The parking lot serving Venice Fishing Pier has never had a single light fixture, leaving hundreds of parking spaces dark every night. That's about to change, as the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors moves forward with plans to install ten solar-powered light poles along the Washington Boulevard lot's center aisle, aiming to make the space easier for residents and visitors to navigate after the sun goes down.
The project was first detailed by Yo! Venice!, which reported that each of the ten poles will stand 18 feet tall and carry two solar-powered fixtures apiece. Chantal Alatorre, a facilities planner with the county beaches and harbors department, spoke with the outlet's Nick Antonicello, a 33-year resident of the community who also serves as a senior member of the Oceanfront Walk Committee of the Venice Neighborhood Council, about the initiative. The lighting plan carries an estimated budget of roughly $250,000, with construction expected to begin in mid-2027 and take about three months to complete, per the same account.
How the Lights Will Work
The fixtures are designed to run at full brightness from dusk until 10 p.m., then automatically dim to 30% brightness through the overnight hours before shutting off entirely at dawn. If motion is detected during the dimmed period, the lights will return to full brightness. That 10 p.m. shift lines up with Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 63.44, which closes Venice Beach's recreational sand areas between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. under a curfew that has been in place since 1988, according to Hoodline's prior reporting.
The fixtures are also built to direct their light downward, minimizing spill onto the beach and neighboring properties, the county planner told the outlet. That design choice reflects California Coastal Commission environmental standards, which require outdoor lighting installed in coastal zones to be shielded and pointed downward so it doesn't wash over open water and beach habitat.
A Lot That Fills Up Fast
The Washington Boulevard lot contains 380 parking spaces, 371 standard and nine ADA-accessible, and it frequently reaches maximum capacity during peak weekend hours, according to a Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors evaluation report. The lot operates daily from 6 a.m. to midnight, with seasonal parking rates ranging between $5 and $15 depending on entry time and season. Yo! Venice! reported that parking fees will not increase as part of the lighting project, and that the improvements are a standalone effort rather than part of any broader beaches and harbors lighting upgrade across the county's wider footprint, which spans 25 miles of coastline from Malibu down to San Pedro.
Why Lighting Is Overdue
The push for better visibility comes months after an August pursuit that began when a driver struck a bicyclist and then drove onto the Venice Fishing Pier toward crowds before fleeing into a standoff in Marina del Rey. That incident, in which a vehicle threatened pedestrians after driving onto the pier, underscored the acute public safety concerns that have surfaced in the immediate pier area. Investigations into violent crime and public safety incidents along the Venice boardwalk and its coastal parking areas fall under the jurisdiction of the LAPD's Pacific Community Police Station, which covers Venice, Mar Vista, and surrounding coastal neighborhoods.
The 1,310-foot concrete pier at the end of Washington Boulevard originally opened in 1964 as part of a California Wildlife Conservation Board project to expand ocean angling infrastructure, according to Wikipedia. It has weathered its share of storm damage over the decades: severe damage from 1983 El Niño storms forced the pier to close for more than a decade before it reopened in November 1997 following a multi-million-dollar restoration, and it required additional repairs after a storm section collapse in December 2005.
The county has made other accessibility investments at the Washington Boulevard beach terminus in the past, including non-vehicular wheelchair mats leading to the water's edge. The new solar lighting adds to that history of incremental infrastructure upgrades at one of Venice's most heavily used coastal access points, giving both drivers and pedestrians a safer way to navigate the lot once darkness falls.
