Free Parking for Traffic Fighters!

In a priceless display of irony, the 2nd Annual Traffic Fighter Awards are being dispensed at a reception held downtown at 5th and Flower, one of the most congested and car-dominated neighborhoods in LA, and as a special treat to those who book early, there will be "reserved hosted parking" at the City National Plaza.

One would think that the visionaries behind "Building LA's Future: Ending Gridlock in Los Angeles!" who seek to change the world by liberating our city from the auto-centric seige that has us on lock-down would dispense with the free parking and would instead offer mass transit instructions along with assurances that there will be ample and safe bike-parking along with wide sidewalks and a pleasant environment for those who choose to walk.

But no, the admonition to rsvp is given with the warning that parking is limited and there is no guarantee of validation for late responders!

Personally, I'd like to see preferred seating for those who take walk, ride a bike or take mass transit while those who drive are consigned to the cheap seats in addition to paying premium for daring to congest the city center by bringing an automobile downtown. After all, the event is about traffic reduction!

One of the simplest things we, as a community, can agree to do is to simply offer up ped, cycling and mass transit instructions on all invitations in lieu of the traditional automobile parking information. This simple shift in tradition sends a clear message that we are heading in a new direction. Sure there will be resistance, but this is simple, it's inexpensive and it's effective.

Let the pros talk about the multi-billion dollar infrastructure pie in the sky plans for the future, the answer for the present is to change behavior and it starts on the invitation to the next event.

"Please join us, but leave the car at home!"

CityWatchLA - If Only the Mayor Rode a Bike...

CityWatch, Oct 30, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 89

If Mayor Villaraigosa rode a bike, the current process for updating the LA's Bike Plan would be a lot different. For starters, it would have the Mayor's attention and that alone would be a significant shift, but most importantly, it would be incorporated into the Mayor's campaign for turning LA into a Great City.

1) The Mayor has committed to making LA one of the safest big cities and if he rode a bike, he'd realize that the place to start is on the streets of LA. They're one of the most dangerous places in the city.

People die on a daily basis. It's no longer news. The public as a whole is desensitized to the fact that our streets are a battleground and that nobody is free from the conflict. LA is a city under siege.

If the Mayor were to jump on a bike and attempt to pedal from City Hall to the far reaches of his kingdom, he'd quickly realize that the real opportunity to make Los Angeles a safer city for everybody would be to start with the streets of LA and that would result in a Bike Plan with real vision, with real imperative language and with a real commitment to moving people safely. That would be good for the Bike Plan and it would be good for LA.

2) The Mayor has committed to making LA the greenest big city and if he rode a bike, he'd realize that the place to start is with our air. Breathing LA's air is one of the most significant threats to our health.

Long time residents take it in stride, repeating the "It used to be worse!" mantra that has become the battle cry for mediocrity.

If the Mayor were to look at the city from a bike, he'd realize that supporting alternative transportation is key to greening our city and it that would result in a Bike Plan with a real commitment to the environment and to supporting positive transportation choices.

3) The Mayor has committed to supporting the well funded and long term expansion of LA's mass transit system and if he rode a bike, he's realize that one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to complement the effectiveness of mass transit is to close service gaps and to offer people more choices.

Cycling is a gap connecting option that allows mass transit passengers to travel more efficiently and it requires little effort to support. If the

Mayor were to use a bike to get from his home to the Metro, he'd realize that simple innovations to accommodate rather that to alienate cyclists would go a long way toward improving the efficiency of the transit system as a whole. This would result in a Bike Plan that strongly positions cycling as a transit solution and would establish strong standards rather than weak suggestions.

4) The Mayor has committed to making the creation of jobs his number one priority and if he were to show up for one of the Bike Plan workshops, he'd realize that the simplest place to start would be to have the City of LA actually hire locals.

The Bike Plan is being developed by consultants from Portland, San Francisco, and Colorado and the city staff who are guiding the process come from Inglewood, Santa Clarita, Fullerton and Long Beach.

If the Mayor were to ride a bike on the streets of LA, he'd realize quickly that there is no "high-altitude" approach to creating a great Bike Plan. It requires rubber on the road experience and it requires local knowledge of not just the streets and the community but of the political landscape.

The people who are in LA after the office is closed are the people who are in the best position to create a robust and powerful vision for LA's Bike Plan. Hiring local would result in a great Bike Plan and it would put Angelenos to work.

Safer streets, a greener city, more efficient mass transit and the creation of jobs!

If only the Mayor rode a bike.

For more information on LA's Bike Plan, visit http://LABikePlan.com

(Stephen Box is an LA cyclist advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net) ◘

CityWatchLA - District 2 Leaders Set Demands for Council Candidates

Community leaders from throughout Council District 2 gathered this past Saturday and positioned issues such as Community Plans with teeth, Building & Safety enforcement, and Parking Policy as the foundation of a platform that will be used to frame the upcoming City Council Candidate forums and debates.

Neighborhoods from throughout CD2 were represented as local voters gathered and hammered out a list of quality-of-life issues that they want established and developed during the campaign for the open City Council seat.

The opening list of topics hit three dozen and then continued to grow during the breakout sessions before the group refined and combined and established a basic platform of positions that they hope will be the beginning of a basic framework of an issues-based campaign.

Community Plans, Code Enforcement, Parking, Open Space & Recreation, the Budget, Transportation, Mass Transit, Solar Energy, the DWP, the City Charter, and the Neighborhood Council's relationship with the City and with the City Council were the final topics to make the cut. The specific actions are listed on the CD2 Vision Platform document which community members indicate will be the starting point for robust conversations during the campaign.

It was obvious during the Saturday morning brainstorm session that the neighborhood representatives agree on the broad strokes but that many of the specific nuances are unique to individual communities. Through it all, it was apparent that there is a shared commitment to working together to developing an issues-based campaign and a real dialogue with the candidates based on commitments to the community and to the platform.

At the end of the day, there was general consensus and the hope that two things had been accomplished; first that the CD2 Vision Platform would create an opportunity for Candidates to stand squarely on the issues as they position themselves in the campaign and second, that the election would then be the beginning of a working relationship between the seated Councilperson and the community, one that is based on the commitments made during the campaign and a mutual desire to improve the quality of life for everybody in CD2.

As for next steps, the sponsors of upcoming forums and debates have expressed hope that the CD2 Vision Platform will frame a robust dialogue between candidates and voters and that the ultimate result will be a positive working relationship between the prevailing candidate and the community that develops into even more ambitious commitment to improving the quality of life in CD2.

Attached is the CD2 Vision Platform plus a roster of upcoming Debates and Forums:

Council District 2 Vision Platform

● Community Plan

Candidate shall ensure that community plans and specific plans are enforced and updated every 5 to 8 years with input from Neighborhood Councils and Community Organizations including but not limited to thorough assessment of infrastructure mitigations and cumulative effects.

● Building & Safety

Candidate shall ensure enforcement by the Dept. of Building & Safety all applicable laws, regulations, building and safety codes in a prompt manner with the appropriate fines and follow up including but not limited to reporting offenders to the City Attorney.

● Parking

Candidate will implement realistic project based (not street based) parking requirements for all projects with realistic expectations of what public transportation access is available to the actual project. (not within radius)

● Open Space & Recreation

Candidate will establish an interconnected valleywide/citywide long term vision for recreation, open space, trails and public space by consulting and interacting with constituents and, when necessary, outside professionals.

● Budget

Candidate will implement Performance Based Evaluations and require Departmental Spending Accountability Reports throughout the City of Los Angeles.

● Transportation

Candidate will establish a baseline of current traffic/transportation resources/challenges for CD2 and develop a plan that addresses future growth and the cumulative impact of future projects.

● Transportation Planning

Candidate will Incorporate Traffic/Transportation Planning in community Planning with focus on cumulative of development in CD2 and adjoining CD's.

● Mass Transit

Candidate will provide an accurate report of current projects in CD2 and commit that future transit spending in CD2 more closely reflect the CD2 contributions to the transportation system.

● Solar Energy

Candidate will implement multifaceted Solar Energy plan with competitive bidding, transparency, technological diversity, stakeholder choice of installer and product.

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● DWP

Candidate will stop pass through of monies to City Council General Fund.

● City Charter

Candidate will acknowledge and defend the rights of Neighborhood Councils and enforce the Charter mandate to have the NC's involved in the process.

● Candidate will develop and sponsor an amendment to require the Mayor to produce and the City Council to approve a balanced 3 to 5 year Plan. This is in addition to the Annual Budget.

● Neighborhood Councils

Candidate will meet regularly with NC's and HOA's and Community Groups in CD2, collectively and individually.

● City Council

Candidate will introduce a City Council resolution directing all city commissioners, at the start of each meeting, to verbally declare any conflict of interest issues with that session's agenda.

Equestrian Communities CD2 Candidates Forum

Sponsored by the LA Horse Council

Tuesday, Aug 4, 6:30pm

All Nations Church

10000 Foothill Blvd

Lake View Terrace

Info: 818 353-3467

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Sunland-Tujunga CD2 Candidates Forum

Saturday Aug 8

Meet & Greet 1-2 pm Forum 2-4:30 pm

North Valley City Hall

7747 Foothill Blvd

Tujunga

Info: 818 438-7076

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Valley Glen Neighborhood Association &

Laurel Grove Neighborhood Association &

Valley Village Homeowners Association

CD2 Candidates Forum

Tuesday, Aug 18 @ 7pm

"Meet & Greet" start @ 6:30pm

Laurel Hall School

(Oxnard/Radford, east of Laurel Canyon)

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Neighborhood Council

Valley Village

CD2 Candidates Forum

Wednesday, Aug 26 @ 7pm

Colfax Elementary

Info: www.myvalleyvillage.com

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The Sherman Oaks

Homeowners Association

Wednesday Aug 19

"Meet & Greet" start @ 6:15pm

candidate debate start @ 7:15pm

&

Wednesday Sep 16

"Meet & Greet" start @ 6:15pm

candidate debate start @ 7:15pm

Notre Dame High School at Woodman & Riverside

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The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council

Monday, Sep 14 @ 6:30pm

Sherman Oaks

Elementary School

Info: (818) 990-4002 or jbbarad@roadrunner.com

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Park[ing] Day LA

Friday, September 18, 2009

CityWide in a park(ing) space near you!

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For more CD2 info:

www.cd2election.blogspot.com

For even more CD2 info:

www.phinvv.wordpress.com