Free Trolleys Still Free; Sidewalk Finished; Trees Replaced

News from Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig:

Measure M Project V Transit Grant Approved - On June 24, the Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors approved a grant to fund additional free trolley service. The grant will provide $500,000 toward the purchase of three trolleys to add to the summer Festival service, and the City will match with an additional $55,000. The trolleys will be ordered within the next few months and will be available for the summer of 2014. The grant will also fund the operation of free trolleys during 24 Fridays and weekends outside of the summer Festival season. That service would begin after the summer of 2014 and will run for up to seven years after which the City can apply for a grant funded continuation of the service. The Measure M one-half percent sales tax approved by Orange County voters in 2011 is the source of the grant funds. Measure M expires in 2041.

Frontage Road Sidewalk Construction - The sidewalk extension on the east side of Laguna Canyon Frontage Road by Woodland Drive has been completed.  There is now a continuous sidewalk along the entirety of Frontage Road.

Downtown Tree Replacements - Of the 10 street trees recently removed in the downtown area, three replacement trees have been planted near 222 Ocean Avenue and one replacement tree has been planted at 346 Mermaid Street. One tree that was removed on Second Street will not be replaced because of the density and crown coverage of existing trees. Five more will be planted at various locations after a determination has been made regarding the appropriate tree species to be used.

Fire Station No. 2 Windows Replacement - Construction began this week to replace twenty-five windows at Fire Station No. 2. The existing single pane windows were not working properly and were not energy efficient.  The replacement work will take approximately two weeks.