that was sent out to the neighborhood earlier this year about the construction project coming their way for completion in May 2025. It would have raised the median at the intersection of Ximeno and 15th to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, add new Class II bike lanes on both sides of Ximeno Ave., along with ADA-compliant curb ramps, and add six parking spaces through re-striping efforts on the street.

The letter also said that after project completion, only one southbound lane would be in place on Ximeno with one lane removed, while two northbound lanes would remain in place.

In a March 13 letter to Public Works Director Eric Lopez and City Manager Tom Modica, written by 15th Street resident Lisa Gary and neighbors, over 100 area residents signed a petition calling for the city to consider their opposition to the project.

They asked that their concerns to be heard and considered. They would like to see the project stopped entirely or modified to address their concerns. They asked that planned construction be stopped that would have brought a short median barrier at the intersection of Ximeno Ave. and E. 15th St. designed to block or limit existing driving access to Ximeno and 15th Streets and reroute that traffic through that neighborhood’s other streets.

They’d been to a March 6th public meeting at the Bryant Elementary School auditorium scheduled by Councilmember Kristina Duggan. Area residents had complained that not many of them received that Public Works letter and that they weren’t given much time to respond. Residents say that they asked the city for a stop-work order on the project so that concerns and objections could be voiced, but that the city refused. They then contacted Duggan asking for help to intervene with the city on the neighborhood’s behalf. The city agreed to the request and the March 6 public hearing was scheduled, but area residents didn’t think their concerns were being heard or taken seriously.

What Changes Will Look Like

Merry Colvin, a 15th St. resident who’s been very active in community issues, said that Councilmember Duggan and her Chief of Staff Nick Kaspar have been listening to their concerns and that a solution has been worked out.

The Public Works engineering team updated the design, prioritizing safety while incorporating community input. It includes all the elements of the original except that it removes the centerpiece of the median. It continues to allow for left turns to be made out of 15th onto Ximeno from both sides.

You still can’t make left turns from Ximeno onto 15th, but residents have been primarily concerned going from 15th onto Ximeno, Colvin said.

Left turns from Ximeno on to 15th will be prohibited in either direction, except for emergency vehicle access. This project includes repaving Ximeno from PCH to Anaheim, which is a big win for the area, Kaspar said in a notice to local area residents.

The design still includes a flashing crossing and it includes pedestrian refuge islands to make it safer to cross Ximeno while walking or biking, Kaspar said.

“Ximeno is getting a $2 million road improvement and when Public Works rolled out their design, the community was upset about a median that limited access out of their neighborhood,” said Councilmember Kristina Duggan. “A few neighbors organized their voices and we were able to work with Public Works to create a design that put safety first, but also implemented feedback from the community.” 

Construction may be carried out this summer, but it may be delayed and carried out by the end of this year, Colvin said.

Public Works was planning on carrying out the project on a segment of Ximeno as part of the city’s Elevate ’28 Infrastructure Investment Plan. This initiative has been dedicated to enhancing Long Beach parks, community facilities, mobility access and streets – and to prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Gary’s letter that received signatures from neighbors expressed concerns that the planed intersection project would create a number of problems. Adding the meridian would take away or limit the ability of 15th St. residents who live on both sides of Ximeno to come and go; it could significantly increase traffic on 14th St., Ransom, Termino, Belmont, Fountian and Park by rerouting traffic to those streets, which are already facing increased traffic from the impending housing project near Bryant Elementary; and it would eliminate any access to 15th St. between Ximeno and Termino for larger commercial and recreational vehicles, which can only access homes on 15th by swinging wide on Ximeno as the Termino roundabout limits the other end of the street, according to the letter.

Jon LeSage is a resident of Long Beach and a veteran business media reporter and editor. You can reach him at jtlesage1@yahoo.com.