Laguna Beach, Newport Beach trolleys restart engines

The Laguna Beach trolley service resumed operations this week for the first time since the city’s public transportation fleet was sidelined due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Canyon and Coastal routes had trolleys back on the roadways on Friday, with the Summer Breeze route making its return on Saturday.

The service allows the public to park in peripheral lots, which come with reduced parking rates compared to the downtown area or at no cost at all, and then hop on to arrive to their destination.

Locals and visitors wasted no time coming aboard to get from one spot in town to the next, especially along the scenic Coastal route.

The Coastal route will operate every day, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., providing residents and visitors another means of getting from one side of town to the other.

The route travels along Coast Highway and makes various stops, including at Heisler Park, the downtown and the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point.

Shared ridership provided a sense of community. Some locals recognized friends and exchanged greetings as they came aboard. Those chance encounters and more were out of the realm of possibility during the pandemic.

“This usually took me to school, but then the pandemic hit so it really didn’t go anywhere,” Alex Dominguez, 17, of Laguna Beach said.

“I used to work down at the local Pizza Bar right there. Then I couldn’t get to work, so I had to have my mom drive me, and that was pretty much the impact for me.”

A Short Coastal route trolley waits to pick up passengers along Beach Street in Laguna Beach on Friday.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

Burke Williams, 17, of Laguna Beach remarked the trolley offered a means of getting to the surfing spots in Laguna. He said his parents run a surfing school called Soul Surf.

“It definitely helps you get down there before anyone else,” said Burke, who was not about to give up his list of best surf spots in town. “Most of the trolley stops are right at the top of the stairs at the beaches, so it just gets you right to the beach.”

The availability of the trolleys was a surprising convenience to Jay and Elyse Graver, who arrived in Laguna Beach from Plano, Texas, on Friday in preparation to attend the opening of the Matthew Rolston, Art People: The Pageant Portraits exhibit at Laguna Art Museum.

“It’s a lot better than riding in an Uber,” Jay said. “You get open air and get to see the beach, see the sights along the way.”

The Canyon route, which runs along Laguna Canyon Road from the Act V parking lot to the art festivals and downtown, will be in service daily from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

A boarding station for the trolley is also set up at Laguna College of Art and Design on the weekends.

Free parking is available in a lot at Brandman University in Irvine for the Summer Breeze route, for which trolleys will transport the public along Laguna Canyon Road to the seaside community’s art festivals and downtown. The service is offered weekends only from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

A Canyon route trolley drives south along Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach on Friday.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

Trolleys are expected to pick up passengers along their respective routes at least every 30 minutes. The estimated frequency of service for the Canyon route is 20-minute intervals.

A stoppage in trolley services for the city came about as the stay-at-home order was introduced in March 2020 to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

City officials announced plans to bring back the trolley service in March. The trolleys will run at summer service levels through Labor Day.

Information on the whereabouts of the trolleys, as well as arrival and departure times, can be found by using the Laguna Beach Trolley App.

Mark McAvoy, the director of public works for Laguna Beach, said that the trolleys will operate at full capacity, although drivers and passengers are required to wear a face covering regardless of vaccination status, per federal guidelines.

Newport Beach also brought its Balboa Peninsula trolley service back on Saturday. Free rides will be available during the summer on weekends and holidays.

Those trolleys will be operating from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekends, July 5 (observed Independence Day) and Labor Day.

Free parking for the Balboa Peninsula trolley is available at the city’s Avon Street municipal parking lot, which is located near the intersection of Tustin Avenue and Avon Street.

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