Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco trail restoration close to breaking ground

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 to be completed in November, she said.

“The Arroyo is really a place of healing and health,” Kurtz said. “It’s soothing and peaceful and a place to go and rest. You don’t know you’re in the middle of a big metropolitan area, you think you’re out in the wild. Well, you are, but you’re minutes away from the City of Pasadena and other cities. It’s just such a healing place.”

The trail project is “a restoration project through and through,” according to Kurtz. One focus will be debris and erosion clearance, which has worsened due to the unprecedented rain in the past two years. Other works include removal of dead trees, repairing of rock walls, planting native species, as well as creating natural seating and learning areas.

Many teachers bring their classes to Arroyo to teach students about drawing, plants and animals. So part of this project is to create a space where students can sit comfortably and enjoy nature while listening to their teachers.

“There’s one area that’s kind of flat, along the east side, and we’re just going to clear it out a little bit, not change anything, certainly not take out any vegetation, and put some logs in there, in a circle,” Kurtz said.

In addition to trail improvement, the foundation is also working on another project that focuses on linkage. It will open pedestrian’s access to the historic Mayberry Parker Bridge, which sits underneath the Colorado Street Bridge.

“So you’ll be able to go from the Casting Pond, up to the Colorado Street Bridge, cross over the Arroyo, catch the trail there and come down the west side,” she said, “making it a really nice, probably a little under a mile loop or about a mile loop in the Lower Arroyo.”

The bridge itself is stable for pedestrians, but it is not easy to get on. As part of this project, new railings will be installed on the outside of the bridge to make it safer for people to walk on it, Kurtz said.

She expects to take this project out for bid next spring and hopefully completes it next summer.

The recommended contract cost for the trail work is around $900,000, and the bridge project is estimated at between $600,000 and $700,000. The money is paid for by a combination of public grants and private donations. The foundation received a $1 million grant from the Santa Monica Conservancy, which is all going into the trail restoration project, she said.

Although the foundation is focused on the Lower and Upper Arroyo, the board may consider future projects in the Central Arroyo as well. The foundation is holding meetings and consulting with city staff to determine what projects it might tackle in the future, Kurtz said.

“The One Arroyo Board is very, very excited about preserving the Arroyo Seco, and making sure that it is there as a natural space for generations to come, but that doesn’t happen by just leaving it go. It happens by taking care of it,” Kurtz said. “And we want to work with the city to make sure it is well taken care of.”