Cave Landing at Pirate’s Cove is getting parking lot upgrades to meet ADA standards.
San Luis Obispo County officials tell KSBY News the $700,000 project will give many people access to enjoy the scenic views along the coast.
“Over the years the site has sustained erosion and ruts in the parking area, so this project will help improve that and make it more accessible for coast access and trail access in the area,” said Shaun Cooper, San Luis Obispo County Department of Parks and Recreation Assistant Director.
The construction at Cave Landing began in July. But the department's plans have briefly paused.
“We had to pause construction due to some discrepancies in the existing grades over the last winter storms,” said Cooper. “There was some erosion on the site, additional erosion, and so the existing grades have changed over the past winter, so we needed to rectify those plans and make sure they are all accurate.”
Cooper said construction should be resuming in the next couple of weeks.
Improvements will include updated signage, paved ADA-accessible parking areas for those who wish to see the ocean, and a new base material on the road.
County officials have worked closely with the Northern Chumash tribe to make sure this sacred site’s artifacts aren’t disturbed.
“We also have engaged them through the process to monitor out on the site during construction to make sure that if any artifacts are uncovered or disturbed, we will handle those in the appropriate way,” said Cooper.
Cooper said roughly $280,000 in grant funds for the project were provided by the California Coastal Conservancy, while $260,000 from Park Public Facilities Fees covered the remaining balance.
San Luis Obispo County District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said this development will give many people the opportunity to enjoy the iconic area.
“Very excited. It’s a demonstration of how hard our staff works at trying to improve the public facilities that our citizens and our guests use and so this is a really good example,” said Ortiz-Legg. “It’s an iconic area where there’s just stunning beauty and opportunity for people to enjoy nature and the ocean.”
The parking lot will be open 24 hours a day for those who wish to visit the site but county officials want the public to know that it’s not for camping.
“We did have a situation where people were utilizing that and we had to clean it out so there will be constant maintenance and monitoring of that lot to make sure it’s accessible for everybody to use,” said Ortiz-Legg.
Construction on the Cave Landing parking lot is expected to be completed by the end of November.
