Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
A More Accessible And Connected Arroyo Seco Is Coming Your Way
Hahamogna Watershed Park
(
Edie Tyebkhan
/
Visit Pasadena
)
Restoration of the Arroyo Seco trail is set to break ground in July and construction will be in full swing starting in August.
The Arroyo Seco, often referred to as just “the Arroyo,” is a protected parkland in Pasadena that contains the Arroyo Seco stream and canyon that stretches 8 miles through the western part of the city. The area contains 22 miles of trails throughout.
The Restoration
The project will focus on two critical linkage points for the three major areas of the Arroyo: the Hahamongna Natural Park, the Central Arroyo, and the Lower Arroyo.
Support for LAist comes from
“Both of those areas are fairly natural and have suffered greatly over the years,” said Rick Gould, managing director of the One Arroyo Foundation, the nonprofit in charge of improving the Arroyo. “It's hard to get to, quite frankly, and so the trails have deteriorated.”
Restoration of the trail will include fixing erosion issues, rebuilding some of the rock walls that have collapsed, and adding new connections to the other trails, Gould said.
“There are some slopes that have either been landslides that need to be rectified or the slope is so heavily eroded it looks more like a pile of rocks than it does a trail,” Gould said.
The design stage for the trail’s restoration started back in 2020. But due to COVID-19, One Arroyo had to extend their initial timeline for the project, spending the next two years fine-tuning the improvement plans.
The city will decide on a contractor for the project in the next 10 days or so, said Daniel Rothenberg, president of One Arroyo, with the groundbreaking ceremony slated for July.
The project will then hopefully be completed within four months, prior to the rainy season, sometime in mid-November or early December.
Support for LAist comes from
During the renovation, hikers can expect to see some construction work along the way. Small sections of the trail may be closed for a few days at a time, but the majority of the trail should remain open, Gould said.
Other aspects of the project include improving the Mayberry Parker Bridge that lays underneath the Colorado Street Bridge. That renovation will enable people to more easily access other parts of the Arroyo.
“It hopefully will promote usage of the trails and more activity down there,” Rothenberg said.
Gould also emphasized the project’s goal to help unify the Arroyo.
“I think the name One Arroyo kind of came out of the early process back in 2017, and that was to try to unify the three separate areas of the Arroyo in the city of Pasadena,” said Gould. “And so what was consistent between all three areas was the trail system.”
The Future Of The Arroyo
Beyond these initial restorations, One Arroyo has raised a significant endowment that will fund its continual maintenance, Rothenberg said.
Support for LAist comes from
Further maintenance may include repairing some of the smaller feeder trails that connect the various neighborhoods to the main Arroyo path, Gould said.
But, he added that One Arroyo has a more holistic mission.
“We are there to assist the city and the community in looking at the entire Arroyo,” he said. “There are a myriad of projects that our board is looking at as potential places that we can assist the city [with] and really move the Arroyo in a direction that I think we all want to see.”
Some other projects that they are considering include improving the rock walls throughout the Arroyo, not just along the main stretch of the trail. They are exploring the idea of renovating facilities in the Hahamongna Natural Park to use for environmental education programs and potentially restoring an amphitheater that was a part of the Central Arroyo over 50 years ago.
Rothenberg said that no matter what One Arroyo’s next project is, they will decide based on response from community outreach and what the city of Pasadena sees as most beneficial.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
After rising for years, the number of residential installations in the city of Los Angeles began to drop in 2023. The city isn’t subject to recent changes in state incentives, but other factors may be contributing to the decline. -
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs.
-
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
Best of LAist