Hikers and joggers will soon have access to improved trails at Arroyo Seco, a beloved open space in Pasadena’s backyard known for its historical, ecological and recreational significance.
A restoration project with goals to make the 3.5 mile of trails in the Lower and Upper Arroyo Seco safer and more accessible for people of all ages is close to fruition, said officials at One Arroyo Foundation, a nonprofit working with the city to preserve the area.
“I’m really excited about these trails and the fact that we’re able to move forward with them here this summer and in the fall,” John Onderdonk, the organization’s vice president, said Thursday, May 23. “I think it will just be the beginning of hopefully many collaborative efforts with the city, with the users of the Arroyo, with other stakeholders in the Arroyo to really cherish and protect and revitalize a place that everybody loves.”
For years, city officials and nature enthusiasts have been working to restore the “over-loved” Arroyo Seco, a natural stream that originates in the Angeles National Forest, flows through concrete channels near the Rose Bowl and historic neighborhoods, before joining the Los Angeles River.
In 2018, the nonprofit One Arroyo Foundation came in to shape as a result of the “One Arroyo” concept put forth by former Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek. This initiative aims to improve the more than 1,000 acres of parkland and create an “end-to-end trail system.”
The foundation completed specifications for the trails project and presented them to the city, which put the project up for bidding, said Cynthia Kurtz, the organization’s interim executive director. The City Council is expected to award the contract to a bidder on June 10, she said.
If everything goes according to schedule, work on the trail project will start in early August, with a joint groundbreaking ceremony between the foundation and the city tentatively scheduled for July 13, Kurtz said. The project is expected…
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