Episode 2: 2025 Recap
In the second episode of the Moving Forward podcast, host Chris and organizers Alex, Brianna, and Liam recap the year’s organizing wins at South Bay Forward. Focusing on the group’s pillars of housing, transit, and mobility they provide a run down of the most significant accomplishments in each category, and also discuss ongoing opportunities.
Beginning with housing, Alex gives an overview of the various housing developments that were approved in the cities of Torrance, Gardena, and Redondo Beach, with a nod towards Manhattan Beach’s residential overlay district. Projects mentioned: Fashion Square at Del Amo (260 townhomes), 3610 Torrance Blvd (449 apartments, 45 affordable), Normandie Crossing (333 units, 7 affordable), City Ventures (35 townhomes, 4 affordable in Torrance; 43 townhomes, 3 affordable in Redondo).
Many of these projects were made possible by state law, including the density bonus law which provides incentives in exchange for the inclusion of affordable units. We were involved with submitting support letters and activating local advocates to speak in support at Planning Commission and city council hearings. Importantly, every new unit entitled is another home that we need to build a more inclusive and affordable South Bay.
Next for transit, Brianna begins by celebrating the opening of the LAX Metro Transit Center and the North-South through-running of the K Line, which opened in early June. We also started a campaign to advocate for the Vermont Transit Corridor South Bay extension, and got Beach Cities Transit to sign up as a Metro GoPass municipal agency. South Bay Forward was selected to serve as a CBO for the C/K Line Extension to Torrance in May and the Final EIR was released in September. We talk about what this project means for the South Bay and how the benefits can get lost within the lengthy environmental review process. We talk about why it’s so important we continue to champion the project to make it happen.
We also had a recent win at the South Bay Cities COG level to maintain the subregion’s support for the project, and are gearing up for the Metro Board Meeting on Jan 22, 2026. We held our 2nd Annual South Bay Transit Summit in October which was a huge success and we look forward to continued partnership with Torrance Transit and other partners to make each Transit Summit better than the last.
(A win that we did not cover here was that we successfully advocated for the Metro South Bay Service Council to change their meeting times weekday mornings to weekday evenings – formerly 2nd Friday mornings, now 1st Monday evenings – a change that will make these meetings more accessible to the public. The next South Bay Service Council meeting will be held on Monday, Jan 5 at 5 pm.)
Hopping on a bike, we learn about the active mobility wins in the South Bay with Liam. Many of these wins were in conjunction with volunteers from South Bay Forward and the South Bay Bicycle Coalition. We learn about the Redondo Beach Blvd Metro Active Transportation project and the coordination we have organized for public comment and meetings with council members in Redondo, Lawndale, and Torrance to ask for upgraded Class IV bike lanes for all ages and abilities. We participated and co-hosted community events such as bike rides and e-bike town halls and the Bicycle Block Party at Upway in North Redondo. Bike ridership has grown in Redondo Beach with installation of wider Class II bike lanes, while we note missed opportunities in Torrance with repaving of Lomita and Anza that did not include upgrades for safer bike lanes.
Reviewing our wins in the South Bay as a whole, we celebrate the passage of SB 79 statewide, our endorsement of councilmember Brad Waller early in the year, and events we held throughout the region during the year: Housing Happy Hour in February, Potluck & Projects in March, Bicycle Block Party in May, Transit Ride-Along in June, Meet & Greet with John Erickson for State Senate, Livable Communities Initiative & Parking Reform Network in July, Fault Lines Film Screening in September, South Bay Transit Summit 2025 in October, Perfecting your Elevator Pitch with AHLA in November. We also participated in Assemblymember Muratsuchi’s E-Bike Town Hall and Julian Katz Community Bike Ride, as well as regional events at the Freeway Divestment Event at UCLA, Hands Off Protest in Torrance organized by Indivisible South Bay LA, MoveLA Annual Policy Conference, and numerous public comment actions, at least weekly in our cities in commissions and city councils.
Wrapping up, we talk about our organization’s top three priorities for the new year: 2026 legislation, C/K Line Extension to Torrance, and 2026 elections. We each share what we are personally looking forward to in the next year and share instructions for how we are mobilizing for the Metro meeting in January 2026. Sign up for the bus from Torrance to give public comment with us on Jan 22nd!
