A Big Part Of Southern California Beach Lifestyle Is Back In ‘Business’

The beach path used for walking, running and bicycle riding, is back open in Los Angeles County.
Closed during the coronavirus pandemic #stayhome orders, this concrete no-motorized-vehicles-allowed path along the sand that stretches from Palos Verdes to past the Santa Monica Pier, is again active with activity.
This is a mental relief to many locals, who never understood the reasoning behind its closing in the first place.
In some places, it’s used primary for exercise. In the South Bay Beach Cities of Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo where it is known as The Strand, is an essential element of the Southern California beach lifestyle.
It is used for exercise, recreation and getting to places, everything from grocery shopping to restaurants to playing beach volleyball to surfing and, when these things were part of the norm, house parties and events such as the AVP and Smackfest.
In Manhattan Beach, the “upper Strand” as locals call it, has been open for walking and running the past week. The “lower Strand” which is only for bicycles, is now open. In adjacent Hermosa Beach, there is only one path and it has been closed, meaning locals could not get out and use it for exercise. Instead, people have been running on a wood-chipped path and riding bikes (dangerously) in the streets.
It never made any sense to close The Strand and bike path in the first place. Locals just went elsewhere anyway; that move did not keep people at home.
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