The parking malls lining much of Long Beach’s Park Avenue will undergo major renovations and environmentally focused upgrades next year, supported by funding from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation.
At the Oct. 6 City Council meeting, City Manager Dan Creighton announced that the city was awarded over $6.1 million in grant money as part of the state’s Green Resiliency Grant Program. Through the New York State Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, the statewide program supports municipalities taking steps to improve water quality, manage storm runoff and strengthen infrastructure.
Seven parking strips, totaling more than 250,000 square feet, between Lafayette and Monroe boulevards, will be totally redone. “The pavement will be replaced with permeable pavement,” Creighton explained. “Which is expected to avert approximately 400,000 gallons of storm water from entering our drainage system in the bay each year,” he added, referring to Reynolds Channel.
The durable, porous material can significantly reduce stormwater runoff and decrease flooding during heavy rain by allowing water to soak through the specialized pavement and into its underlying drainage layer rather than collect and overflow on the surface. “About a third of the runoff will seep down into this pavement,” City Councilman Michael Reinhart added. “Ideally, when we get hit with a flash flood or an intense amount of rain, this is going to help considerably in those areas.”
In addition to installing the new pavement, the project will also replace underground utilities in affected areas, leaving the parking malls with updated infrastructure as well.
The city’s grant-writing team initially applied for the funding earlier this year, and received the official award notification on Sept. 21, just days before a nor’easter brought more than 5 inches of rain, 8-foot tidal surges and flooding throughout the city. Creighton explained that the funds are the largest non-Hurricane Sandy-related grant received by the city in roughly a decade. The terms of the grant require a 10 percent match from the city, just over $680,000, which will be covered by its annual budget when work commences next year.
Ken Arnold, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, said that documents still need to be finalized with the state before the city can solicit proposals from design companies and begin the work in a phased approach. Arnold estimated that the design phase alone could take six to eight months before construction begins.
“It’s going to have to be staged,” Arnold said. “We’ll be talking to the design consultants and the city manager’s office about how we want to stage that, to not disturb too much of the city.”
Creighton emphasized that the construction schedule would aim to maintain traffic flow and keep parking available for businesses and residents, and Arnold added that construction during the busy summer months was unlikely.
Arnold explained that permeable pavement is an asphalt product that appears similar to conventional pavement — and that the Milburn Creek Boat Launch, in Freeport, is a nearby example of the use of porous and nonporous pavement.
