Long Beach bridge pedestrian and bicycle path opens Saturday

Walking and biking 205 feet above water over the Port of Long Beach will be possible now with the public opening of the Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path.

Long Beach is celebrating the long-awaited opening of the 12-foot-wide ped path along the new Long Beach International Gateway Bridge Saturday, May 20.

It's been over two years since the new cable-stayed bridge was completed, replacing the former Gerald Desmond Bridge. It opened to the public back in October 2020.

Opening the ped path to the public took some extra time as the route across the bridge and into downtown to the Ocean Boulevard Connector was seamlessly pieced together.

The Bixby Path is named after one of Long Beach's leading bicycle advocates from the legacy Bixby family, the late Mark Bixby.

He spearheaded the effort to have a bike path included in the design of the new bridge. The ped path honors Bixby with its namesake, as he and four others died in a 2011 airplane crash at the Long Beach Airport.

Views from the Bixby Path are expansive, with a maximum height at 205 feet above the water and there are three overlooks with informational signage.

Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path begins at 10 a.m. at the Long Beach Civic Center.

The path will be open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.