Long Beach Briefs: City Launches Smart City Initiative, Grant for Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety, POLB Shipments Slow in October

City Launches Long Beach Collaboratory Smart City Initiative Program

The City of Long Beach is launching its new Smart City Initiative program, the Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab), to engage residents with civic technology design and equip them with technology skills to thrive in the “smart” economy. The LB Co-Lab will engage local Long Beach stakeholders in a collaborative process to scope and implement a pilot technology project. The technology implemented through this program will ensure the city invests in technology enhancements based on community-identified needs, while also teaching community members about technology design and development.

The LB Co-Lab will strengthen planned city community engagement activities by giving communities the ability to design technology solutions that work for them. The community engagement will lead to the implementation of an accessible technology infrastructure in four Long Beach neighborhoods of focus: Hamilton, Ramona Park, Willmore and the Lower Westside.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/smart-city-initiative

LB Health Department Awarded $308,094 Grant for Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program

The City of Long Beach Health Department has been awarded a $308,094 grant from the California office of traffic safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The one-year grant will continue and expand the Health Department’s chronic disease and injury prevention division’s “Walk and Roll Long Beach” program. The program focuses on improving and promoting safety for all pedestrians and bicyclists with the goal of reducing preventable injuries and deaths from crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/walk-and-roll 

Shipments Slow in October in Long Beach

LONG BEACH — Cargo moving through the Port of Long Beach eased up in October following reduced consumer demand and a shift of imported goods toward the Gulf and East coasts.

Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 658,428 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo containers last month, a 16.6% decline from October 2021. Imports were down 23.7% to 293,924 TEUs and exports decreased 2% to 119,763 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the Port fell 13.4% to 244,743 TEUs. 

A POLA press release stated, despite surging inflation and interest rates, economists say consumers still have enough resources to weather economic headwinds. Experts feel softening consumer activity will lead to a better balance between supply and demand, and reduce stress on the national supply chain.

The Port of Long Beach has moved 8,000,811 TEUs during the first 10 months of 2022, up 1.5% from the same period in 2021.

Details: polb.com/statistics.