After months of public engagement and input, the Port of L.A. has released the Draft San Pedro Waterfront Connectivity Plan—a long-term vision to reimagine the L.A. Waterfront as a more connective and accessible regional destination.

Led by SWA in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team including Alta Planning & Design, Anchor QEA, Cambridge Systematics, HereLA, and HR&A Advisors, the plan builds on previous efforts to propose ambitious transportation, mobility, open space, and public art projects. Spanning over 460 acres and 8 linear miles of waterfront, the plan presents strategies to enhance connectivity between the San Pedro shoreline, adjacent neighborhoods, and the wider region.

“The Port of Los Angeles has made significant investments over the last two decades focused on deindustrializing the LA Waterfront and transforming it into a visitor and recreational destination,” said Mike Galvin, Port Director of Waterfront and Commercial Real Estate. “Community input has been a critical component throughout the process. As we release this draft Connectivity Plan, we encourage the public to continue to weigh in as we finalize its development.”

Building on extensive community engagement events held between January and June 2023 including nearly 300 participants, the plan presents a comprehensive set of recommendations spanning vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, public transit, and water-based mobility across the Port—as well as outlining open space, public art, wayfinding, and recreational opportunities. Direct connections to local climate action policy are woven throughout the plan, positioning the Port to deliver on its long-term sustainability goals in all proposed projects.

“For over 100 years, the community of San Pedro and the Port of L.A. have been intertwined in a rich and complex relationship that have shaped the history of the Los Angeles waterfront. Over 200 acres and miles of contiguous waterfront are gradually being transformed into a platform for public life—restaurants, events, research facilities, complete streets, water taxis, and recreational areas. The backbone of the Connectivity Plan is to tie these threads into a cohesive whole where accessibility, connectivity, and resilience are prioritized,” said Gerdo Aquino, Co-CEO of SWA. “For over two decades, the Port of L.A. has invested in this future, and the release of this draft plan marks another major step forward.”

Among the focus areas are improvements to roadways such as Harbor Boulevard, a more streamlined approach to parking (including tech-enabled lot management), enhanced public transit systems (including bus lines, trolleys, and water taxis), and upgraded multi-modal infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. Parallel to these strategies, the design team proposes opportunities to leverage new mobility projects to create points of interest and improve open space along the waterfront—including parks, water-based recreation, site and streetscape activation, traffic calming, curb extensions, public art, shade structures and trees, and branded wayfinding.

A final community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 28th from 6 to 8 PM at the Harbor Administration Building (425 S. Palos Verdes Street, San Pedro, CA 90731), where the public will be able to provide further comment before the plan’s finalization in December 2023.