The largest ship ever built, the Knock Nevis, is over 1,500 feet long, but thankfully, it no longer sails the seas.
The blue vessel is an illustration of the Emma Maersk, which may have already called on the Port of Los Angeles, probably at Berth 400. It is 'only' about 1,300 feet long.
The next ship is the first of the Genesis class of 'cruise ships' or 'ocean liners' depending on what you prefer to call something that is 1,180 feet long and will carry 6,400 passengers.The ship is already well under construction, and a second ship of its size has been ordered.
I don't know yet if this ship, a Royal Carribean Cruise vessel will be able to back up and down the main channel to get to our current cruise ship terminal, if and when it or its sister ship come to call.
Currently, the plans for this monster ship is for it to home port in Florida.
If you got a chance to see the Queen Mary II as it called on San Pedro, you might get an idea how huge both ships are.
The discussion about building a new cruise ship terminal at Kaiser Point has already spawned some debate, but it is still early in the games between the Port of Los Angeles and members of OUR community.
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Below is and illustration from the Clearwater Program of the Los Angeles County Sanitation District.
We are fairly well into the first discussion periods of this issue and it will figure in next month's annual meeting of the Palisades Residents Association.
If you look closely, you can see where the existing tunnels and outfall utilize areas of OUR community that are not downtown San Pedro, or Terminal Island. Where the new tunnel and its access shaft will go, is still a few years in the actual selection of where the Sanitation District will place the tunnel and the shaft.
The shaft is a major concern, as it should be because it will take up about 5 acres of land and be the focal point for thousands and thousands of truck trips to deal with the tools and materials necessary to bring in a giant tunnel boring machine and removing the dirt the machine spits out.
As you can also view the band of alternative alignments, you will get a better picture of where you may want to stand on this issue.
The initial dig may not start before 2012, just about the time SRHS 15 is completed, IF it is built, and whatever is going to happen with the Ponte Vista site has been long determined and has building, at least, fairly well completed.
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Here is the part of this week's Odds and Ends that deals with South Region High School No. 15 (SRHS 15).
First up is an enlarged but fuzzy photograph of one of the foxes that calls the Palisades Residents Association area AND the Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur, home.
I believe this particular photo was taken while the fox was on Meyler, quite close to 36Th street and the fence of 'Angel's Gate'.
This photo was used in a presentation by Neighborhoods Organized and Involved to Support Education (NOISE) when it was announced that the company hired by LAUSD to handle soils testing for a new high school campus at 'Angel's Gate' is also the same company that would handle any and all cleanup of hazardous materials found in the soils, of the site.
The presenter referred to this company as a fox guarding the hen house because it will do whatever discovery it deals with, then deal with whatever clean up is done.
NOISE is not resting since the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council acted to oppose construction of SRHS 15 on the Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur. The group has a Steering Committee that continues to meet regularly and they are not slowing down in their attempts to inform, instruct, and communicate with residents, business owners, and others who share their goal of keeping SRHS 15 from it preferred site.
NOISE members will also continue to repeat that they are not necessarily opposed to a new campus in San Pedro, or alternatives that will help ease over crowding at San Pedro High School without building a whole new campus.
NOISE members are looking forward to the completion of the Point Fermin Outdoor Education Center, as early as Summer, 2009, and some of the members wish that the name of the Outdoor Center be changed to the John Olguin Outdoor Education, because of Mr. Olguin's lifetime of special gifts he has brought to OUR community and so many thousands upon thousands of others, especially children in his long life of teaching, supporting, informing, and counseling so many people.
You are still encouraged to write to NOISE at nohighschool15@cox.net to get on their Email list, find out how to sign a petition demanding that SRHS 15 must not be built at Angel's Gate, or learn how you can support the efforts.
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On the McCowan's site redevelopment, Vista del Oro Neighbors Against Condos (VDONAC) recently learned that Mike Rosenthal, the developer of the six lots that made up the former market's building site and parking lots, filed a last minute appeal to seek to counter the Harbor Area Planning Commission's motion to state that only single-family, detached houses be built on the three lots, currently zoned C1-1XL, where the actual market stood.
VDONAC is waiting for the entire Los Angeles City Council to approve an ordinance that will change the current zoning on the three lots to QC1-1XL.
Single-family, detached houses are currently under construction on the three lots that were already zoned for those types of dwellings. The houses are one-story houses, which fit in nicely to the surrounding area of homes.
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With the Ponte Vista issue, we are all still waiting to see what the Planning Departments posts as their feelings as to what could be built on the site.
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Development and redevelopment in downtown San Pedro continues, but at a seemingly very slow pace.
The "G8" proposed 18-story tower, on land previously considered for the Urban Village development has been publicized. "G8" may get you to thinking "gate". Where that 'gate' leads is any body's guess right now.
I have been looking for any plans to build a new supermarket in downtown San Pedro, but I haven't seen any, and that is not very good. I feel there needs to be at least one more major supermarket to serve all the current and future residents down there.
I recently learned of an individual's idea for the redevelopment of Rancho San Pedro.
This person did not endorse removing the residents who call Rancho San Pedro home, but he considered a redevelopment that could allow for a new high school on the west side of Rancho San Pedro, mixed-residential units that would include current residents, and also welcome others into a new community of all types of multi-unit residences, all in the middle of the area.
On the eastern side, the side closest to the harbor, the idealist considered building commercial structures for residents and tourists to visit.
Now, if that kind of redevelopment was to come to the area, perhaps it would be the best place to build a new supermarket.
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Maybe a review of what may come to pass is worthy of this post.
Ponte Vista-1,950 condo units, all access on Western Avenue.
The two largest vessels that will travel the oceans making port calls in the Port of Los Angeles.
A five-acre parcel, with a very large shaft drilled 500 feet deep and having thousands and thousands of double trailer dump trucks accessing it for up to 9 years.
1,400 or so new condominium units built many blocks away from any major supermarket.
A new cruise ship terminal that will require 600 bus trips through San Pedro each day a vessel is in port, not to mention the taxi's shuttle buses, and charter buses that will converge on the southeasternmost point in San Pedro.
The prospect that any or all of the remaining four storm drain structures under Western Avenue failing, requiring a major repair operation.
A new high school campus built where very few people want it built, built on a hazardous former military installation, for a student population that will be lowering as the years go by.
The very remote possiblitiy that a private two-year college with have much increased off-campus housing along Palos Verdes Drive North, between Western and five points.
See, who says San Pedrans don't like development?
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