Garvey Avenue Bridge Dedication

On Friday, April 11, the Garvey Avenue Bridge was officially opened.  I have a picture of the actual ribbon cutting, but I suspect no one wants to see that picture.  I'm not in the official picture because I figure I had nothing to do with getting the bridge built.  But now I wish I had, so in 70 years of so, when they replace this bridge, the history buffs will look at the old picture and wonder, "Who was that short fat guy standing over there next to all the dignitaries? :D

The bridge is a beauty.  It's a nice welcome to Rosemead, especially now, with the banners flapping atop the bridge (see the first picture).  It's got two lanes of traffic running each way, with plenty of room to add a third lane (or a light rail line?).  The sidewalks are also a pleasantly wide 15 feet, so you don't feel like the cars are going to blow you into the Rio Hondo when they blow by you.

I didn't realize that the original bridge was build back in the 1930s (I'm recalling 1938, but I could be off by a few years).  To illustrate how long ago that was, the folks from Rosemead invited some old cars built back when the bridge was new to the event.  (See the second picture).  I heard that Oliver Chi is already trying to figure out if he can get the owners to participate in our next Fourth of July Parade.

Running under the bridge is the Rio Hondo.  Along the "banks" of the Rio Hondo is a bike path that runs down to Whittier Narrows.  You could then link to the San Gabriel River trail and ride all the way down to Long Beach.  I saw a painted number not too far "north" or Rosemead Blvd that said 12.75, so I believe it's 12.75 miles to the sea.  I did this ride a few times in the past, and I can assure you that 25 or 26 miles roundtrip is a long way, even if you're on a bike.  Only some kind of crazy city manager-type would be stupid enough to try to run that far! :D

Also to the northeast of Rosemead and Garvey is Lashbrook Park (see third picture).  It's a pocket park that's part of the Emerald Necklace that the Amigos de los Rios is trying to build around the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel Rivers.  In addition to the native plants you see, they also have some benches and informational signs (and, alas, some graffiti).

There's a bit of room behind our own Garvey Community Center that could accommodate a small pocket park of our own, so I hope we're able to do something with that space in the future.  Just seems a shame to have a water feature (even a somewhat smelly and concrete-encased water feature) and make use of the space.  Besides, more eyes on the river would make it safer for people who want to walk, jog, or ride their bike along the river pathway.