Why Does Illegal Dumping Take Place in Hollywood? Because it Works!

CityWatch, May 18, 2012
Vol 10 Issue 40

RETHINKING LA - The Pastor of a local church arrived at his office to find a large pile of debris on the sidewalk next to his church property. It consisted of some furniture, some busted boxes of personal belongings, some trash, the kind of debris that is typically left behind when somebody moves.

The Pastor called 311 and then sent an email with a picture of the illegal dumping to some neighbors and to the City Councilman asking “What are people thinking?”

The answer is simple. They are thinking “If I carry my trash across the street, I won’t get charged for the pickup of the bulky items.”

In other words, people dump their junk on our quiet street because it works.

The Senior Lead Officer responded by sending an email saying “One idea would be is to contact the Department of Sanitation and have them remove the trash. I will put in a request for you but in the future you can contact 311 and place a request for a cleanup. Another idea, if you are interested, is to organize your neighbors and do a cleanup day in your neighborhood. I can contact operation clean sweep and request cleaning supplies. If you have further questions please feel free to call me.”

The problem with this advice is that it rewards the person dumping the trash by removing it without an investigation, and makes it the neighbor’s responsibility to do the dirty work. In other words, it works. 

The Council Office responded by sending an email (two days after the illegal dumping) “I have sent this to our beautification crew and have requested that they go out today and remove the items. In the future, please send it directly to me as well so that I can forward it on to the appropriate beautification staff depending on the day.”

This solution is equivalent to wiping the blood off the wound. It doesn’t stop the problem it simply cleans it up for a few moments. Again, for the person dumping, it works.

The Department of Sanitation responded by sending a crew that picked up the bulky items, leaving behind the broken glass and small debris that would require a broom or a shovel and a little more attention.

This solution is paid for by the “Multi-Family Bulky Item Fee” that is charged to all residents of apartments with 5 or more units per building on a monthly basis on their utility bill. In other words, two-thirds of the city pays for bulky item pickup while the other third pays if they call for a pickup. This is what motivates people to carry their trash across the street and to dump it in front of apartment buildings or in this case, a church.

The Bureau of Sanitation responded to the 311 call by sending a truck and picking up the larger items, leaving behind small bits of debris that included the ID card for the person who ended up confessing to the illegal dumping.

This solution keeps the Department of Sanitation busy cleaning our streets but it does nothing to stop those who do the dumping. In fact it does the opposite because it sends a loud message that “Illegal dumping works!”

The Bureau of Street Services is responsible for investigating illegal dumping but they don’t get notified when a resident calls 311 unless the party calling knows that Sanitation cleans while Street Services investigates. (Even our Senior Lead Officer didn’t know this!)

The person who dumped the trash on the sidewalk outside the church left several items in the trash that contained their name and address. (Across the street!) They left packaging from recent Amazon purchases and their final examinations from Law School. These items were given to the investigator from Street Services who took another look and found the ID card.

Meanwhile the Senior Lead Officer is convinced that no crime had been committed because the person who did the dumping says they called 311 for a pickup. The SLO was happy with the explanation, missing the “defrauding the city” and “illegal dumping” possibilities along with the trash that remained on the street.

The City of LA has Neighborhood Prosecutors who respond to quality of life issues, they simply need the cooperation of the LAPD. The LAPD has Senior Lead Officers but if they are limited to suggesting that residents do a better job of cleaning their streets, there is little hope that the Neighborhood Prosecutor will get LAPD support.

Sanitation cleans up big and bulky things but is not so good at the detail work. Meanwhile Street Services investigates illegal dumping and could balance the city’s budget crisis just by tracing the trash before it gets picked up and charging the offending parties the appropriate penalties.

As for Hollywood, it is your dumping ground. Your trash will be blamed on the renters, the Council Office will send the Beautification Team, the illegal dumping will get picked up for free, and the Senior Lead Officer will come around to suggest that the locals sweep the street up after you.

Seriously, illegal dumping takes place in Hollywood because it works!

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. You can also find him on Twitter and on Facebook.)

If Gates Are Illegal, Only Criminals Will Live in Gated Communities

CityWatch, Oct 28, 2011
Vol 9 Issue 86

RETHINKING LA - The City of LA’s recent decision to close a small Hollywood Hills cul-de-sac and to allow the residents to build a locked gate that excludes the public but provides access to the residents is under attack as a violation of state law.

Solar Drive is a small road that dead-ends above Runyon Canyon, popular to tourists in search of a great view and to hikers in pursuit of a less congested route to the popular canyon trails.

Residents have long complained about traffic and congestion but the recent move to close Solar Drive to the public was attributed to “loitering, littering, smoking and drinking” and the recent City Council approved solution was to allow the residents to build a gate that the Solar Drive residents operated and maintained.

Citizens Coalition of Los Angeles (CC-LA) and Hollywoodians Encouraging Logical Planning (H.E.L.P.) have both stepped into the fray with requests to “rectify the unlawful closure of Streets north of Franklin Avenue in Hollywood.”

Their lawyer has submitted a demand to City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, [link] pointing to the CA’s legal obligation to serve his client, the City of LA, with sound legal advice that includes warning the City Council of the illegal nature of the street closure and the resulting liability to both the city and the residents of Solar Drive.

The legal argument against street closures is built on a foundation that holds “the right to travel is based on the inalienable and constitutional right to Liberty. A restriction on travel is a restriction of Liberty. Thus, the state of California finds travel on public roads, including public stairs, sidewalk, cul de sacs, to be a fundamental right.”

The Hollywood Hills area is no stranger to debates over public access vs. public safety and periodically attempts are made to close streets with gates or to close stairways that connect neighborhoods.

The Whitley Heights Civic Association went to the City Council in 1985 for permission to build gates that would keep the public out of their neighborhood. They built the gates but Citizens Against Gated Enclaves (CAGE) sued them and prevailed in Superior Court and then again in the Appellate court, bringing the decade-long battle to an end with the removal of the gates.

The state of California’s Uniformity Code (CVC 21) limits the authority of local municipalities and states “no local authority shall enact or enforce any ordinance on the matters covered by this code unless expressly authorized herein.”

The rules governing the closure of streets are quite specific and state “local authorities may not place gates or other selective devices on any street which deny or restrict the access of certain members of the public to the street, while permitting others unrestricted access to the street.”

The fact that locals have complained of criminal activity in the area as justification for the restriction of the public from Solar Drive falls far short of the legal minimum and is unsupported by the City Council motion that referred to “loitering, littering, drinking, and smoking” as the security issues.

Nuisance misdemeanors hardly qualify as “serious and criminal activity” nor do they justify a violation of state law by the City of LA and the residents of Solar Drive. “Inconvenience, disturbing the peace, and potential problems” fail to qualify as conditions that would satisfy the CVC 21101.4 street closure conditions.

There are some that consider the Solar Drive street closure to be the opening move, one that sets up more street closures that will address the complaints of residents throughout the Hollywood Hills.

Recent community meetings have addressed the increasing congestion in the hills caused by tourists in search of the Hollywood Sign and hikers in pursuit of hilltop trails, all to the dismay of the residents who moved to the Hollywood Hills to get away from the crowd.

As the grumbling escalates and tensions increase and the call for street closures continue, the impact of the Solar Drive gate will be powerful and will establish precedent that can be used in other areas to close cul de sacs and stairways, a situation that many consider not only unacceptable but illegal.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net.)
Graphic credit: LACurbed



Tags: Hollywood Hills, Solar Drive, Solar Drive Gate, Los Angeles, gated communities, street closures, City Council, Runyon Canyon, City Attorney, Carmen Trutanich, California Uniformity Code

LA’s CRA turns gold into straw - a view from the street

CityWatch, Feb 1, 2011
Vol 9 Issue 9

When Governor Brown met with Mayor Villaraigosa to debate the future of LA’s Community Redevelopment Agency, the meeting took place in the well-appointed digs of the State Capitol, surrounded by a formidable security force.
When the people in my neighborhood gathered to discuss LA’s CRA, the meeting took place on a busted sidewalk, outside the now empty five-story Gershwin Hotel, across the street from an empty lot surrounded by chain link fencing and graffiti. Security was a courtesy provided by the Department of DIY.

The Governor’s plan to phase out approximately 400 redevelopment agencies throughout the state and to return the revenue stream to local authorities for use in the community has prompted LA’s CRA to scramble in an effort to squirrel away $930 million of public money.

LA’s CRA contends that they have done good work resulting in a catalytic economic and social impact on the community. That may be true in the sense that building a development for $600 million and then selling it for $200 million has a catalytic impact on the CRA’s political cronies.

LA’s CRA argues that the redevelopment projects create jobs and stimulate the economy. That my be true in the sense that bulldozer operators have been busy razing buildings that have fallen victim to the CRA’s “induced-blight” scheme but not for the business owners and employees who have lost jobs through eminent domain.

Jean Ros, founding executive director of the California Budget Project challenges the CRA’s claims saying "The research shows that redevelopment doesn't give us the bang for the buck we need in these economic times."

The Public Policy Institute's study "Subsidizing Redevelopment in California" compared 114 different redevelopment project areas statewide to similar areas without redevelopment. It concluded that redevelopment agencies were not responsible for any net economic growth and that they were being financed at the expense of local schools and public services.

As for local data on the systemic effectiveness of LA’s CRA, Jim Dantana, Deputy to CRA’s CEO Chris Essel, acknowledged that there is no real data to support either side of the argument.

Last week, California State Controller John Chiang launched an audit of 18 redevelopment agencies around the state to get to the bottom of the debate over whether they're "engines of local economic and job growth or are simply scams providing windfalls to political cronies."

While many argue that we simply don’t have the evidence, it’s not quite true. As LA’s City Controller Wendy Greuel warily dips her toe in the audit waters, the simple fact is, she’s late to the game. The audits have been performed, 11 years ago by then-City Controller Rick Tuttle and 5 years ago by then-City Controller Laura Chick.

Meanwhile, on the streets of Hollywood, locals are left with the anecdotal evidence that the CRA’s presence can have a chilling impact on the community, one that results in businesses closing, residents leaving, buildings falling into disrepair, public nuisance abatements and...bulldozers.

The suspicion that the presence of the CRA not only induces blight but actually discourages the investment and participation of long term small business operators was most recently confirmed when Glendale hotel owner Ray Patel refused to sell his property to developer Rick Caruso, only to find himself facing an eminent domain action that will allow the American to expand using his land.

Matt Middlebrook, former Deputy Mayor in LA to then-Mayor Hahn and current frontman for developer Rick Caruso, defended the aggression and explained that Patel had no right to resist the seizure, after all, “Patel (hotel owner) knew a decade ago that he was buying a business inside a redevelopment zone. By that time, the city had already used eminent domain to push out small Glendale property owners and make way for other private owners.”

That’s the skewed logic at the core of LA’s “pennies on the dollar” scheme, one where the CRA spends the public’s dollars on projects that wouldn’t pass muster in the private sector, then sells them to insiders for pennies.

LA’s CRA built the Hollywood & Highland Center for $600 million and then sold it to the CIM Group for $200 million. The City of LA then ponied up an additional $30 million to remodel the Kodak Theatre for the CIM in a move that Curbed LA referred to as “Send in the Clowns!”
Meanwhile, as Hollywood’s Gershwin Hotel continues to decay, the CIM Group stands in the wings with a bag of pennies, ready to feed at the public trough on the land and property that has been secured with our dollars, all while the local children stare through chain link fencing at a building that has more broken windows every day, at a neighborhood that continues to suffer. If only the CRA would get out of the way.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)

CityWatchLA - Hollywood Flight Club

CityWatch, Oct 5, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 79

LA’S INDUSTRY UNDER ATTACK

The City of Los Angeles is the capital of the entertainment universe, home to the most creative and innovative people, supported by the most sophisticated equipment, production facilities, and cutting edge technology. Complementing the wealth of human, technical, financial, and social capital is LA's beautiful weather and the wide variety of amazing locations, firmly establishing the Entertainment Industry as the backbone of LA's cultural and economic legacy.

It's all under attack!

As LA's leadership wanders the red carpet and savors the limelight, the competition is working overtime to compete, offering incentives and benefits that have successfully attracted significant numbers of film productions from the streets and backlots of LA to Canada, England, Australia, Hungary and Germany. Within the US, more than 40 states now offer incentives and New York, Georgia, Louisiana, and New Mexico have led the charge in attracting film and video production away from LA.

Discussions of runaway production typically focus on the high-altitude incentives that are offered to production companies and usually involve large budgets. Even "low-budget" productions aren't really low budget, they're just lower on the totem pole than the larger budget productions but they all involve significant amounts of money.

Proponents of CA Film incentives and tax credits argue that keeping film and television production in California is a solid economic stimulus strategy and point to the thousands of jobs, from carpenter to hair dresser, that will be generated.

Opponents claim that the numbers are mythical and that the handwringing has been going on since 1957 when a coalition of Hollywood unions commissioned a report that claimed European and Mexican productions were damaging the U.S. film industry.

Somewhere in the middle of the "fight subsidy with subsidy" vs. "business without bailouts" battle sits the City of Los Angeles, completely distracted by the California vs. Canada debate and apparently oblivious to the fact that the local Industry is cheating on LA with the neighbors.

LA has long taken the Entertainment Industry for granted and cities such as Santa Monica, Culver City, Burbank and Glendale have been quietly courting the individuals and companies that make the movies, that produce the videos, that design the video games, that market the finished product, that provide the equipment, that deliver the goods, that make it happen.

If the Mayor and his Economic Development Team want to better understand the business and design a strategy for protecting LA's economic and cultural backbone, they simply need to get off the red carpet and hang out at the Craft Service table for a while. Within minutes they'll witness a parade of grips, electricians, camera operators, make-up artists, set-builders and teamsters, all foraging for Red Vines and engaging in a state of the industry discussion.

Craft Service is where the crew will review the Director, evaluate the Producer, analyze the shooting schedule, project the prospect of future employment, predict the economic future of the city and reevaluate their career choices in light of the bleak economic forecast.

It's in this context that the Mayor will see that the greatest opportunity to strengthen and fortify LA's position in the entertainment industry is to simply ask "Why are so many entertainment companies willing to move to Placentia, Santa Clarita, and Thousand Oaks?"

Entertainment entities exist in clusters. Production offices crew up, gear gets moved, hotels fill up, offices and restaurants host meetings, post production takes place, film gets developed, screenings are held, gifts are given, parties are held, nothing happens in a vacuum. Yet when one or two elements disappear, the entire cluster is in danger and LA is losing its entertainment base.

When 525 Post moved from Hollywood to Santa Monica, their new host said "We will do everything in our power to make them and their clients feel at home here." These are the words that we should be hearing from LA's City hall.

As Panavision considers consolidating its Hollywood and Woodland Hills operations and relocating in Burbank, the City of LA is putting its economic development shoulder behind a Woodland Hills Costco. What are LA's priorities?

The Hollywood Production Center offers turn-key production offices and services, the kind of incubator facility that encourages the individuals and small companies that make up the bulk of our economy. Their most recent investment was in Glendale, part of a continuing trend away from Hollywood.

The City of LA takes the Entertainment Industry for granted and then wonders why the crown jewels of film production have left town. It is imperative that the City of Los Angeles protect its assets and its claim to the vital economic and cultural impact of the Industry by supporting and protecting the people and the businesses that make it happen.

Shooting a film in Los Angeles is difficult enough without having to add two hours of travel on either end of a long day, simply to move trucks and gear and talent from one side of town to the other.

Years ago, a camera operator was killed when he fell asleep while driving home after a long day on location. Union members collected more than 10,000 signatures in support of "Brent's Rule" which would limit production to 14 hours a day. Since then, the emphasis has faded as the desire to work has preempted any debates over long hours and travel time.

For all of the glamour and Red Vines, the brutal reality of film production is that it's hard work with long hours and a huge impact on the economic landscape of Los Angeles. Those employed in the industry now look longer to find jobs that pay less, they travel farther to work on jobs that are relocating to more hospitable environments, a term that now applies to Ontario and Calabasas, they incur travel and relocation expenses in order to compete as locals, and they do it without the support of the City of Los Angeles.

People from around the world come to Los Angeles because they believe it to be the Capital of the Entertainment World. They know the names of our streets, they know the history, they know the details, and they value the opportunity to simply visit as tourists.

Our neighboring communities know the value of the Hollywood legacy and they also appreciate it, freely helping themselves to it by courting our companies and wooing our people. They succeed while LA fails because they appreciate the value of the Industry.

The City of Los Angeles must commit to serving the locals who have invested in their neighborhoods, the businesses who have put down roots in their communities, and the Industry that is LA's economic and cultural backbone.

LA's relationship with the Entertainment Industry must start with a commitment to support the small businesses and protect the local individuals. These are the elements of a Great City.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net.Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)

CityWatchLA - A Silent Cry for Help in Hollywood

CityWatch, Aug 17, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 65


From the White House to City Hall, the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was commemorated with speeches that fell on deaf ears in Hollywood as taxi cab operators refused to transport deaf tourists and a security guard choked a deaf shoplifting suspect for failing to comply with verbal instructions.

We've come a long way but we have a long way to go.

Media coverage of the 20th anniversary celebrations paled in comparison to the viral impact of a graphic video of an incident that involved two security guards from the Forever 21 store at Hollywood & Highland and two deaf brothers. As one security guard wrestles one brother into a head lock, another security guard blocks the second brother who appears to be indicating that they can't hear. Spectators can be heard exclaiming "You're choking him!" and "He's turning purple!" and "He can't breath!" while the second brother continues to signal and circle, kneeling at one point in a futile attempt to communicate with the security guards.

The incident was picked up in the LA Weekly, the Huffington Post, ABC, KTLA, Blogging.LA, and the Deaf TV Channel while the YouTube video has received over a half million views.

The details are disputed by all sides but have resulted in the indefinite suspension of the security guard from Forever 21, the arrest of the deaf shoplifting suspect, and claims of innocence from the deaf brother of the suspect. Hollywood & Highland Center Management accepts no responsibility for the incident but says "We do not condone the apparent use of excessive force." Forever 21, in a statement from the Marketing Dept., acknowledges "the security guard used excessive force, which is against our store policy."

Hollywood & Highland has at least six layers of enforcement authority on the property, starting with the local security guards, the Business Improvement District security (Andrews International), and the Los Angeles Police Department. In addition, the presence of the Metro Red Line Station within the complex results Metro Fare Inspectors, Metro Police, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Now would be a good time for somebody to determine who is in charge and for that organization to produce a policy on communication between law enforcement and those who can't hear. This would also be a good time for the LAPD and the LASD to clarify any limitations on the law enforcement authority of the many organizations that employ security forces, from local stores to the BID to the Metro.

Hollywood's second shameful incident took place at Hollywood & Vermont's Triangle Park taxi stand. Enci and I were walking past the park when I noticed three women attempting to communicate with the operator of the lead taxi, gesturing unsuccessfully to a piece of paper and finally giving up and huddling together. Then I noticed that they were signing to each other.

It turns out that they were deaf tourists and their car had been towed from Hollywood to a Metro inaccessible tow yard in Atwater Village that closed within the hour. While Enci dusted the cobwebs off her ASL, I put out the call for help and within minutes Alfredo Hernandez of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council arrived and transported our guests to the tow yard where he negotiated for the release of their car. Moments later Bechir Blagui of Hollywood United Neighborhood Council responded and I was reminded again that I live in the community of heroes.

The City of Los Angeles, through the LADOT, licenses and regulates approximately 2300 taxis so that passengers in taxis bearing the Seal of Los Angeles can expect to ride in an insured vehicle, inspected regularly by the LADOT and operated by a trained professional. In fact, the LADOT website even has a Taxi Rider's Bill of Rights although the only mention of disabilities is with regard to wheelchairs and service animals. No mention is made of the significant percentage of our community who are deaf or hearing impaired.

American Sign Language is the third most common language in the United States, surpassed only by English and Spanish. It's estimated that the deaf and hard of hearing population in the Los Angeles area exceeds one million people.

LA's character demands that we embrace and support people of all abilities and challenges, demonstrating our commitment to the Americans with Disabilities Act at every opportunity. From the training and certification of security guards to law enforcement to the licensing of taxi cab operators to the operation of mass transit, it is our responsibility to remove obstacles and barriers so that everybody may enjoy access and mobility.

CityWatchLA - Can LA's Theatre Community Save City Hall?

CityWatch, July 6, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 53

The Hollywood Fringe Festival has come and gone, leaving in its wake a revitalized arts community, an engaged local audience, and a new standard for LA's Theatre professionals.

Spread over two weeks, the Fringe saw nearly 200 theatre productions offer up 800 performances in three dozen venues, all within the Hollywood Theatre core and all within walking distance. It was inspiring and it was evident that the seeds of greatness lie in LA's Theatre Community.

If, as the Bard writes, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players;" perhaps it's time for City Hall to look to the theatrical community for direction.

Based on my Fringe experience, here are four lessons from LA's Theatre Community that will position Los Angeles as a Great City:

1) Connect with the audience! Great theatre is based on a relationship between performers and the audience.

The words that are written, the characters that are brought to life, the staging that creates a new world, and the story that is told are all meaningful if there is an audience to experience and interact.

The objective all along is to engage the audience, informing, challenging and entertaining. But all along, it's the relationship and the dialogue that continues past the curtain call that is the objective and it all starts in the theatre.

The City of Los Angeles would do well to consider that the work it does depends on the audience, the public. Obstacles for engagement must be removed, the process for participation must be simplified, and an environment that fosters civic engagement must be created.

The audience is the reason for the performance, anything else is simply rehearsal.

2) Customer Service counts! The relationship between production and audience starts well in advance of the performance and lasts long after the curtain call.

The box office experience sets the tone for a journey that includes the ticket-taker, the washrooms, the ushers and the production crew. From the Pantages Theatre to the courtyard on Hollywood Blvd., great customer service is not a function of budget but of a commitment to the audience's experience. It matters.

It can crush a performance when it's missing but when it works, it's seamless and it frees up the audience to truly connect and become part of the production.

City Hall could improve the quality of life in Los Angeles dramatically simply by remembering that the people of LA are the purpose for the city.

Human infrastructure is LA's greatest asset and the most meaningful opportunity for change is in the little transactions that make up life in Los Angeles.

The details count and they are often simple and free, but they are critical to a Great City commitment.

3) Critics are an asset! They're human, they're fallible, but they play a respected role, informing and entertaining their audiences, hopefully stirring great dialogue and piquing the interest of their readers.

As for the actors, directors and producers, it's the feedback of the critics that offers an opportunity to improve, to adjust, to take a production to the next level.

Regardless of the love-hate relationship that exists between performers and critics, there is no doubt that getting reviewed is an honor while being ignored is simply crushing. "Love me, hate me, but don't ignore me!"

The City of LA's absence of performance-based evaluation has resulted in long-running performance of the "Mutual Admiration Club" that relegates critics to the cheap seats, a pattern that firmly establishes mediocrity as the status quo.

City Hall would do well to engage and respond to the critics, embracing the feedback as an essential gift and as a tool for improving performance.

4) Budget is no excuse! A big budget doesn't automatically translate into big production value and a small budget doesn't necessarily limit creativity or innovation.

In fact, some of the best performances came from producers who had to overcome significant financial limitations, requiring that they focused on the things that truly matter.

A great story, brought to life by believable characters who are able to connect with their audience is priceless.

The City of LA is mired in a budget crisis that is positioned as an excuse for mediocrity and as the justification for a reduction in the delivery of services.

It's completely unacceptable to have that conversation without first establishing priorities and committing to the fundamentals.

Now, more than ever is the time to connect with the people of LA, not alienate them, and to focus on creative solutions that resonate.

City Hall would do well to get in touch with LA's story, focusing on what's important and bringing it to life with character and conviction, embracing the critics, connecting with the audience and delivering a performance worthy of a Great City.

(Stephen Box writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

Metro's Hollywood & Vine Station needs a Bike HUB!

The Metro's CEO, Art Leahy, refers to the Hollywood & Vine Metro Station as "a flagship transit HUB, one that should set the standard for the Metro's comprehensive transportation system." Gatehouse Capital refers to its W Hollywood Hotel & Residences Development as "a glamorous venue, one that will seduce you - mind, body and soul." Legacy Partners refers to its 1600 Vine Residential/Retail development as 1600 Vine as "a truly unique living experience full of comfort, urban conveniences, and contemporary amenities in one of Los Angeles’ most renowned locations."

Collectively, Hollywood & Vine is LA's largest Transit Oriented Development and it became a reality after a decade of grappling that saw the Metro, the CRA, the City of LA, the LADOT, the Chamber of Commerce, lawyers, developers, investors, activists, neighborhood councils, artists, merchants, and neighbors all working to protect their interest in one of the most iconic intersections on earth. Now that the dust has cleared, the awesome magnitude of the Hollywood & Vine TOD has become the standard for future Transit Oriented Development projects.

I think that's a problem.

For all of the celebratory ribbon cutting, soft focus photo opps and champagne toasts, the details matter and the Hollywood & Vine TOD is missing some significant details that go a long way to demonstrating a commitment to people who walk, who ride a bike, who simply want to enjoy public space and who believe that a TOD is something more than an interchange, that it is a significant place, one that is made for people.

Missing from the Hollywood & Vine project is a Bike HUB, a community benefit that is provided by the Metro, the CRA, Gatehouse Capital, and Legacy Partners. This simple commitment to supporting cyclists goes a long way to demonstrating a commitment to TOD projects which purportedly serve cyclists, pedestrians, mass transit passengers and the immediate community.

1) The Hollywood & Vine project has overbuilt on its motor vehicle parking requirements, demonstrating a bias that encourages vehicle trips instead of working to reducing congestion by reducing the number of generated vehicle trips.

2) The Hollywood & Vine project has failed to provide the bike parking as required by LA's Municipal Code, a fact that failed to trigger a response from Building & Safety, a department that never invokes any bike parking minimums in spite of the law.

3) The Hollywood & Vine project unfolded over several years and during that time, the community requested a Community Car Share program, a Community Bike Share program, and a Community delivery service but none of the promises turned into reality. 

4) The Hollywood & Vine project received concessions and funding and legal support (eminent domain) based on its claims of a positive impact on the community, the economy, the traffic, and the quality of life as a whole for those who live in Hollywood, those who work in Hollywood and those who visit Hollywood.

5) The Hollywood & Vine project claims to be a Transit Oriented Development, a designation that includes a commitment to cyclists, pedestrians, vibrant street life and a connectivity to the community.

All of this being said, I look at the two-thirds of a billion dollar H'wood & Vine TOD Fortress and I ask "Where's the Bike HUB?"

I propose that the Metro and the CRA and Gatehouse Capital and Legacy Partners get together and immediately implement a Bike HUB program at Hollywood & Vine and I've got the location already selected. (There are actually three great locations, one on Hollywood Blvd., one on Argyle, and this great location on Vine)

Imagine a Bike HUB on Vine Ave., a bike shop for locals where cyclists can work on their bikes as well as store them in a secured environment. The Bike HUB could also offer a Bike Share for locals and a Bike Rental for tourists. In addition, the Bike HUB could serve as a Visitor's Center for tourists who simply need info on the neighborhood. Good for cyclists, good for the residents, good for the tourists, good for business and great for transit, offering Metro passengers a "last mile" option.

There are many iterations of the Bike HUB concept, from city-sponsored and more city-sponsored to artistic eco-storage to on-campus facilities to sophisticated spa facilities with showers, lockers, and masseuse to the bike storage robot, they all offer variations of bike repair support, secure bike storage, bike-share or bike-rentals, education, encouragement, and helpful information on the surrounding community. Los Angeles is surrounded by great examples of bike co-ops including the Bicycle Kitchen, BikeRoWave, the Bike Oven and the Bikery. There is also the Bikestation organization with facilities in Long Beach and Covina and Claremont.

Last week's Urban Land Institute TOD Summit featured politicians, transit operators, bureaucrats, developers, lawyers, planners, and advocates, all clamoring to keep their place at the table as LA's 30/10 plan for putting $40 Billion to work on a dozen mega transit projects picks up steam. There in the mix was Andréa White-Kjoss, President and CEO of the Bikestation, working to remind the Summit attendees to keep things in perspective, that the high altitude funding and planning will only succeed if the vision is kept centered on the experience of the individual, the person who walks or rides a bike or shops at the store or meets friends in the public space.

It is imperative that we set professional standards for active transportation and that we firmly establish "last-mile" elements into any TOD programming. The folks at Bikestation have a strong support track record for providing innovative solutions to unique transit opportunities and Hollywood is the capital of innovation and opportunity.

Now, more than ever, it's important that we set a standard at the Hollywood & Vine TOD, that we firmly establish a standard for a Bike HUB and that we make it a robust success, with the support of professionals such as the folks at Bikestation, with the support of the Metro and the CRA, with the support of Gatehouse and Legacy, and with the support of the community.

What happens in Hollywood will set the course for the future.

Trader Joe's - Weak on Bike Week!

Friday morning's Grand Opening of the new Trader Joe's in Hollywood was a joyous occasion for many but for the cycling community it was a vivid demonstration of how invisible cyclists are in the customer mix. There were no bike racks to be found in spite of the fact that the Trader Joe's is located at the southeast corner of LA's largest Transit Oriented Development, a project that purportedly caters to cyclists and pedestrians by combining density with convenience. (unless you're the kind of cyclist who actually uses a bike and then "never mind!")

This was also Bike Week, adding insult to energy, and cyclists had just experienced ten days of very effective, fair trade, shade grown, dolphin safe, handmade bullshit from Trader Joe's and a completely insulting and meandering journey with regards to responsibility.

Trader Joe's had argued vehemently and consistently that it was merely the Tenant and that the Landlord was responsible for bike parking, that the Tenant was limited in its ability to improve the property and that it was out of their control. Christie Hughes finally conceded and agreed to install bike racks at the Trader Joe's, just like the bike racks at other Trader Joe's. I cautioned her against repeating the mistakes of the past and urged her to hire a professional, after all, everything else is done by profesionals, why not bike racks?

Legacy Partners, the Landlord, argued that it was not responsible for installing bike racks and that Trader Joe's was responsible for all improvements but that bike racks could not be installed outside the Trader Joe's entrance and under the sign because "We're limited by the DDA with the Metro and the CRA." The Development Agreement purportedly addressed things like bike racks and "limited" the authority of the Landlord and the Tenant but Ed Kirk, VP of Legacy Partners, agreed to investigate before simply forbidding bike racks on the outside of the building.

The Metro, owner of the land under the W Hollywood compound and the authority holding the 99 year lease, was blamed for the DDA that might serve as an obstacle to the installation of Bike Racks but the proverbial hot potato left the hands of Greg Angelo, Metro's Director of Real Estate, as soon as he heard that the Metro was being offered up as opposed to bike parking.

The California Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was also offered as an obstacle because of the Development Agreement but Kip Rudd of the CRA was at the Trader Joe's ribbon cutting and he chuckled when asked about any DDA prohibition against bike parking. "Who told you that? The CRA is a proponent of bike parking and has three streetscape improvement projects for Hollywood that include bike parking."

That left the City of Los Angeles as the bike parking obstacle. At every turn, from Christie Hughes to Trader Joe's Director of Construction Rich Adachi, I heard about the City of Los Angeles and the mythological need to get a permit in order to install bike racks. Granted, Trader Joe's is on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, but my proposed location for the exterior bike parking is under the Trader Joe's sign on their property, not on the sidewalk. In fact, the City of LA has a municipal code that requires bike parking, it just lacks the political will to implement or enforce its own code.

As for Political Will, City Council President Eric Garcetti arrived on Friday morning to cut the ribbon and to present the Trader Joe's management with a resolution welcoming them to the neighborhood. When I spoke to Garcetti and pointed out that the largest TOD in Los Angeles had failed to include bike parking in its program, in spite of its purpurted commitment to active transportation. (I thought the "new urbanist" lingo might resonate!) He continued to smile and nod and I got more specific, pointing out that the City of LA was a development partner with the folks responsible for the largest TOD in LA and yet their were no bike racks. How can there be a standard for TOD developments funded with public money that does not specify a minimum for bike racks?

The W Hollywood is LA's largest TOD and its development partners include the Metro, the CRA, the City of Los Angeles, and the funding comes from sources that include the Federal Government and the State of California. This project is encumbered by rules and restrictions and regulations thick enough to choke an invasion of developers and heavy enough to sink a fleet of developers and yet Gatehouse Capital and Legacy Partners prevailed. They are to be commended for their perseverance in what was a decade long bureaucratic journey to the proverbial ribbon cutting.

At the same time, they fell short, way short. Their tenants followed suit.

Along the way, cyclists discovered that when push comes to shove, Bike Week is a token gesture that comes with no real conviction or support. Be clear on this, from the Feds to the State of California to the Metro to the CRA to the City of Los Angeles, facilities for cyclists are so low on the list of priorities that they fail to register. Cyclists will count when cyclists demand to be counted.

It ain't over!

Bike to Work Week ain't over!

Three years ago Enci and I partnered with the Metro and celebrated Bike to Work Week by hosting a pit stop at the Hollywood & Western Metro station. We did it to celebrate bike culture and to encourage our cycling community, we did it to send a message to the motoring community, and we did it to encourage our friends to spend the day riding with us. (we so cleverly called our celebration "Bike INSTEAD of Work Day!")

We also did it because we were totally pissed that our friend Jen Diamond had been assaulted by a hit-and-run motorist and left in the street, only to have six months pass with no resolution, even though the LAPD had an independent witness and the license plate information of the vehicle.

We brought a prop bike so that the Metro staff could look like cyclists when interviewed on TV, we had a huge Cyclists' Bill of Rights Banner and we rode with the LAPD cyclists to City Hall. It was a great day, so much fun we immediately made plans to repeat it the next year.

Two years ago Enci and I again set up a pit stop at the Hollywood & Vine Metro Station, hauling out the Cyclists' Bill of Rights Banner and leading a merry band of cyclists on an all-day ride that took us to City Hall, to Caltrans, and to USC for the Los Angeles Neighborhood Institute. Nobody ended up at work, we instead focused on equal parts bike fun, bike activism, bike politics and straight up biking. We made friends with Randy, a member of the Midnight Ridazz Aid LifeCycle Team who was taken down by a hit-and-run motorist just a week later. Still she rides!

It was a long day and at the end, we were ready to simply ride home but it wasn't so easy. Heading through the Hollywood & Western intersection we were overtaken by a Metro bus operator who was not impressed with the Bike to Work theme. He was downright homicidal. Still we ride!

Last year Enci and I found ourselves less enthralled with the idea of riding to City Hall and decided to instead explore the controversial Expo Line with our Expo Exposure bike tour. Our friends from Clif Bar (Kitten Kuroi and Marin Vaughn) joined us at Hollywood & Vine and we gave the local commuting cyclists lots of encouragement before heading off on a ride to the westside and then back to USC for the always interesting Los Angeles Neighborhood Institute. The infamous Hummer vs. Cyclists incident had just occurred and cyclists were feeling a tad political, just enough to give the Bike INSTEAD of Work a bit of an edge. Still they ride!

This year, Enci and I intended to host a pit stop for Bike to Work day, we really did. But the simple reality is this, we spent all week on three campaigns and it left us with little enthusiasm or energy for the Hollywood & Western Bike to Work pit stop. To our friends who came by to visit but didn't find us, we hope you understand and we hope you'll join us in working to make Los Angeles a great place to ride.

As for the campaigns:

• We've been fighting to defend the honor and the rights of a dead cyclist in Glendale. We don't know him but a newspaper article quoting a Glendale Police Detective as saying that a cyclist was killed by a stop-sign-running motorist shared 50% responsibility for his death because he rode his bike on the sidewalk in violation of State law prompted us to engage the Glendale Police Department in an awareness campaign that continues.
• We've been fighting to ensure that our community supports cyclists. We love Trader Joe's but if they're going to open a store at the W Hollywood Transit Oriented Development without any bike parking, they're simply not welcome in Hollywood. Tough words but we backed it up by going after Trader Joe's Corporate with the full support of our friends and we're determined to prevail, not just for the specific improvements but to set a standard.
• We've been fighting to develop a more effective relationship with the Los Angeles Police Department. Last night we celebrated Bike to Work Day at the LAPD Headquarters with Chief Doan, Commander Villegas, and Sgt. Krumer. Six months after we met with Chief Charlie Beck and formed the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force, we had results. We reviewed new roll call training on the rights of cyclists along with LAPD Directives and Special Orders that addressed 1) Non-Contact Traffic Reports with Injuries 2) Citation Authority for Impeding/Blocking Bike Lanes 3) LAPD Authority over Metro/Cyclist incidents 4) Interagency Coordination of issues relating to cyclists and their right to ride the streets of Los Angeles safely and free of fear!

Earlier this week I wrote a post for CityWatchLA in which I indicated that I was done with celebrating Bike to Work Week. I meant it when I wrote it and I really do hope that someday, riding a bike on the streets of Los Angeles becomes such a normal thing that there is no need to call out the news team, hold a press conference, and pass out rewards and stickers memorializing the occasion.

Until then I will keep fighting to make Los Angeles a Great City and I will start by fighting to make the streets of LA a great place to ride. For me, Bike to Work Week isn't over until Saturday and I'm proud to be participating in BikesideSPEAKS where 7 speakers will take 7 minutes each to address 7 subjects that are key to making our streets safer for everybody. I hope you'll join us in a real Bike to Work Week celebration!

Hollywood Car Share Stalls, Electric Bikes Debut

CityWatch, Apr 27, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 33

Bechir Blagui's vision for an electric community car-share program on Hollywood Boulevard is unfulfilled but his commitment to providing a sustainable transportation solution for his neighborhood is as strong as ever. As he continues the grapple with LA's unique bureaucratic landscape, Blagui came up with an innovation that has locals and tourists alike slowing down and smiling, Hollywood's first electric bike rental program.

Blagui's ongoing efforts to deliver on his promise to place electric charging stations on Hollywood Boulevard have only resulted in a frustrating journey down a bureaucratic rabbit hole, taking him to the Mayor's office, to the City Council, to the DWP, the LADOT, the City Attorney's office and Assemblyman Mike Feuer's office, none of which took him any closer to his original goal, an electric community car share program.

Along the way, Blagui visited other cities to survey the best and worst of their car share programs and in cities both small and large he found curbside charging stations, car share companies operating freely in a competitive market, and a customer base that demanded a variety of options. Inspired by a recent tour that took him from San Francisco to San Jose to Philadelphia, he returned to LA and looked for a solution, coming up with a program that had no obstacles, an electric bike rental program.



LA's City Council Transportation Committee has a long history of sustainable transportation discussion, most of which go nowhere. Meanwhile, on the streets, it's a local business operator who delivers electric bike rentals to Hollywood.

This simple success story of a local business operator with a fleet of electric rental bikes is significant for two reasons:

1) Mayor Villaraigosa's State of the City address of last week again referred to his unfulfilled vision of becoming America's Greenest Big City, this time with his proclamation of "a plan that once and for all makes Los Angeles the undisputed national leader in green energy and green jobs."

Time after time the people of Los Angeles watch LA's leadership talk the talk but when it comes to implementing sustainable business plans, it turns out that LA is the land of obstacles, not solutions.

Small businesses are a major part of our economy. They innovate and they create new jobs at a faster rate than larger organizations. The real change on the horizon will come from the bottom up, not from the top down, and if the Mayor and the City Council are serious about a green economy, they'll look at the Hollywood Rent A Car experience and they'll get busy removing the obstacles that have kept LA from developing the sustainable transportation solutions that are common in other large cities.

2) LA's high-altitude approach to transportation solutions makes for great press but the simply reality on the streets is personal. Simply synchronizing the services that LA already provides so that our streets are efficiently maintained, repaired, patrolled and enhanced is not only good for cyclists, it's good for local businesses, pedestrians, mass transit passengers and motorists. In fact, what's good for cyclists is also good for the community.

The lesson learned at Hollywood Rent a Car is one the Mayor might consider: When approaching the problem, take a look at it from the cyclists' perspective. It worked for Bechir, it might work for LA.

(Stephen Box is a cycling advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

CityWatchLA - Hollywood’s W Hotel Ushers in the Golden Age of TOD … Deception

CityWatch, Apr 13, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 29

The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences is finally open, bringing over a decade of architectural and political alchemy to a conclusion, resulting in LA's largest inhabitable mixed-use Billboard Development, also referred to as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) or as they say in Hollywood, Transit Disoriented Development (TDD).

Blessing the corner of Hollywood and Vine and perched neatly atop the Metro's Hollywood & Vine Red Line Station, the W Hollywood celebrated its long awaited arrival with a  ribbon cutting ceremony that featured some of LA's finest spokesmodels, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Ryan Seacrest, most of whom arrived in motor vehicles and availed themselves of the TOD-obligatory valet parking. (Two locations - Hollywood Boulevard or Argyle Avenue!) Since then, the valets have maintained their presence, standing like little soldiers outside Delphine and at the W Hotel front door, inside the Motor Court.

Mixed-Use and TOD projects such as the "W" are considered a blessing by the New Urbanists who subscribe to the mythology of LA's unique style of TOD but a curse by the detractors who have failed to drink the TOD Kool-Aid which is quite tasty at first but typically comes with a 99-year long bitter aftertaste that lingers well after the developer has left town.

Theoretically, this TOD project brings human density and robust economic activity along with lifestyle choices that will concentrate activity in the Hollywood and Vine hub while allowing people to avail themselves of the rich mass transit and people powered transportation opportunities, reducing the need for single occupant motor vehicles and the corresponding vast amounts of vehicle parking.

Then again, there's reality.

In fact, much of the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences journey has been one of "the theoretical vs. the reality" and while it remains to be seen whether the reality is of greater positive impact than the theoretical, it doesn't look good. In fact, it looks bleak. Based on results, often harsh but always fair, the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences does little to encourage any of the purported benefits of TOD projects and instead encourages the very behavior and negative impacts that TOD proponents fight to discourage.

It's been months since I stood on the sidewalk with Marty Collins, the CEO of Gatehouse Capital, the developer (along with Legacy Partners) of the project and the guy who brought in the W Hollywood as the anchor tenant. He purportedly owns a condo just above the Walk of Fame where we stood discussing bike parking and the W's community benefit. As we chatted, he took a long drag on his cigarette and then flipped the butt on the sidewalk, in front of what is now Delphine. The cigarette butt rolled across the Walk of Fame star of Charles Coburn, one of the few Hollywood stars who actually lived on Hollywood Blvd., and landed in the gutter. (the butt, not Coburn)

I regret to this day that I remained silent.

Coburn isn't here to feel slighted but the people of Hollywood are. That simple moment of contempt and arrogance is a clear indicator of Collins' commitment to any "community benefit" that was part of the City of LA, CRA, Metro, Gatehouse deal.

Nevertheless, the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences is upon us, a Transit Oriented Development of such significant size that it has its own gravitational pull, both politically and architecturally.

"This isn't Hollywood the movie. This isn't Hollywood the ride," Collins declared as the W Hollywood opened its doors. "This is the real Hollywood." What's not clear is if Collins was referring to W Hollywood's record billboard entitlement or its auto-centric design. In either case, he is correct, this is Hollywood and any promises to promote a pedestrian environment, to support cycling access to the Red Line, to encourage mass transit passengers, to create an environment that "connects" with the street, all fell by the wayside in the time it took to hire the valet and tell the public "This door isn't for the public but if you walk around the block and through the Auto Court you can come in the back way."

LA Time Architectural critic Christopher Hawthorne gently reviews the W Hollywood, noting the lack of architectural coherence as well as the lack of clarity that is demonstrated by the contrast in the stated TOD commitment to vertical density which is then contradicted by the obligatory homage to Hollywood's "love affair with the car and the glossier, more exclusive corners of celebrity culture." Christopher concludes his insightful review of the W Hollywood's fabrics, textures, and color schemes by offering up this soft dismissal; "the W Hollywood isn't just an urban-planning experiment for Los Angeles. It's something of a sociological one too."

It's an experiment?

Perhaps in funding and gullibility and so far it has demonstrated that there is no limit to either.

Legacy Partners, co-developer of the W Hollywood qualified for $10.2 million in ARRA funding. The W Hollywood has had tremendous support from the leadership of Los Angeles which translates into big bucks. From the CRA to City Council Eric Garcetti to the Mayor himself, this project had some heat. When the Metro's meager parcel of land was insufficient for the fortress sized plan of Gatehouse/Legacy, the CRA and the City of Los Angeles stepped in and offered up their eminent domain support, seizing adjacent properties and explaining that the support of the W Hollywood was for the Greater Good! WooHoo! (Of course by Greater Good, the doorman explained that the public will need to walk back to the street, east on Hollywood Boulevard, south on Argyle Street and then through the Motor Court in order to partake in the public's portion of the Greater Good!)

Of two recent travel reviews, both authors arrived by car, demonstrating quite conclusively that even those who are out to immerse themselves in the W Hollywood's unique brand of TOD environment know enough to steer clear of the transit and to err in favor of the automobile. Of the two, one used the motor court and opened the review with "Welcome to Hollywood!" The other used a taxi and attempted to enter the W Hotel from the public plaza but somehow got lost. "Geez! If we have to tell you where we are, perhaps you're not supposed to be here!"

One can only imagine the experience of the travel writer who actually arrives on mass transit, exits the Red Line station and depends on the Metro and the W for any wayfinding help. There's a curbside sign announcing the discontinuation of the DASH bus stop. There's a sign advertising available retail space. There's a sign directing cyclists to non-existent bike racks. But there's nothing that says "Welcome to the W Hollywood, you transit riding, TOD superstar! Turn to your right, walk toward the smell of urine but don't actually enter the elevator area, instead turn right and walk down the hallway toward the velvet ropes. They'll ask for your room key, you'll explain that you don't have one because you just arrived, they'll look at each other with puzzled looks and mild confusion will break out! All the while, they will size you up to see if you really are a potential guest or simply one of the many glitz-free locals who wants to turn the W Living Room into a real living room!”

It appears that the W Hollywood is many things but it is not a Transit Oriented Development, at least by any accepted planning standards. As for Collin's Castle, the Fortress of Fortune, LA's largest inhabitable Billboard Complex, it's here and the opportunities for the W Hotel to improve the quality of life in the surrounding community remain untapped.

Next week, I'll detail the W Hollywood's shortcomings based on Transit Oriented Development standards and will offer recommendations for amends, starting with a butt can on the off-chance that Collins should return to the scene of the crime.

(Stephen Box is a transportation and transit advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

CityWatchLA - Hollywood: Protecting the Brand

Villaraigosa, Garcetti, LaBonge 

get lost on the way to Hollywood

CityWatch, Apr 9, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 28


One reason crime statistics are continually on the decline in Hollywood is because it's no longer necessary to steal things of value, one simply waits for the City's leadership to give them away.

Consider, for example, the priceless Hollywood brand.

Anywhere else on earth, those in power would protect a valuable asset like the Hollywood name and, if they had any business sense, they would cultivate it and maximize its revenue potential while investing in the stability and preservation of the brand.

Then there's Los Angeles. This past week, LA's Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, and Councilman Tom LaBonge joined forces to announce the unveiling of the Visit Hollywood 2010 campaign at a press conference they held in Universal City in a clear demonstration of disconnect.

This misplaced photo-op and tepid demonstration of a commitment to Hollywood was supported by a website (built by Universal Studios?) that includes in the list of "Hollywood hot spots" attractions such as Universal Studios, Universal City CityWalk, Burbank's Warner Studios, Culver City's Sony Studios, Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, Mid City's Farmers Market, Anaheim's Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo, San Diego's Sea World, and the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Hollywood is recognized around the world as a tourist destination and it is imperative that Hollywood's leadership do two things if Hollywood is to capitalize on the 25 million annual visitors who make their way to Los Angeles and who spend approximately $14 million during their visits.

1) Help the tourists get to Hollywood. Get a FlyAway service from the airport to Hollywood & Highland and get LA's visitors to Hollywood. Make it easy for them to find accommodations in Hollywood, keeping in mind that anyone staying at the W Hotel won't need your assistance but that the average family will.

First and foremost in any vacation planning is to establish the destination and then to find accommodations. Put a roster of hotels and motels on the website, not just a list of the Chamber of Commerce members.

It's evident that those in charge can't relate to the real-world experience of the average tourist who spends hours scouring the Internet for information on hotels, wifi connections, coffee shops, restaurants, clubs, and other quotidien necessities of travel.

Not everything is a "CityPass" ticket to TouristLand. Much of the travel experience is simply soaking up local flavor but that is hardly possible if tourists to Hollywood are promptly shuttled to Universal City where they can wander Lankershim Blvd. looking for life after CityWalk.

These are the elements of the travel experience that help a tourist select a destination, along with transportation options and walkability.

2) Help the tourists stay in Hollywood. There is no reason to encourage a tourist to leave Hollywood. In fact it should be the basic mandate of those in charge to do whatever it takes to make the Hollywood experience a full vacation experience. Yet on the website and on the streets, Hollywood does little to embrace the tourist and to encourage a longer relationship.

It's evident that those in charge haven't walked Hollywood Boulevard sans entourage or they would be clear on how confusing and downright disappointing it can be for the wandering tourist.

My wife and I frequently encounter "lost tourists" who are easily identifiable. Sunburned, carrying a thick guidebook upside down, wandering in the wrong direction, they murmur amongst themselves and stop frequently to look for wayfinding.

I confess to feeling a sense of pride because these people have come from all over the world to see my neighborhood. I also feel a sense of responsibility and take it upon myself to not only help them navigate the immediate obstacle to their experience, but I typically offer additional observations and suggestions, things only a local would know, often visible from where we stand.

I've steered lost Architectural students to some of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings, I've helped confused gourmands locate the best Thai Restaurants, I've translated the six-panel Metro maps to lost tourists, and I've explained to theatre fans that in addition to the Pantages, there a HUNDRED local theaters, all within walking distance of Hollywood & Vine. Through it all, I am reminded that Hollywood is truly the center of the universe!

The sign of a Great City is the hospitality it offers to its visitors. Los Angeles is not a Great City.

The average tourist is ... average. They won't be staying at the W and they won't be using the concierge service. They'll spend too much time looking for Hollywood and not enough time experiencing it. It's up to us to put a polish on Hollywood and to present it to the world as a complete vacation experience, not just as a Hollywood Sign photo op on Bronson Ave. before hopping on the freeway and heading off to friendlier pastures.

From Rome to Barcelona to Munich to Budapest to Sydney, I've traveled through Great Cities and enjoyed wayfinding that makes it difficult to get lost yet pleasant when it happens.

The arrogance of LA's wayfinding is simply astounding. The Metro's map at the new Hollywood & Vine station is misoriented and out of date, it doesn't have the W Hotel on it but it has the Department of Motor Vehicles? Just in case our visitors from Fez decide to register their motor vehicles?

In Seville, I hopped on a bus that took a big lap of the city so that I understood the lay of the land and from there I planned my vacation experience.

In Melbourne there is a bus just for tourists that simply takes a big loop around the city and points out the highlights to that the City makes sense and guests can plan their visit with a sense of perspective.

In Hollywood, a tourist arriving at the Hollywood & Vine Metro Station (imagine that they took the Flyaway from the airport to Union Station and then figured out how to navigate the tunnel to the Red Line and then got off at the Metro's Flagship station) will encounter no signage to indicate that they have arrived in Hollywood. No "Welcome to Hollywood!" sign, no "Walk this Way!" directions, no "You are our Guest!" sign. Nothing. Zip.

Correction, there are a couple of "No spitting, chewing gum, eating, drinking, loud music..." signs to let our guests know that we have standards, very high standards.

Hollywood is a great community and a little leadership would see Hollywood become an inspired and informed vacation destination, not simply a launching pad that sends tourists over the hill to Universal City before losing them completely to Orange County.

The photo-op declaration is the easy start but now the work begins. The simple call to action is for the people of Hollywood to treat our guests the way we expect to be treated when we visit Great Cities.

There isn't much evidence that Villaraigosa, Garcetti, and LaBonge are engaged in guarding the Hollywood brand or in maximizing Hollywood's potential as a complete vacation experience.

That means that it is up to the people of Hollywood to seize the reins and to make Hollywood a Great Host and Los Angeles a Great City.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

CityWatchLA - Metro Betrays Community

CityWatch, Mar 30, 2010

Vol 8 Issue 25

Metro Bikes at Hollywood and Western promised to serve the cycling community of Hollywood by offering bike storage and minor bike maintenance support, all as part of the Metro's multi-modal commitment to a robust and comprehensive Transportation System. Instead, it betrayed the community and demonstrated the need for a swift and thorough reorganization of LA County's regional transportation authority, the Metro.  It has been years since the Metro offered up its Hollywood & Western Red Line station property for development by the CRA which then brought in McCormack Baron to build the Metro Hollywood low-income housing and retail Transit Oriented Development (TOD) known as Metro Hollywood.

The Metro negotiated a "community benefit" component into the TOD project, the City of Los Angeles offered up the services of its General Services and Transportation Departments and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) signed on as the operator of Metro Bikes. What could go wrong?

Apparently, everything.



Several years later, the property is still empty, save for the occasional transient tenant such as the census workers who recently used it for training or the homeless who favor the comforts of the patio area.

When negotiated, the property had an estimated rental value of $3 per foot. Quite a score for the "negotiator" if only the Metro's Real Estate, Operations, Planning, Rail, Security and TDM departments could get it together and figure out who was in charge and who was accountable.

Adding to the confusion, the CRA and the City were all Metro Bikes partners when it sounded like a successful venture but when the project fizzled, nobody was in charge.

Somewhere along the way, calls to the property manager started getting referred to City Council President Eric Garcetti who had become the de facto "boss" of the two empty storefront locations on the west side of the TOD. This new relationship was confirmed in last year's CD11 press release that announced new plans for the Metro Bike operation.

Still, we wait.

The promise has been broken, the checks have been cashed, the money has been spent, the equipment has been delivered, the equipment is now gone, and the partners have all scattered.

It is imperative that the Metro demonstrate a commitment to "connectivity" that starts within the Metro organization, not in our communities. There is no chance that the Metro can connect the people of LA with a comprehensive and robust Transportation System if it can't even connect the many Metro departments within the One Gateway tower.

It is also imperative that the Metro develop oversight and accountability mechanisms so that the plans and standards that are promised to the community become a reality, not just another casualty to the Metro's silo battles.



(Stephen Box is a transportation and cycling advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

Transient Oriented Development (TOD)

The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences, perched atop the Metro's Hollywood & Vine Red Line Station, has simultaneously raised the curtain and lowered the standard, establishing itself as LA's largest Transient Oriented Development (TOD) complete with a public plaza that offers convenient single serving drug sales, discrete nooks for defecation and urination, secure yet public overnight sidewalk accommodations, and a popular valet-adjacent vomitorium. Let there be no mistake, when it comes to the creation of great public space, the W Hollywood turns its back and runs.

The inadvertent pursuit of the Transient Oriented Development (TOD) title over the more highly sought after Transit Oriented Development (TOD) status is just one of the many miscommunications and misunderstandings that have occurred during the long and contentious W Hollywood development process.

Gatehouse Capital and Legacy Partners have spent over a decade developing the land owned by the Metro. Along the way they engaged in a journey that City Council President Eric Garcetti referred to as "sometimes painful, but worth the effort." (wait until he sees the vomitorium!) Jeff Cohen, Chief Operating Officer of Gatehouse, agreed with Garcetti and said the process he went through was "not for the faint of heart."

Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler rises above the fray and simply states that the W Hollywood was developed with a unique "local focus" in mind and a commitment to alleviating congestion, explaining "That’s why the project is right next to an MTA subway stop."

All of which prompts me to suggest that Eric and Jeff and Leron hop on their bikes and pedal over to the "local focus" Transient Oriented Development known as the W and join me in looking for the bike parking. There are directional signs, three of them, alerting the public to the bike parking. There just isn't any bike parking.

This is a problem for several reasons:

1) Failure to deliver on the TOD promise: This is a $600 million Transit Oriented Development, funded with significant amounts of your (the public's) money on land owned by you (the public). The TOD promise comes with assurances that the project will cater to cyclists and pedestrians and that it will have a positive impact on the community, creating human density and offering opportunities to live, to work, to shop and to socialize, all without having to further congest the streets with private motor vehicles.

2) Lack of Metro oversight and accountability: Evidently the Metro's Bike Planning Department was unaware of the decade long development process that went into bringing the W Hollywood to the ribbon cutting ceremony. Apparently the Metro staff didn't get invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony and were unaware that the project has passed the finish line, leaving behind a public plaza at the Hollywood & Vine Metro Station that is the responsibility of...nobody!

3) Lowers the standard for future TOD projects: This is the largest TOD in Los Angeles and there will be more. Now is the time to raise the bar and to engage in development that is so brilliant that it causes those around the world to covet and envy, not to giggle and mock. When the City Council, the CRA, the Chamber of Commerce, the BID, the Metro, the LADOT, the LAPD, the LASD, and the Federal Government all get together, one would think two things would happen.

* Real leaders would rise to the occasion and create powerful and effective teamwork.
Unfortunately, the public hears nothing but the difficulty of working with so many agencies and authorities. This is a cry for leadership.

* Real innovators would rise to the occasion and create a world class Transit Oriented Development.
Unfortunately, the public hears nothing but the limitations of scale with so many details to be resolved. This is a cry for innovation.

4) Demonstrates a lack of standards: Whether it's the simple process of deciding in advance who sits at the big table and who waits until the ribbon cutting to get a shot at the scraps or whether it's deciding in advance what the design standards are for TOD, this project is a scream for attention. Cyclists and pedestrians are the user group that is to be considered from the beginning of the project conception, not after the project delivery. Simple access and accommodation standards are given to the designers and architects in advance, not squeezed in after construction. Does the Metro and the City of Los Angeles have those standards? If yes, why weren't they implemented? If not, develop and implement them immediately before engaging in any more missteps.

5) When this many authorities working with this much money use "I assumed!" as an operating mantra, it borders on professional negligence. The details matter. They are significant. They are the telltale whisps of smoke that indicate a much larger problem, one that may not surface for some time. But they are significant and one can only wonder, "What else was completely overlooked?"

6) Bike parking should be visible to those who ride by. It should reinforce that this is a rideable community. It should reinforce that cyclists are welcome on the Metro, whether they leave their bikes secured at the stations or take them on the train or bus. It should be visible so that the community's eyes are on the cyclists and their bikes. It should reinforce that bikes are an integral part of the Metro's commitment to a robust and comprehensive Transportation System. It should be part of the basic foundation of accommodation, not an afterthought that comes up when everything else is done.

7) Public Space should encourage good behavior! As we gathered for a site survey, it was apparent that wherever we stood, we were in the way. Great public space isn't just open, it's designed to foster social interaction, yet the benches here are fixed and allow people to sit back to back but not to face each other. Where do people "hang out" and relax? Where do couples or small groups sit and chat? The Metro's Hollywood & Vine open space attracts transients and discourages community. Tough charge, backed up by reality. What looks good on paper doesn't always translate into reality. Environmental architecture is not simply positioning a "rain forest" to the east and specifying bamboo for the planter, it is "designing for good behavior," a standard that applies to all disciplines, from law enforcement to transportation to development to hospitality.

Twelve days ago, I called Lynne Goldsmith, Metro's Bike Planning Manager, to report that the W Hollywood had made it past the ribbon cutting and still the Metro hadn't installed any bike racks. She explained that the Metro has big plans, but that the bike racks wouldn't be installed until later in the year when the Metro "programmed" the small room off to the side of the rest rooms, next to the elevator. I pointed out that the W Hollywood has been in development for a decade and asked how the Metro could justify waiting until after the opening to begin thinking about "Where do the cyclists fit?"

(Goldsmith's promise should be tempered with the knowledge that the Metro's Hollywood & Western Red Line Station also has a room set aside for bike parking. At one time it even had racks stored in it, now gone, and the room is still empty years after the development was built, with your money!)

Goldsmith told me how busy she was and suggested that I call Greg Angelo, Director of New Business Development in the Metro's Real Estate Department. We chatted, he suggested that I talk to Goldsmith. I pointed out that she said she had no authority and had sent me to him. I offered my opinion on the "little room of urine" that was the current plan and pointed out that it violated basic Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards. He became a bit argumentative and told me that I can't complain of a deficiency without proposing the solution. I proposed that the new deficiency was a failure to perform and that the solution was for him to join me for a site survey and to take responsibility for doing his job. We were off to a great start.

One of the simplest and snarkiest solutions to the criticisms of the public is to demand that all interaction be solution-oriented. This closes down feedback and deprives people from participating in the "discovery" process that is part of real innovation. The solution may not be present as the problem is experienced but that should not discourage people from yelling "Fire!" when they see a fire. Angelo seems to think that the solution that eluded the Metro for years is my responsibility for identifying during the process of pointing out that the Hollywood & Vermont Red Line Station is lacking Metro oversight and accountability. The new rest rooms have never seen paper supplies. The bike parking signs are up, the bike parking isn't. He didn't know that until I called. I've already earned my keep, he hasn't.

It gets worse.

I get an invitation to a site survey at the Metro's Hollywood & Vine Red Line Station. Then I received an amended invitation moving it out an additional day. No request of availability or convenience, after all, the public is always available to complain, but it's the Metro staff's time that is valuable. Still, I'm pleased that the meeting will take place and I simply adjust my schedule, pleased that Goldsmith and Angelo and others from the Metro will be joining me for a survey of the Metro station.

Tuesday arrives and I lock my bike up to a light pole on the public plaza. I'm joined by Ron Durgin of Sustainable Streets and Enci of illuminateLA, both of whom take a one hour survey of the W Hollywood Hotel &; Residences with me. When we return to the small empty room off to the side of the elevator, we find Lieutenant George Grein, Retired, of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. He has just interrupted a drug deal in the future home of the Metro's safe, secure, and effective Hollywood & Vine bike parking. We are later joined by Sergeant Cliff Yates of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department who is the supervisor for this area of the Metro. Both Grein and Yates concur that isolation and seclusion are bad ideas for bike parking and that the evidence of human waste, transient accommodations, and drug activity would support my contention that the bike parking should be located elsewhere.

Goldsmith and her assistant, Tony Jusay, arrived and seemed to have a hard time letting go of the little room as a bike parking solution without having another option to grab. Since we were still standing in the little room, I offered that there may be many solutions but it is imperative that we agree that the little room was not one of them. At this point, Goldsmith engaged in displacement activity that had her cleaning the broken baby carriage, the floor mat, the newspapers, the barricades, and the debris, all as we watched and wondered how this moved the site survey forward. Jusay was able to get her to return to the discussion.

Ben Cien, Vice President of Construction and Design at Gatehouse arrived and we now had a fairly robust discussion going, all of it focused on the little room of horrors. All that was missing was somebody from the Metro who had the authority to say "Yes!" Apparently Angelo was unable to make the meeting, too busy to even communicate with the group or to offer an alternative meeting time. Too bad because the resulting two hour survey was then an exercise in "Who's in charge?"

Cien explained that he thought "everybody had signed off on the plan to install a little door" and to make the now "open and secluded little room" into an eventually "secured and secluded little room."

The LASD representatives stayed out of the fray, the cycling representatives argued vehemently against bike parking that requires security cameras and security officers, neither of which are in place, in order to be safe. Both Cien and Goldsmith offered arguments that the camera monitoring and the close proximity of the W Hollywood security would make the environment safe. (Hence the drug deal and the human waste and the evidence of overnight accommodations!)

The cyclists walked the larger facility with Cien, a pleasant host who seemed proud of the many W Hollywood elements. He was comfortable in his skin, greeting guests and staff as we walked through the hotel, the back hallways, the sidewalks, and the parking garage. We chatted about the project including the LEED elements and even offered up that if the employees of the W Hollywood were offered Urban Cycling classes, they would be more likely to ride their bikes to work, take advantage of the employee dressing rooms and bike parking. (there were three large bike racks in the employee parking area of the garage but only one bike)

We measured off some public plaza space as options for bike parking, having arrived prepared to actually survey. We offered some criteria for the eventual solution including visible, close to the entrance, secure, protected with a canopy or cove, out of the passageway, and we looked for opportunities. Essentially, the bike parking must work for the casual cyclist who arrives for the first time, no membership card for a "bike room" or other pre-arranged bike parking. Simple racks that a casual visitor would feel comfortable using and that would serve as secure and effective bike parking. It starts there, not with the VIP program that requires registering, a key card, a membership, and a visit to One Gateway.

Goldsmith had prepared for the meeting by packing a large bag of "That's not possible!" and suggestions such as a canopy or moving the planter or doing anything other than using the little room was met with "That's not possible!" Since she can't say yes and she has no plan and she isn't prepared and she hasn't asked, how does she know the answer will be "No!"

I'm not sure how this project turned into such an environment of limitations but somehow Lynne Goldsmith's contribution to the two hour bike parking survey was a series of "No!" responses to suggestions covering bike parking location, style, visibility, canopy, accessibility, and responsibility. Of course, when listening to Goldsmith speak authoritatively on limitations, from political to financial to social to environmental, I remind myself to never take a "No!" answer from somebody who doesn't also have the authority or power to say "Yes!"

The site survey ended with the obligatory confusion and lack of resolution over authority. The LASD typically is responsible for the Metro Station and the plaza area with the developer/property manager responsible for the actual development. Again, the ribbon has been cut and those at the meeting were unclear of who had authority and who maintained the rest rooms and who was in charge.

I'm not sure who is going to step up on this one. It might be County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky who also serves on the Metro Board. Perhaps Metro CEO Art Leahy will decide that the buck stops with him. Maybe Doug Failing, the Metro's Executive Director of Highways and Interim Director of Planning, or perhaps Roger Moliere, the Metro's Chief of Real Property Management & Development, will take a shot at solving the bike parking problem that has caused "paralysis of analysis" within the Metro's Bike Planning department. Angelo is already a no-show and Goldsmith is simply in charge of "No!"

This may seem like a lot of effort, all simply to get some bike racks installed on the public plaza on top of a Metro station at the new W Hollywood TOD but it's much much more.

This is the largest Transit Oriented Development in the City of Los Angeles. The $600 million that is invested in this TOD project came from many sources including you, the public. The Metro's budget comes from you, the public. A standard is being set, not just with the use of public funds, but with the implementation and design of TOD projects of which there will be more. In addition, the Metro is busy, working on the Expo and the Orange Line Extension. The mistakes they make will be repeated unless we work together to raise the bar. The Eastside extension has bike racks installed at Soto and at Mariachi Square. In both cases they need to be reinstalled correctly. That feedback doesn't come from the Metro, it comes from cyclists who care enough to insist on excellence.

Transit Oriented Development is the concept that was sold to the public. The Metro, Gatehouse Capital, Legacy Partners, the CRA, the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Improvement District, the LA Department of Transportation, the LA Police Department, the LA Sheriff's Department, the Federal Government, CalPERS, and Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage all have a piece of this project and it's a shame that we're still standing on the public plaza having a "Who's in charge?" discussion while the work remains incomplete.

For too long, the question "Is there any room left over for the cyclists?" has been the battle cry for the Metro's Bike Planning Department. This is the last time. Who is the person who will say 'Yes!" to bike parking at the Metro's Hollywood & Vine Station.