The Fix is In: A Tale of Two Bans

CityWatch, Dec 16, 2011
Vol 9 Issue 100

RETHINKING LA - Over the past year, two groups of community activists have been aggressively drumming up support for their respective causes, one fighting for a ban on advertising in city parks while the other pursues a ban on single-use plastic bags.

Both groups have worked the neighborhood council circuit with success that allows them to argue their case before City Council while holding handfuls of resolutions of support in the air.

Both groups have aligned themselves with like-minded organizations that lend their professional non-profit advocacy seal-of-approval to the cause, joining activists at the podium with an air of credibility that is supported by data, science and objectivity.
Both groups held events around town to engage the public who signed petitions and followed organizers to commission meetings, committee meetings, and eventually to City Hall where, some charge, all is for naught because when the fix is in, the fix is in.

This past week, LA’s City Council took public testimony on the proposed plastic bag ban, prompting Heal the Bay’s Mark Gold to point out, “This body acted in 2008 and committed to moving forward with a ban on single-use plastic bags.”

The City Council responded by taking testimony from a full house of proponents and opponents before continuing any Council discussion and action on the single-use plastic bag ban issue until their last meeting of the year on Friday, December 16, 2011.

In an odd bit of Kabuki Theatre, the issue went to City Council over the objections of Mayoral Candidate Jan Perry who had the issue agendized in the Energy and Environment Committee.

Whew! Three Council hearings in one week for an issue that has languished for years.

Optimists hold that this enthusiasm bodes well for the single-use plastic bag ban. Pessimists point out that by holding multiple meetings with public testimony, the Council can proceed with discussion and action during the last meeting of the year without the clutter of public comment.

In either case, this journey of anticipated success is in sharp contrast with the travails of those who sought a ban on advertising in city parks, an uphill battle that was made more difficult because of the potential to fatten the city’s coffers with revenue from the park advertising.

The campaign to ban advertising in city parks was mobilized when LA’s Rec & Parks Commission signed a deal with Warner Bros. that allowed signs promoting a “Yogi Bear” movie in return for $46,000.

Community activists rose to the occasion in a battle that saw LA’s City Attorney grapple with Rec & Parks Commission President Barry Sanders over the definition of advertising and the legality of park sign districts.

As the Parks Commission appeared to back down from its plan to sell advertising rights in city parks, it was a media investigation that revealed the plan that would allow the non-profit LA Parks Foundation to sell advertising in popular areas such as Griffith Park and Venice Beach.

In a clear demonstration of contempt for Griffith Park’s status as America’s largest urban wilderness park  and of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots for conservation, the Mayor looks at Griffith Park and sees a potential sign district with revenue potential.

As community activists continue to fight for a ban on city park advertising, the Mayor is pursuing an overhaul of LA’s sign ordinance that will create “innovative revenue sources” such as wilderness advertising.

When Colonel Griffith J. Griffith gifted the City of LA with the land that became Griffith Park, it came with conditions including a requirement that it remain open and free of charge, “a place of rest and relaxation for the masses, a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people.”

Mayoral Candidate Jan Perry has defended the proposed sign ordinance revisions that would allow advertising in public parks, most recently coming under fire at the Venice Neighborhood Council when she said “It provides opportunity for funding to continue in the parks and I think we should let them do it.”

Perry alluded to “opt-out” options that she indicated she would be willing to include in the sign ordinance, saying “I’m not interested in jamming something down people’s throats that they don’t want.”

If only it were that simple!

In both cases, community activists have engaged in journeys that are exhausting, filled with meetings and hearings that turn out to be tests of patience and endurance.

Weeks turn into months which turn into years. City staff members come and go, Commission members shuffle seats, City Council committee assignments change, and through it all, the issue is kept alive by community volunteers.

It’s a “Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t!” scenario that sees activists sit for hours in the hope of delivering a compelling argument in the 60 seconds that is typically allocated to speakers when a decent crowd shows up for public comment.

Failure to attend a meeting provides “silence is consent” coverage to the City Council, allowing them to conduct the legislative sleight of hand that is the hallmark of a body that votes unanimously in predetermined outcomes 99.3% of the time.

It’s been a long year and as the City Council looks back, typically with a celebratory tally of the motions they have passed, it remains to be seen whether the single-use plastic bag ban will materialize or if LA’s parks will turn into sign districts.

One thing is for certain, the unsung heroes in these battles are the individuals who stand up and engage the Mayor and the Council in the process, however flawed it may be, and defend our neighborhoods, our communities, and our city by fighting the good fight! Even if that process inevitably leaves those heroes with a sense that the fix is most likely in.

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

Streets are for People

CityWatch, Sept 23, 2011
Vol 9 Issue 76

RETHINKING LA - Talk is cheap and it’s hard to get people’s attention in a world that is filled with noise that comes from all directions via texts and tweets and blogs and billboards and mailers and editorials and advertisements and public meetings ad nauseum.

It’s tough to be heard above the urban din but all that changes each year when artists, activists, architects, planners, educators, business operators, and community organizers put a quarter in the meter and proceed to transform a curbside metered parking space into a temporary park, just for the day, as part of Park[ing] Day LA.

That’s the moment when a great dialogue takes place on open space, green space and public space, a discussion that continues long after the meter has expired and the park has been dismantled.

Park[ing] Day originated several years ago when Rebar, a San Francisco based art and design collective, transformed a metered parking spot into a park-for-a-day in an effort to make a public comment on the lack of quality open space in American cities.

For the last five years, Angelenos have participated and Park[ing] Day LA has truly crossed over from an aspirational journey into an implementation stage of development.

Valerie Watson, Chair of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council’s Complete Streets Committee, began her Park[ing] Day LA celebration at City Hall. She was joined by Councilmembers Huizar and Perry in a press conference announcing the city’s commitment to partnering with community groups in reimagining the streets of Los Angeles.

“DLANC has long supported and actively participated in annual Park(ing) Day events,” said Watson, “showcasing our efforts to promote the creation of world-class, sustainable, safe, and accessible public space, along with balanced, complete streets for Downtown residents, workers, businesses and visitors. It’s exciting to see Los Angeles build from this momentum to create our own innovative solutions to re-imagine our public realm.”

The DLANC Park[ing] Day LA installation included traffic calming, a bikeway demonstration and
a Parklet which is a new urban planning standard for green space that is built in the public right-of-way and is maintained by private property owners.

A local business owner looked out over the DLANC Complete Streets installation and asked “Why can’t it look like this every day of the year?”

Someday soon, it will.

The range of Park[ing] Day LA installations paid tribute to LA’s vast spectrum of creative talent, bringing to life the mantra “Streets are for People” in a wide variety of expressions.

A local High School Science Class took advantage of LA’s great weather and set up educational exhibits about urban gardening on Spring Street, embracing the “Edible Streets” concept that challenges traditional limitations of greening urban space.

Long Beach’s Office of Sustainability fed the minds of the community with a beautiful reading room on the street built from stacked apple crates filled with books from the closed Acres of Books which were offered to the community for free.

The Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse promoted their philosophy of turning used or recycled materials into artwork and eco-friendly creative projects that stimulate the mind, feed the soul, and educate the public. At a glance it appeared to be an outdoor art gallery, and it was, but up close it was much more, a living lesson in repurposing and rethinking.

Long Beach’s Tiffany Tedesco brought the Bike Friendly Business District to life with a cluster of Park[ing] Day LA installations that was complemented by a Bike Tour led by League of American Bicyclists educator Chris Quint and local environmentalist April Eileen Economides. Bike tune-ups, bike portraits, bike parking and bike rides are all part of an approach to economic revitalization that celebrates people powered transportation and embraces public space.

Pacoima Beautiful (PB) got involved in Park[ing] Day LA as a tool for challenging a built-out local environment that discourages physical activity and is hostile to public health. The PB mission is three-part; to reduce local pollution, to revitalize the local community, and to train the next generation of community leaders.

The offices of Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes and Senator Alex Padilla joined Pacoima Beautiful on the streets as they brought their environmental justice program to life, a journey that was covered by Streetsblog LA as part of their coverage of the LA County PLACE grants and RENEW grants.

The DeLAB crew set up shop outside their favorite restaurant, Silver Lake’s LOCAL, and hosted PARK, designed by Silver Lake architects STANDARD and brought to life with elegant simplicity, paying homage to the iconic Hollywood Sign with “topiary” letters that resulted in Sunset Boulevard’s LOCAL PARK.

Echo Park’s Time Bank brought their vision for urban park space to the Circuit City Ruins on Sunset Boulevard, offering up the notion that a community garden, performance space, outdoor yoga and open-air classrooms might be a better allocation of land than the current chain-link fence and blight.

Global Green USA promoted Green Schools, SPOKE celebrated bike friendly businesses, AIA embraced Complete Streets, and DLANC promoted the idea of “flocking to, not speeding through, Downtown LA."

MetroDuo captured the Park[ing] Day LA experience on rail and visited the green space of Pfeiffer Partners architects, the NBBJ expression of “Rubber meeting the Turf” and SWA’s sun shelter made from recyclables.

Park[ing] Day LA was celebrated by many, from Inhabitat to LAist to ABC to KPCC to Echo Park Patch to Curbed LA to Streetsblog LA to UncoverLA to ArchPaper. In fact, the notion that “Streets are for People” seems to be getting significant traction, to the point that policy is shifting and Complete Streets programming is legitimized.

Park[ing] Day LA also had its detractors, some who grumbled “Streets are for Cars!” and others who simply struggled with the idea that urban life as they know it may soon include happy humans sharing public space in a newly greened urban environment.

The most vocal opposition to Park[ing] Day LA came from the City of Santa Monica which levied a $240 permit fee on the use of parking spaces, explaining that it was for safety reasons. “Imagine if a motorist tried to park in the space,” explained the Santa Monica Police Department, “and ran over everybody!”

Apparently the $240 permit changes the laws of physics and properly permitted celebrants are no longer susceptible to damage from motorists who can’t control their vehicles. Ah, Santa Monica, so much potential yet so much drama.

Park[ing] Day LA is celebrated around the world, on 6 continents, in 30 countries, and in 183 cities. Los Angeles is the proud host of temporary parks that challenge the current paradigm of urban space programming, resulting in innovative planning and policy that is slowly turning LA’s thoroughfares into Complete Streets that work for everybody.

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

CityWatchLA - Is LA Developing Tunnel Vision...Again?

CityWatch, Aug 24, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 67

LA's most recent commitment to connectivity demonstrates a complete disconnect from our history, from the wishes of the community, and from reality.

90 years ago the City of Los Angeles implemented a School Pedestrian Tunnel Program in an effort to address the brutal fact that fully 2/3 of all traffic collision deaths were pedestrians.

LA's noble but misguided experiment with segregated underground facilities for pedestrians was limited by the sheer complexity of the initiative and was soon replaced by more effective strategies such as implementation of traffic control devices, crosswalks, all-stop phases, pedestrian right-of-way standards and traffic enforcement.

LA's tunnels have theoretically been maintained by the City’s Department of Public Works which relies on a meager "Bridge and Tunnel Maintenance Account" funding that apparently fails to cover any security improvements, let alone even simple maintenance costs.

Community concerns over the deteriorating condition of the tunnels date back 40 years when the Los Angeles Board of Education referred to some of the tunnels as "unsafe, filthy places that harbored criminal activity." The LA went so far as to adopt a policy for pedestrian tunnel closure that required the participation of the City Transportation, the LAPD, the Board of Education, and local community members.

Over the years community groups have rallied to address the blighted tunnels in their neighborhoods, pointing out the inherent design flaws that create inhospitable environments for vulnerable pedestrians.

25 years ago Atwater Village residents spent a year collecting petitions in an effort to close local tunnels that the LA Times referred to as "smelly, dangerous lairs for gangs, graffiti artists and drunken slumberers." Councilman Wachs, LAPD Capt. Cunningham, and Fletcher Drive Elementary School Principal Christensen called for the closures. Evidence such as trash-littered tunnel entrances, human excrement smeared floors, graffiti marked walls, and empty beer bottles confirmed the wisdom of their actions.

More recently, communities such as Woodland Hills and Valley Village have fought to close pedestrian tunnels under their freeways, citing the same concerns of public safety and ineffective connectivity.

Two tunnels in Woodland Hills run under the Ventura Freeway and they came under scrutiny when LAPD's Sgt. Kearney was attacked in the Sale Avenue tunnel by two men who hit him over the head with a beer bottle and then charged at him with a long kitchen knife.

Two tunnels in Valley Village run under the Hollywood Freeway and they also came under scrutiny when their seclusion resulted in criminal activity and long-term encampments that prevented local residents from enjoying the adjacent parks.

Through it all, it's typically local residents who partner with the LAPD and local schools in an effort to make the streets safer for the pedestrians and the neighborhood safer for everybody. Tunnels have been closed all over the city, some filled with cement, some simply barricaded, and others fenced off and locked with a padlock.

These tunnels have all been closed ... until now!

Current proposals for connectivity include re-opening two tunnels that connect to schools and re-opening two tunnels that connect to parks. In one case, funding requests have been made in an effort to reopen the tunnels and enhance them with better lighting. In the other case, reopening previously closed tunnels has been positioned as an "option" in a City Planning document.

Training children to fear the streets instead of supporting them with traffic calming measures is a complete abdication of responsibility.

Training children to use underground tunnels contradicts simple crime prevention standards that include awareness of surroundings, staying visible, and keeping an escape route.

Simple self-preservation strategies are at odds with "Walk into the tunnel!" Most importantly, the ever present trash and debris is a signal that the area is unsupervised. It's a signal to turn away and seek another route.

Current efforts to enhance connectivity are noble, especially because they address the needs of pedestrians and cyclists on their way to school. But it's imperative that Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Standards (CPTED) serve as a foundation for all proposals and that the safety of people of all modes are supported on the streets of Los Angeles.

Most importantly, any efforts to address connectivity must start by connecting the LAPD, Councilmembers, Neighborhood Councils, the local schools, the LADOT, City Planning, Public Works, Caltrans, local residents and anybody else who has a vested interest in mobility and public safety on the streets of Los Angeles.

(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 - East Hollywood Sees the Light…Yard

CityWatch, Oct 16, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 85

In park-poor East Hollywood, LA's Bureau of Street Lighting service yard on Santa Monica Boulevard is looking very attractive to community members who think the large 4.2 acre storage space is the perfect location for a park.

Last month the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council hosted two Park[ing] Day LA celebrations and one of them was on Santa Monica Boulevard, across the street from the Cahuenga Library and right in front of the Street Lighting service yard. Their message was simple. People need parks and in a densely populated neighborhood surrounded by three elementary schools, it's strange to see so much LA city property used for storage while kids are playing in the streets.

The idea of converting the Street Lighting service yard into a park is not a new idea. Years ago, Proposition K was passed, positioning three decades of funding "to develop recreational opportunities for our city's young people." When Councilmember Mike Hernandez initially positioned Proposition K, he called on the other Councilmembers for projects and cobbled together a list that included the development of the Street Lighting service yard for soccer fields. Prop K was quite controversial and there were charges from the public that the money wouldn't be spent on the proposed projects and would instead turn into another City Council slush fund. The assurance at the time was "The City Council must ultimately approve every Proposition K expenditure. We are the ones who will be accountable to the public for the proper use of those monies."

Last week, City Council President Eric Garcetti's staff took a couple of dozen community members on a tour of the Street Lighting service yard, offering a backstage view of the very busy service yard. The invitation referenced the "great deal of interest in locating green space/park space/community space at this site" and promised that Garcetti's office would be working with the CRA "to undertake a study in that direction that looks at creative, collaborative possibilities." All of which was in stark contrast to the repeated comments from Heather Repenning, Garcetti's District Director of Community Development, who took several opportunities to state firmly that they would look at opportunities to accommodate some green space but that in no way would they compromise the efficiency and efficacy of the Street Lighting service yard.

All of this is in stark contrast to the Prop K commitment and to the City Council motion of 2006 which stated "The conversion of the site into a park would serve to improve the aesthetic quality of the local community." The motion directed staff to identify a new location for the service yard and specified that once the service yard is relocated, the existing site can be converted to much needed park space.

It appears that the framers of Prop K thought the Street Lighting service yard would be a great place for a park. It appears that the City Council thought the Street Lighting service yard would be a great place for a park. It also appears that the community thinks the Street Lighting service yard would be a great place for a park.

Yet City Council motion 06-07-07 expired on August 25, 2009 and simply died, mortally wounded by City Council inactivity.

There's no doubt that the Street Lighting service yard provides an invaluable service. Approximately 80 Street Lighting trucks call the lot home and every morning, they load up with poles, fixtures and supplies and head to the four corners of the City of Los Angeles, from the Harbor to the Westside the the far reaches of the Valley and to the Eastside, confirming that East Hollywood is indeed the center of Los Angeles. They repair or replace about 75 light poles each month that are damaged or destroyed by motorists in auto collisions. They replace burned out light bulbs and they conduct routine maintenance in order to keep approximately 5000 miles of LA's streets illuminated for our safety and comfort.

There are approximately 400 different street light fixtures used on the 5000 miles of LA street that the Street Lighting maintains and they store approximately 200 of those fixtures at the East Hollywood service yard. Some are rare and historic fixtures that require custom repairs at the welding shop. Some are common such as the cement or aluminum poles. Some are experimental and the light yard is also used to test the new LED lighting, low impact lighting, solar panels and solar wraps, all of which represent some of the changes that are taking place in the Bureau of Street Lighting as new technology drives new solutions to the old public safety commitment of illuminated streets.

The Street Lighting service yard has been in this location for decades. It has grown over the years, taking over space that formerly served as film production facilities, as restaurants, as apartment buildings and as a gas station. There is no more room to grow and the yard now counts among its neighbors a convalescent home, apartment buildings, and a a library. There really is no place to grow.

Meanwhile, every morning the local kids walk past a chain link fence topped with razor wire as 80 large utility trucks leave the service yard to take care of the lighting needs for the entire city.

The Bureau of Street Lighting needs more room and the local community needs a park.

One would think that the opportunity here would be win-win instead of the either-or situation that Repenning works to deflect when she repeats the "community green space as long as it doesn't interfere with the efficiency of Street Lighting" mandate for further development of East Hollywood green space at the Street Lighting service yard.

It was not too long ago that the City of Los Angeles, as it grappled with the budget crisis, surveyed the City-owned property and looked for opportunities to divest itself of unused or under-utilized property. Surely that information could lead to a large facility that could accommodate the Bureau of Street Lighting and supporting their invaluable contribution to the quality of life in Los Angeles while at the same time allowing for the development of the 4,2 acres of service yard into a great park for East Hollywood.

The City Council motion of 2006 directed General Services to identify property that could be used to accommodate the Bureau of Street Lighting service yard and property was identified but the motion died. It simply died.

This area is part of the Specific Plan Area of "Vermont / Western Station Neighborhood Area Plan" and the property is earmarked for redevelopment into "public elementary, secondary or high schools; police stations and related uses; parks and recreation facilities, including bicycle paths and walking trails, nature trails; park land and lawn areas; children's play areas; picnic facilities; athletic fields (not to exceed 200 seats); senior citizen centers, community centers, clubhouses; swimming pools, libraries; tennis courts; rest rooms; gyms; camping facilities; museums; aquaria, observatories, planetaria and zoos."

Perhaps there is an opportunity here for the community to partner with the Bureau of Street Lighting and to look for a way to support and to even enhance the efficiency and efficacy of the people who bring light to our community. Perhaps there is a way to repair and store the special, historical and architectural lighting fixtures and poles without having to service the entire city from one location. That only serves to make all commutes equally inefficient. Perhaps there is a way to explore inventory management innovations so that the Bureau of Street Lighting can more effectively service the communities that have unique lighting needs.

All of which would free up the East Hollywood Bureau of Street Lighting service yard so that the Prop K commitment can be kept, so that Council President Eric Garcetti's City Council motion can be honored and so that the community of East Hollywood can enjoy a park within walking distance of their homes and of their schools.

Seems like a win-win situation to me!

LA's Department of DIY

The City of Los Angeles is in the middle of a budget crisis, something the public hears about at every opportunity as the newest excuse for mediocrity becomes part of the bureaucratic vernacular. It's times like this when the best thing community members can do is to step up and to lighten the load of the overworked and underpaid municipal workers who must also grapple with long commutes to their own communities.

This is when Government 2.0 takes over, the time when folks simply make it happen and that is the simple mandate of the Department of DIY.

The Department of DIY, authorized by the City through its inactivity and failure to perform, has seized the opportunity and the empty dirt lot on the corner of Wilshire and Vermont, proudly announcing that this is the future home of the Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter Community Park. This corner lot is huge dirt lot and it sits at the busy corner of a densely populated and heavily traveled transit corridor. Currently surrounded by sand bags and chain link fencing, the large sign proudly proclaims:

COMING SOON: A PARK FOR THE PEOPLE

The City of Los Angeles is pleased to announce the future home of the Alprentice ‘Bunchy’ Carter community park in collaboration with Park[ing] Day and their vision of a greener, brighter, more democratic Los Angeles.

Amenities will include permit-free vending, a skate/bike park, community garden plots, farmers market, jogging path and sports field. There will be AA, Crafts, Senior and Nutrition programs.

CityWatchLA - Make Parks, Not War!

CityWatch, Sept 4, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 71

Los Angeles' Mayor Villaraigosa is the Captain of a ship adrift, battered and tossed by the budget crisis, unemployment, home foreclosures, homelessness, traffic congestion, air pollution, land use struggles, transit controversy and a host of other issues, all sized proportionately for the largest City in the most populated State in the most powerful Country in the World.

As Villaraigosa stands on the bridge and looks at the rocks, he also watches as members of his senior staff row to shore, demonstrating with their rapid exits their confidence, or lack thereof, in the direction Los Angeles is headed.

Scrambling to muster a team, he has raised more than a few eyebrows with his appointments to fill those empty uniforms and we can only hope that those who answer the call have maps with them and that they stay long enough chart a course that moves Los Angeles in the right direction. Stepping up as Chief of Staff comes the Rev. Jeff Carr, fresh from his successful tour of duty as the "Gang Czar" responsible for "Summer Night Lights," a program designed to confront the problem of gangs and inner city crime, not by declaring war, but by providing evening access to parks and by providing activities to bring people together and to create community.

Novel concept! Got the attention of the White House. For 16 neighborhoods in Los Angeles, the two year old program offered "skaters, taggers, rockers, homies, jocks, ballers and, of course, their families" the opportunity to enjoy each others company, supported by "summer squad" park staff along with gang-intervention workers.

The program is not without controversy and the actual impact of the program is being debated.

The Mayor's office is claiming a 17 percent drop in "violent gang-related crime" and an 86 percent "reduction in gang-related homicides" in "communities surrounding SNL parks."

Critics point out that "the final Gang crime statistics, which may or may not give some idea of the success of Summer Night Lights, won't be tallied until AFTER the program ends on September 5."

As the debate settles out, it's refreshing to note that under Carr's leadership, the City of Los Angeles stands a fair chance of moving forward under the banner of "Make Parks, Not War!"

If the Chief of Staff can take that same mission inside City Hall, we may stand a chance of weathering the storm!

Imagine if you will, the warring departments within the City of Los Angeles coming together in a campaign centered around parks. It makes sense!

Think of parks as Water Reclamation opportunities and you've got the Department of Water & Power working with Rec & Parks.

Think of all of the DWP property that could be utilized for parks, from the huge swaths of land under the transmission lines to the small pocket parks at the switching stations. Landscape and maintain the property with bio-basins for retention and infiltration and we're well on our way to reclaiming water and providing green space, all at the same time.

Think of parks as Public Safety strategies and you've got the Police Department working with General Services.

Imagine all of the city property that typically sits in a default "off-limits" state, vulnerable to crime while the people of Los Angeles scramble to find public space. Involving the community and putting eyes on the street is an effective technique for reducing in crime and for creating an enhanced sense of community.

Think of parks as Air Pollution mitigation and you've got the Ports and Harbor Authorities partnering with the local communities in solutions that resonate, cleaning the air and creating community, providing for healthy bodies and healthier neighborhoods.

Think of parks as Emergency Preparedness strategies and you've got the Fire Department working with Rec & Parks.

Imagine the people in a community engaged and connected so that in the event of an emergency and an evacuation, they're already acquainted and prepared and know the drill.

Think of parks as Sustainable Community tipping points, starting places for a real conversation of sustainability and how it resonates environmentally, economically, educationally and socially.

Imagine people (re)thinking their communities and land use and mobility from the perspective of a sustainable and intentional lifestyle and how it all started with a park!

Think of parks as educational facilities and a whole new relationship with the LAUSD blossoms, integrating rather than isolating, bringing down rather than building fences, creating partnerships that begin with simple access and linger as the community takes responsibility for education and for the educational facilities.

Think of parks so numerous that people actually walk to them, creating street life and contributing to the health of the community. Transportation and Planning now have a whole new application of access and mobility to incorporate into the Community Plans. They might even begin to work together!

Think of parks as a foundation element in street standards and Public Works has a whole new approach to laying down Green Streets, Safe Streets, Shared Streets, Complete Streets and Great Streets. To think, it all started with a park!

Granted, the City of Los Angeles is facing significant crises and building a Zen garden in my neighborhood is not going to balance the budget or put people to work. But with almost four dozen different departments in LA and enough Deputy Mayors to fill a couple of life rafts, I contend that if the Mayor is serious about citywide solutions that “require new creative thinking,” he start by positioning LA as a Great City of Great Parks.

That point of focus gives Chief of Staff Carr the opportunity to direct the full force of the city with a starting point, an end point and a "context specific" approach to working together.

If Chief of Staff Carr can get the Deputy Mayors and the General Managers of Los Angeles to all put their hands out, grab a piece of a park and to simply reposition themselves and their departments in the context of building more parks, I propose that Los Angeles would be well on its way to becoming a Great City, one park at a time.

Along the way, we'll solve a lot of problems, we'll create community and we'll become a proactive city!

As for me, I'm starting tomorrow, at the Park(ing) Day LA Workshop. We'll be building a park, on Santa Monica Blvd., in a curbside park(ing) space.

(Stephen Box is a transportation and cyclist advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net) Photo credit: LA Times. ◘


Park[ing] Day LA Workshop:
On September 5, 2009 @ 10 am, we will be hosting a Park[ing] Day LA Workshop.
The Greensters will be using bikes to transpo supplies to the location (9am load-in, 9:30 ride, 10am arrival) where we will install a simple and basic temporary park as a demonstration project.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
9:00 am to 10:00 am - Greensters transpo
10:00 am to 2:00 pm - Park[ing] Day LA Workshop
4590 Santa Monica Boulevard
South side of the street
Between Madison & Westmoreland
Los Angeles, CA 90029

CityWatchLA - Great Cities Make Room for People

CityWatch, Aug 28, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 69

Great Cities are great for many reasons but they typically share one thing in common, a commitment to creating and maintaining a foundation of vibrant and dynamic public space that brings people together and creates community.

Los Angeles definitely qualifies as a Great Big City but as for the elements of greatness, LA comes up short when it comes to how it allocates and utilizes its public space. It’s not that there is a shortage; it’s just that the access and use is limited.

In Sydney, kids play cricket outside Town Hall. In Melbourne, mothers with prams meet under the Flinder Station Clock. In Budapest, locals congregate at Hösök Terén (Heroes Square).

Munich features Fischer Brunnen for those who need a meeting place. New Yorkers can find both solitude for the individual and concerts for the masses in Central Park. Meanwhile, Chicago raised the bar on public space with its innovative and versatile Millennium Park.

Around the world, Great Cities provide parks so people can walk, so they can picnic, so they can relax, so they can skate, so they can run, so they exercise, socialize, visualize, and romanticize.

Some Great Cities refer to their parks as the city’s lungs because they clean the air. Other cities build them on rooftops and use them to insulate and contribute to the sustainability of the buildings. Parks are even used to collect and clean rainwater and to contribute to the community’s water reclamation efforts.

As for public space in Los Angeles, well, that’s where you’ll most likely find people honing their parallel parking skills. After all, as for the utilization of public space, LA has more parking spaces per capita and less parkland space per capita than any of the Great Cities.

LA is parkland poor but parking space rich.

Los Angeles County has seven parking spaces for every registered car, all of them standing by on the off chance that a motorist somewhere might need to pick up some late night snacks at the local Piggly Wiggly. Heaven forbid he/she can’t find a parking space close to the front door. Angelinos somehow consider a parking space within walking distance to be a basic right, yet they yawn when confronted with the fact that only 34% of the children in Los Angeles live within walking distance of a public park.

The absurdity of this scenario is driven home when one considers that in LA, the nation’s capitol for homelessness, it’s illegal to have a homeless car but homeless people are simply irrelevant.

LA has it upside down!

On Friday, September 18, artists, urban planners, neighborhood councils and activists will address the allocation and utilization of LA’s public space by stepping up to the curb, putting a quarter in the meter and turning that curbside park[ing] space into a temporary park, all in a celebration of Park[ing] Day LA and in an attempt to start the dialogue that our city leadership has avoided for too long.

How does the largest City in the most populated State in the most powerful Nation in the World allow the rights of inanimate objects to take precedent over the rights of humans?

When is Los Angeles going to take a giant step toward becoming a Great City by committing to creating local community parks so that all Angelinos live within walking distance of a park.

East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, the park poorest NC in the City of Los Angeles, has two Park[ing] Day LA celebrations planned. The first park, “Rec Center,” will take place at Heliotrope & Melrose and will become a permanent pocket park after Park[ing] Day LA is over. LA Guerrilla Garden[ing] will repurpose the Park[ing] Day LA plants and leave East Hollywood one park richer.

The second East Hollywood Neighborhood Council Park will take place on Santa Monica Boulevard between Madison and Westmoreland, right in front of the City of LA’s Street Lighting Yard.

The Lighting Yard is a very large facility, nestled in the middle of a densely populated neighborhood and surrounded by a large number of elementary schools, all within walking distance.

It’s across the street from the Cahuenga Library; a beautiful old building that should be complemented with great public space. It’s bordered by an imposing chain link fence and it’s used to house LA’s light poles and fixtures and equipment.

It’s used for storage. It’s a lay-down yard, a staging facility. It could be anywhere but it’s right in the middle of a vital community and it’s an eyesore.

Meanwhile, kids play soccer in busy streets, vendors sell ice cream at the adjacent Metro Station, kids hang out at the 7-Eleven and community leaders look at the Light Yard and ask “Why not a Park?”

The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council will build a park outside the light yard on September 18 and they will demonstrate that Santa Monica Boulevard, right across the street from the Cahuenga Library, is a great place for a park.

If you’d like to participate in Park[ing] Day LA but are unsure as to where to start, how to build a park, how to frame your message or how to engage your community, come by East Hollywood on Saturday, September 5 for a Park[ing] Day LA workshop.

At 9 in the morning, the Greensters, LA’s first pedal powered transpo team, will be delivering Park[ing] Day LA materials to Santa Monica Boulevard.

From 10am to 2pm, join the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, local community activists, the Greensters, an Urban Forester and people who simply want to engage the leadership of Los Angeles in a robust discussion on LA’s public space.

Park[ing] Day LA Workshop
Saturday, September 5 from 10am until 2pm
4590 Santa Monica Blvd. LA, CA 90029
Between Madison and Westmoreland, south side of the street.
Two blocks east of the Santa Monica & Vermont Red Line Station.

Contact Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net for more information.

(Stephen Box is a transportation and cyclist activist and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net.)Photo credit: Flickr. ◘

CityWatchLA - Dude—There’s a Park in My Loading Zone!

CityWatch, Aug 14, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 65

LA’s Greensters are going mobile with LOAD[ing] ZONE, a pedal powered bicycle convoy that transports temporary parks through the streets of LA as part of the Sept 18 Park[ing] Day LA celebration that will be turning park[ing] spaces into parks, just for the day.

The Greensters are an all bicycle transportation team that was formed as part of the Rebel Without A Car Productions commitment to sustainable film production. They provided all transpo support for the entire "At What Price" film shoot, including moving all grip & electric, camera & audio, catering supplies & food, production supplies and even a couple of camera operators. They had so much fun, they’re still riding as a team. Load[ing] Zone starts early in the morning on the west side and the Greensters will load up supplies for their curbside temporary parks and begin riding, stopping as opportunity presents itself, and building a temporary park, engaging the public in a dialogue of open space and of how we approach the movement of goods and people.

The parks they build will be traditional in the sense that they offer people a place to meet, hang out, seek entertainment, refreshment and enlightenment.

Ron Durgin and Jeremy Grant will be leading Load[ing] Zone on a route that meanders through South LA, up through the Wilshire District, across East Hollywood, through Silver Lake and up to Highland Park, stopping to pay homage to the home of the Fly[ing] Pigeon and the home of the Bakfiet.

Load[ing] Zone features a cupcake bike (not made out of cupcakes but loaded with cupcakes!) a music trailer and an ice cream bike.

CaterGreen will be pulling a ZeroWaste compost trailer as part of the “leave no trace” commitment and will engage the community in a dialogue on opportunities to improve our relationship with our environment by putting our trash to work.

Load[ing] Zone’s participation in Park[ing] Day LA 2009 is part of a citywide celebration engaging artists, activists, neighborhood councils, urban planners and community groups in an effort to (re)claim public space and to remind the public that “Streets are for People!”

The parks built on Park[ing] Day are temporary parks, typically build in metered parking spaces and lasting only as long as the meter is fed, but Load[ing] Zone will also have a Guerrilla Garden[ing] Trailer. Park visitors will find native and drought resistant seeds, soil and castings so that they can make seed bombs to take away, and toss them on the barren and forlorn empty lots in the area. The next rain will awaken them, causing a small Pocket Park to blossom.

Load[ing] Zone is an open ride and cyclists, park lovers and fans of cupcakes are invited to join the Greensters as they take the parks to the people.

The day of riding and parking and cupcaking and pollinating will conclude in Echo Park with an outdoor Ride-In Movie featuring highlights from the Bicycle Film Festival.

“See you on the Streets!”

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

CityWatchLA - Park(ing) Day LA: A Cry for Parks and Public Space

CityWatch, Aug 7, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 63

Park[ing] Day LA is underway and activists, artists, urban planners and neighborhood councils are preparing to step up to the curb, place a quarter in the meter and then transform curbside park[ing] space into temporary parks, all in an effort to stir a dialogue on public space.

The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, holding the title of park-poorest NC in the city, will be [re]claiming public space and building a Recreation Center on Heliotrope, installing a swimming pool, grilling up food on a bbq, entertaining guests with music and volleyball, creating live art and challenging the community to imagine a neighborhood with ... brace yourself...parks within walking distance of the people! Organized by Alfredo "the Park Czar" Hernandez, the East Hollywood NC is planning a demonstration of Parkland Alchemy as the "temporary" park is transformed, the next day, into a permanent park within the NC boundaries.

LA Guerrilla Garden[ing] will be taking all of the drought resistant native plants used on Park[ing] Day and will build a small park for the community as a demonstration of the "leave things better than you found them" commitment of the Park[ing] Day LA grass roots movement.

LA's Greensters will be handling all the heavy-lifting needs for the East Hollywood transformation from temporary park to permanent park, utilizing Xtracycles, trailers and wagons in a pedal-powered display of sustainable transportation and as a demonstration of fact that LA is simply a great place to ride a bike!

Recycled Movie, the production company that turns kids into movie moguls, will have their recycling trailer on site throughout the event and will be documenting Park[ing] Day LA while fulfilling their mandate to make recycling a routine activity that puts kids to work and also funds their filmmaking endeavors.

Park[ing] Day originated in San Francisco in 2005 when (Re)Bar, a small group of artists, opened eyes worldwide by transforming a metered park[ing] spot into a park-for-a-day. That simple act served as a significant commentary on the lack of quality open space in American cities and resulted in Park[ing] Day celebrations around the world. This is the third annual Park[ing] Day LA and participants have engaged their communities with a wide variety of parks and public space perspectives, all of them challenging the status quo.

The EHNC Park[ing] Day LA activities are designed to engage the community, stir a dialogue, provide a venue for a celebration and to simply "change the world!" To that end, money raised during Park[ing] Day LA in East Hollywood will go to the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, creator of parkland throughout LA, and to supporting the Hollywood Cap Park, a 44 acre park that will stretch from Bronson Ave. to Santa Monica Blvd., covering the 101 Freeway and greening LA's park-poorest neighborhoods. This ambitious and visionary project is a clear demonstration that the future of LA's open space requires us all to ...

Step up to the curb, look at all of that public space and ask "Why not?"

For more information on Park[ing] Day LA visit http://ParkingDayLA.com.

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

Yawn...another lame bike lane in Los Angeles...

Riding my bike north on Reseda Boulevard, I'm nestled into the doorzone comfort of a typical LA Bike Lane when, all of a sudden, no bike lane. Just the ass end of a White SUV!

For some strange reason the bike lane simply ends. There's no signage to indicate that the bike lane has ended but the right side stripe simply ends, the lane to the left moves to the right and there you have it...another entry in the Lamest Bike Lane Contest!



I find it hard to believe that the LADOT would pull such a trick on the cycling community. The SUV must be parked illegally. If only there were a Police Officer in the vicinity, I could ask for clarification.

It's then that I notice a police car cruising the Park. It entered on the North side and drove across the lawn...

past the pint-sized children chasing soccer balls...


past the families watching the children play...

past the duck pond and the little ducks and more little children.

What kind of Community Policing consists of driving through the park without even getting out and saying hey to the children or without saying quack to the ducks or without slowing down long enough to notice that people are laughing and shaking their heads at the drive-thru law enforcement?