— Photo by Christopher Trela ©
The Balboa Peninsula Trolley kicked off its first route of the summer last weekend.
Despite some rainy and cloudy weather, it was a good opening weekend, noted Public Works Director Dave Webb at the Newport Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday.
“We had a great start,” Webb said.
There was good ridership over the long weekend, particularly on Memorial Day on Monday, he added.
Newport Beach will offer the shuttle service throughout the summer. Free rides are offered from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, and on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day.
“The trolley is a fun and free way to explore the peninsula,” officials wrote in an announcement shared last week.
There are 22 designated stops along the route. A trolley is scheduled to arrive in 15-minutes intervals, depending on traffic conditions. Riders are invited to climb aboard or exit the trolley at any of the stops along the way to and from the Balboa Pier and Fun Zone area.
For those planning a day at the beach, the trolley can accommodate bicycles, surfboards under six-feet long, and beach gear. Riders traveling to the area can find free parking at the city’s Avon Street municipal parking lot located near the Tustin Avenue and Avon Street intersection within Mariners’ Mile along Coast Highway.
This service is provided by the city of Newport Beach through a competitive grant process from the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Measure M2 Project V-Community Based Transit Circulators.
Orange County Transportation Authority approved a grant for $685,454 in 2017 for a seven-year service through summer 2023. The city’s match requirement is budgeted annually.
For more information, visit newportbeachca.gov/trolley.
