Every time it pours, there are areas in the 2nd District that flood up to the steps and doors of our homes. At 57 feet above ocean level and only 3 blocks to the ocean on the bluff, the flood comes up to the first step of my house. Appleton and Cherry has always been inundated. Gail and Don, who own the house on the corner there, have complained constantly to the City but to no avail. This is a matter of prioritizing infrastructure investment and a good planning.
When the City dug up Broadway, the least they could have done is dig 4 feet deep, and replace the old storm drain lines and the sewer lines just under the intersections. But NO. Sometime in the future, they will dig up this new street once more and do the sewer and storm drain work. Were we to run our businesses this way we would be bankrupt. We all know you build a house from the foundation up. This City needs to get on the same page and use some common sense. We cannot undo what the Councilmember did to Broadway without also thinking of these elements underneath the street. Even if we remake all the piping North and South of Broadway at a later date, at least the junction will be sufficient to handle the new pipes and load.
The neighborhoods should have adequate piping in ABS, rather than clay. More importantly we have a serious issue with the downtown sector. After building 27 new high rises, and with 34 more on the way according to the Mayor, we are in desperate need of sewer line and storm drain upgrades. As an example, in Waikiki they did not address this issue and the result was disastrous. Approximately 12 years ago the lines burst all over Waikiki and the streets and first floors were covered with feces and toilet paper. It cost the State millions to evacuate the people off island, and subsequent millions on millions to fix the issue. There were 8 foot ABS pipes in the Ala Wai Canal for years as they remade the sewer lines of Waikiki. Then they had to completely mitigate the damage to the ocean and the Ala Wai Canal. To this day people do not eat fish out of the Ala Wai for fear of disease.
The set asides in every development in Long Beach are supposed to pay for this infrastructure. After so many buildings it is time to use this money (if we have not lost it) and start this project before we make one more roundabout in the neighborhoods. First things first. Priorities matter.