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 - DWP Festival of Lights 14 - Cyclists 0!

CityWatch, Dec 8, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 100

The 14th annual DWP Festival of Lights has finally stepped over to the green side, hosting 14 pedestrian nights vs. 13 vehicle nights, and slowly adjusting to the inevitable. Apparently it's cheaper to open up the streets to pedestrians than to run shuttles, engage in traffic control and otherwise wrangle the traditional traffic congestion nightmare that was the hallmark of the Griffith Park holiday nightmare of years gone by. The shift in priorities is due to the intrepid advocacy of locals from the Greater Griffith Park NC, the Los Feliz Improvement Association, the Oaks Homeowners Association, the Atwater Village NC, and the many supporters of Griffith Park who have fought year after year for a people powered celebration of the holidays.

As for the cyclists of Los Angeles, there will be the traditional coal in the stocking.

On December 3rd, the Festival of Lights opened with the traditional Bike Night, consisting of two flatbed trucks hauling press down Crystal Springs as the 4th District Councilman and his staff ride the Festival of Lights, all to distract from the simple fact that cyclists are not welcome at the Festival of Lights on Pedestrian nights (makes sense) and on Vehicle nights. (doesn't make sense)

This will be the fourth year that cyclists will protest "Bike Night" and if the turnout is anything like years gone by, the LAPD, DWP, General Services, LADOT, Rec & Parks and Council office staff will easily outnumber the celebrants. Kicking off the Festival of Lights with a whimper, the cyclists plan on being there on Friday, December 18th to open the vehicle night with a shout!

Cyclists have long argued that California's Uniformity Code restricts a municipality from excluding cyclists from streets open to motor vehicles. The irony here is that there are bike lanes through the park but they are decommissioned for the duration of the Festival in order to make more room for cars.

Cyclists also argue that the auto-centric Festival of Lights is an ecological nightmare that shuts down the freeway, clogs up the neighborhood and wreaks havoc on the park environment.

To be fair, great strides have been made in accommodating other modes of transportation with pedestrians, equestrians and even dog-walkers receiving access that has steadily improved each year. The tremendous attendance by these groups indicates there is an audience in favor of reversing the priorities from an auto-centric Festival to a people-centric Festival, and slowly progress is being made.

But as long as the streets are open to motorists yet closed to cyclists, the Department of Water and Power, the Department of Rec and Parks and Councilman Tom LaBonge are guilty of treating cyclists like second class citizens.

This year, cyclists will gather at the Mulholland Fountain at 5pm and will ride at 6pm. They will bring their own music, their own lights and their own Santa.

This Festival of Rights promises to be memorable not just for the cylists but also for the motorists and their passengers who will be suffering through gridlock that typically lasts from 90 minutes to 2 hours.

As the minivans creep along, cyclists will ride through the festival, enjoying the evening air, the lights, the music and the free expression of their rights!

It might even prompt a few to add a bicycle to their holiday wish list!

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

CityWatchLA - Mayor’s Electric Vehicle Dream Blows a Fuse!

CityWatch, Dec 4, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 99

Mayor Villaraigosa selected the LA Auto Show as the backdrop for the announcement of his "Plug-In Infrastructure" scheme that proposes to create a network of electric charging stations throughout Los Angeles, all in anticipation of the onslaught of electric vehicles that he is convinced will be the next expression of LA's love affair with the car.

"The car culture started here, and it’s here that the new generation of vehicles should also begin.” The Mayor bemoaned the fact that LA is typically #1 in traffic congestion and #1 in air pollution.

"We need to find new, cleaner ways to travel,” Villaraigosa intoned … with a sense of discovery.

Then he offered up the details of the latest strategy in his ongoing pursuit of the "Greenest Big City" title, this time banking on a partnership between Edison, the DWP, Nissan, GM, Ford and the neighboring communities of Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Ana and Santa Monica.

This "Plug-In" team would offer electric car owners incentives ranging from tax rebates for home chargers to high-occupancy-vehicle lane access to preferential or free parking.

This news failed to resonate in Hollywood where small business owner Bechir Blagui stands alone, on Hollywood Boulevard, electric community car-share business plan in one hand and electric plug in the other hand, waiting for help in establishing one simple, solitary charging station in front of his business so he can offer locals and tourists alike a sustainable car-share program … and contribute to Mayor V’s grand green plan.

Bechir has turned to the LADOT, the LADWP, Councilman Tom LaBonge and City Council President Eric Garcetti for help but his vision of a charging station on Hollywood Boulevard is still just a dream.

Meanwhile, Garcetti found time to stand as Villaraigosa's wingman for the "Plug-In" press conference where they committed to a network of 500 charging stations consisting of 400 refurbished stations and 100 new stations complemented by the subsidized installation of private charging stations at homes and businesses.

Villaraigosa said "It is crucial to prepare for the expected influx of thousands of electric vehicles."

Garcetti added, "This initiative will bring together regional stakeholders to coordinate efforts that will streamline charging station installations at homes, business, and multi-family residential buildings, explore and expand public charging options, and create incentives for EV drivers."

Critics point out that vehicles, regardless of power source, take up space and LA's new focused support of zero emission vehicles hardly qualifies as a congestion relief solution.

Max Utility explains that there are almost six million registered vehicles in LA County which, at 119 square feet of space each, occupy 25 square miles of space when parked. (For perspective, note that Manhattan Island is just 22 square miles!)

Max concludes by pointing out that the average vehicle spends 95% of its life parked, which leaves all vehicles equal environmental offenders and consumers of valuable real estate in LA, America's capital of congestion.

Somehow lost in the rush to "Plug-In" is the recent report issued by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) which offers up "First Mile, Last Mile" solutions that would encourage people to get out of their cars and onto mass transit.

Recognizing that getting to and from a Transit Hub is an obstacle for many potential transit passengers, SCAG spent $125,000 to come up with solutions that would help people navigate the home-to-transit and transit-to-home journey.

LADOT's GM Rita Robinson and City Planning's GM Gail Goldberg gave a co-presentation at a special combined meeting of the Planning Commission and the Transportation Commission where they unveiled the SCAG report with great fanfare.

The $125,000 ideas included ... brace yourself ... Carpooling, Taxis, Short-Term Car Rental, Folding Bikes, Bike-Share, and Car-Share."

Less than three months ago Villaraigosa, again at a press conference, attacked congestion and air pollution and offered as the remedy a car-share program.

"Providing alternatives to car ownership will help improve the environment and the city's traffic congestion," he told the gathering. Then he cut the ribbon on a partnership between the City of LA and ZipCar, a large car-share company that made a small commitment to place less than two dozen shared vehicles in a city of four million people, all in return for an exclusive relationship and the use of dedicated parking spaces.

The "Car-Share" concept keeps coming up as a congestion relief solution and successful programs in other cities have demonstrated that a single shared car can replace ten privately-owned vehicles and that car-share participants end up driving less than when they owned a vehicle.

Participants enjoy the use of a vehicle when it's needed without the expense of owning, registering, insuring, storing and maintaining a vehicle that will spend most of its life parked and waiting to be driven.

A survey of the USC and UCLA ZipCar programs reveals that the cars are popular and that car-share participants enjoy easy access to a vehicle and reserved parking when they return, all for a simple membership fee and an hourly rate.

Villaraigosa has promoted the benefits of car-share programs. He has promoted the benefits of electric vehicles. He has committed to supporting both car-share programs and electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, citizen Bechir Blagui puts "car-share" and" electric vehicle" together and gets ... well … ignored.

How can the City of Los Angeles ignore the needs of a small business operator, one who simply needs assistance in the process of installing a charging station on Hollywood Blvd. at a parking space dedicated to the use of electric cars? After all, he's simply asking for the assistance that Villaraigosa promises in his press conferences when the microphones are on and the cameras are flashing.

At Tuesday's Auto Show press conference, Villaraigosa promised that city officials would streamline the permitting and inspection process for the new charging stations.

He promised that local building codes and standards would be revised and that the utilities would modify their customer service process to better accommodate the charging stations.

He even went so far as to claim that his "Plug-In" program would lure battery and charging stations to Los Angeles resulting in masses of green jobs while Angelenos reduced their reliance on foreign oil.

Unfortunately he didn't promise to answer the phone when citizen Bechir called for help.

Earlier this year President Barack Obama proclaimed "Small businesses are the lifeblood of cities and towns across the country. Over the last decade, small businesses created 70 percent of new jobs, and they are responsible for half of all jobs in the private sector. They also help enhance the lives of our citizens by improving our quality of life and creating personal wealth. Small businesses will lead the way to prosperity, particularly in today's challenging economic environment."

When Villaraigosa was first inaugurated as Mayor he referred to Los Angeles as the city that best embodies bold dreams. He asked the people of LA to join him in his dream for LA. He called on LA saying "Fellow Angelenos, let's make Los Angeles a city of Purpose! Let's dare to dream! Let's dare to dream together!"

If Villaraigosa is serious about "daring to dream together" it means supporting others in their dreams.

To do that, he'll need to step out of the limelight of the LA Auto Show and onto the streets of Hollywood where he'll meet people who have big dreams … and can help bring his Plug In program to fruition … who simply need the City to do its job.

If he really wants remove the hypocrisy from his promise … really wants to make a difference … he'll grab LaBonge and Garcetti and together they'll power up Bechir's dreams of LA's first electric car-share program on Hollywood Boulevard.

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

CityWatchLA - City Hall Red Tape Trumps Citizen’s Green Vision-Part II

CityWatch, Nov 27, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 97

City Council President Eric Garcetti is raising eyebrows as he tosses obstacle after obstacle at Hollywood's proposed car-share program, only to have reality contradict his objections.

Bechir Blagui, the operator of Hollywood Rent A Car, went to City Council last week to ask for help in establishing an electric car charging station on Hollywood Boulevard, located at a dedicated parking space, that would support his proposed electric car-share program along with the electric cars of those in the community.



Garcetti responded to Blagui's request for help by offering moral support tempered by the admonition that state law regulated the establishment of electric charging stations on the street. He offered to work together with Bechir to change the vehicle code and to make it happen. "That's why we're here!"

A visit to Montana Avenue in Santa Monica yielded the discovery of two electric charging stations, positioned on the sidewalk and supported by dedicated parking spaces, all in direct contradiction to Garcetti's "state regulated" reality and his claim of the need for a change to the law.

When a photo of the Montana Avenue charging stations was forwarded to Garcetti, he responded, "This is a great example of a public charger on the street (I've used it many times!). This is an open-to-the-public example (different than a dedicated space for an individual business), but a great example that it can be done."



What happened to the "Let's work together to change State Law!" objection?

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Mike Feuer's Transportation Deputy responded to Garcetti's "state law" objection by saying "I checked with our legislative director in Sacramento and he does not know of any such legislation."

Garcetti's "it can be done" affirmation came on the tail end of a revised objection, claiming Bechir's request was for a "dedicated space for an individual business." Bechir responded by pointing out that his request was not for an exclusive space but for an open charging station, accessible to the public. Either way, it turned out to be irrelevant.

A visit to Adams Boulevard just north of USC yielded the discovery of two parking spaces, on the street, empty and supported by signage that indicated they were for the exclusive use of the ZipCar Company, all in direct contradiction to Garcetti's ""individual business" reality and the need to maintain "open-to-the-public" parking.

There are approximately a dozen parking spaces in the USC neighborhood and approximately a dozen more in the UCLA neighborhood, all designated as ZipCar spaces and supported by Tow Away signs.

The parking spaces are in densely populated areas where parking is at a premium, most are on the street while some are on school property and some are in City controlled parking structures.

The City's ability to offer dedicated parking spaces for car-share programs is supported by State Law that went into effect on January 1, 2007. California Vehicle Code Section 5205.5 specifies that cities have the authority to reserve public, on-street parking spaces for the exclusive use of vehicles participating in a car-share vehicle program.

Bechir's quest for a Hollywood car-share program, offering electric community cars, supported by a charging station on Hollywood Boulevard, open to the public and accessible 24 hours a day, has led him to the LADOT, the DWP, Councilman LaBonge's office, City Council President Eric Garcetti's office, Assemblyman Mike Feuer's office, the City Council, the streets of Santa Monica, the neighborhoods surrounding USC and UCLA and all he has to show for his travails is a request from Garcetti's Transportation Deputy to do more research for a meeting next month.

Why is it so difficult to get support for a car-share program in Hollywood? Does the City of Los Angeles have an exclusive deal with ZipCar?

Just last year, Mayor Villaraigosa announced a partnership with ZipCar and gushed "Los Angeles may be the car capital of the world, but through this partnership among universities, ZipCar and the City of Los Angeles we are opening the door to make car ownership optional for people who live or work here."

"Providing alternatives to car ownership will help improve the environment and the city's traffic congestion," Villaraigosa said.

Unfortunately, ZipCar is only interested in offering cars in the USC and UCLA areas and the maximum number of vehicles was projected to be less than two dozen in a city of four million people.

It has been over two years since the City of Los Angeles authorized the LADOT to solicit car-share companies to participate in a "one-year car-sharing pilot in the City of Los Angeles."

In the letter that went to the "big four" car-share companies, the city claimed the right "to grant exclusive car-sharing service rights to a single provider or non-exclusive rights to several providers in each pilot area depending on the level of interest in each area."

At first pass, there were no takers but a second effort yielded the ZipCar company and a thin commitment of 20 vehicles, located at USC and UCLA. The pilot program was initially scheduled to start in mid-February 2008 and was projected to last for one-year.

If ZipCar is only interested in providing car-share services to the USC and UCLA neighborhoods, is the City of LA "holding" the Hollywood neighborhood and considering offering it as an exclusive territory to a car-share company?

Is the LADOT relying on City Attorney advice that the City of Los Angeles can "sole source a contract for car-sharing service" as it conducts the "pilot project" at USC and UCLA?

Does the USC/UCLA project prevent car-share programs from being implemented in other areas of the city?

Perhaps the City of Los Angeles is waiting for the W Hotel and Residences on Hollywood Boulevard to open. Several years ago, during the community outreach phase of the project, locals were assured that traffic mitigation measures such as a car-share program and a bike-share facility were to be incorporated into the development.

Of course, that was during the "courting" phase, now that construction is nearing completion, one must take those early "promises" with a grain of salt.

Maybe Garcetti is holding Hollywood's car-share program in reserve for the Clarret Group's Blvd 6200 Project. Two years ago, in an interview with The Planning Report, Garcetti gushed, "This is a very important development for Hollywood. It is probably the largest residential development that I’ll work on in my time."

Garcetti apparently negotiated a $2 million Clarett contribution to the Hollywood Mobility Trust Fund along with a commitment to host a car-share program on Hollywood Boulevard.

Whatever the explanation, the people of Los Angeles deserve straight talk and real solutions, not false obstacles and the run-around.

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

CityWatchLA - City Hall Red Tape Trumps Citizen’s Green Vision

CityWatch, Nov 13, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 93

A local merchant's idealistic efforts to implement an electric car-share program in densely populated Hollywood has hit speed bump after speed bump, leaving him low on funds, high on frustration and ready to pull the plug on his dreams.



Four months ago, Bechir Blagui rented a storefront office on Hollywood Boulevard, across the street from an auto body shop, another auto body shop, an empty lot and a liquor store. His goal was to host a car-share program for locals and tourists alike, providing electric "community" cars that could be rented by the hour or for the day. He intended to support this vision with an electric charging station right on Hollywood Boulevard that would allow his patrons as well as others in the community to pull right up, charge up and take off, leaving no emissions behind.



Bechir's idealistic journey to nowhere started with a visit to City Councilmember Tom LaBonge's office where he received referrals, several of them. He was referred to the local office of the LADOT and after a site visit, the local LADOT engineer referred him to another department within the LADOT. After all, parking spaces are one thing, parking meters are another! He filled out forms and offered a letter of support from his landlord and from the neighboring businesses on the block. His request was finalized and the long period of silence began, one that continues to this day.

LaBonge's Department of Referrals also sent Bechir across Hollywood Boulevard to City Council President Eric Garcetti's office. After all, Garcetti had just introduced a motion to City Council saying "the City should take action to help accelerate the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV), and other zero emissions vehicles in Los Angeles..." Bechir spoke to Garcetti's Deputy who referred him to the Transportation Deputy and another long period of silence began, one that continues to this day.

Hollywood Rent-a-Car is located in LaBonge's district but apparently the commitment to making LA the Greenest Big City is a commitment that belongs to Mayor Villaraigosa and so when push came to shove, LaBonge's staff suggested that Bechir would be better served taking his vision of sustainable transportation to the Mayor's office if he wanted help getting a loading zone and a charging station, all in support of a locally owned and operated business that provides a congestion relief solution to the community. After all, an economic solution, an environmental solution, a congestion solution, a transportation solution, all rolled into one business on Hollywood Boulevard is not the kind of thing a Councilman would waste time on.

Bechir's business plan is based on a simple car-share concept that has proven successful in several different formats, most impressively in the Bay Area where members of CityCarShare pay a membership fee, which allows them to enjoy access to a car without having to own, maintain, register, insure, and store a vehicle. Since most vehicles spend 95% of their life parked, waiting to be driven, the most immediate benefit of a car-share program is to the local community because the need for abundant parking is reduced significantly. This was the benefit that drove Bechir's commitment to include a car-share element to his business. After all, it's Hollywood, long on dreams, short on parking!

There are many car-share programs operating around the world, from ZipCar to Connect to WeCar to FlexCar and Bechir set out to add an element of environmental sustainability by featuring electric cars and a charging station that would also be available to the public. Good for the community, good for the neighbors, good for the customers, good for business. Or so he thought.

Somehow, LA's high-altitude approach to becoming the "Greenest Big City" has failed to reach street level and Bechir found himself standing alone on Hollywood Boulevard, wondering what it was going to take to bring an electric car-share program to Hollywood Boulevard. He wasn't alone for long.

Dave Kaufmann of EnVironmental Motors joined Bechir and is ready to put electric community cars to work in Hollywood saying "The future of EV cars is here and they are now competitive in speed, distance, price and safety."

Enid Joffe of Clean Fuel Connection also joined Bechir and is ready to install a charging station on Hollywood Boulevard saying "Hollywood is the center of the world and this is where people demonstrate the art of the possible. There's a tide coming and Hollywood Boulevard is the perfect place for LA's first electric car-share program."

Missing from this Green Vision is the City of Los Angeles.

One would think that the Mayor's vision for a sustainable future would result in our City's leadership embracing the individuals who choose to be a part of the solution.

One would think that instead of waiting for pie-in-the-sky solutions that will take decades to arrive, Los Angeles would embrace the small steps of individuals that add up to the large leaps of progress for a Great City.

But most of all, one would think that in this time of economic crisis, the City of LA would get out of the "anywhere-but-here" referral business and would embrace the future of "let's-make-it-happen" as the first steps of a long journey to establish Los Angeles as a Great City. Perhaps even a Great Green City!

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

CityWatchLA - Hollywood & Western - "No-Man's Land"

CityWatch, Sept 15, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 74

The Metro’s Red Line stations are all unique, each one decorated with public art that reflects the character and personality of the surrounding community. At Hollywood & Western, the Metro selected overflowing trashcans, human waste and a homeless encampment, all in tribute to the “No-Man’s Land” status of the area that finds the LAPD and the LASD treating the Metro station like a jurisdictional hot potato.

This past Saturday evening, arriving at the Metro Station a little after midnight, we discovered five of the six escalators inoperative. Proponents of the "Broken Windows" theory would suggest that this "indicator" communicates a complete lack of oversight.

Walking to the third staircase, we came across a little old lady, halfway up, standing still, unable finish the journey to street level. As my wife assisted the reluctant pedestrian, I went to notify the authorities only to find that the emergency intercom was out of order.

At street level, the LAPD was out in force, driving up and down the Boulevard in vehicular insulation, never slowing down or so much as glancing at the Metro Station or the homeless encampment that sits below City Council President Eric Garcetti's 4th floor office in the Mayer Building. Of course, this is not their beat.

Years ago the Metro awarded the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department a lucrative contract to provide law enforcement services for all Metro property. A subsequent Memorandum Of Understanding between the LAPD and the LASD clarified the jurisdictional details and the lines were drawn. All Metro property is the responsibility of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

None of this really matters to the person on the street who wants help, only to find themselves lost in the "No-Man's Land" of the Metro Red Line Station.

I called the LASD Watch Commander at Metro Rail HQ to let him know of the five inoperative escalators, the broken emergency intercom, the stench of urine and feces, the overflowing trash cans, and the homeless encampment, pointing out that they all indicate a significant failure on the part of the LASD.

Sgt. Bedogne explained that staffing was thin on Saturday nights and that their focus was fare evasion. I pointed out this seems to be in sharp contrast with the Metro’s position as articulated by CEO Art Leahy who has indicated that public safety and customer service are his priorities for the Metro.

Crickets chirped.

It took 28 minutes for the LASD to arrive at Hollywood & Western, four cars with five Deputies. They descended into the station, returned to street level, chatted with the two armed Metro Officers who joined them, hung out some more, and then they all left. Net result of the visit, 22 minutes of scratching, spitting and huddling together on the mean streets of Hollywood and Western.

At no time did any of them simply walk the perimeter of the street level property. Sgt. Bedogne explained "The LASD only handles the Metro Station itself, not the surrounding property." In fact, we discovered that night, the Sheriff's surveillance cameras don't even cover the third level of stairs.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Lawrence, the LAPD's Watch Commander informed me that the Metro Station including the homeless encampment is the responsibility of the Sheriff's Department. Neither Watch Commander seemed alarmed in the disconnect between the two departments and both referred me to supervisors who were not available.

This neighborhood has been in the news quite a bit lately. The LA Weekly has run a couple of great articles on the issues of homelessness and emancipated youth in Hollywood and in both articles the Hollywood & Western Metro Station is featured as the de facto drop in center for the under challenged and homeless youth of the area.

Most recently, the CIM Group was taken to task for their blighted properties located to the north, trashed, abandoned and filled with squatters. Garcetti deferred to Councilman LaBonge (they split the intersection, Garcetti to the south, LaBonge to the north)

As Garcetti and LaBonge engaged in the jurisdictional hot potato dance, the City Attorney and Building & Safety got involved and at the prodding of local activists, the properties were razed and the area was cleared of blight.

LaBonge, who has never passed on the opportunity to engage in an end-zone victory dance, gathered community leaders in the parking lot of the Rite-Aid to claim credit for cleaning up the neighborhood, missing the fact that destroying a squat doesn’t provide housing for the squatters, it merely drives them across the street into Garcetti’s district. Perhaps that was his strategy. It would be consistent with the behavior of others.

The LAPD purportedly has professionals that handle homeless issues but according to Sgt. Lawrence, the Watch Commander on duty Saturday night, they are available during traditional office hours.

The LASD also has professionals to handle homeless issues but according to Sgt. Bedogne, the Watch Commander on duty Saturday night, they are also available during traditional office hours.

Somehow the collective oversight of City Council President Garcetti, Councilmember LaBonge, the CRA, the Metro, the LAPD, the LASD, Building & Safety, the City Attorney’s office and anyone else charged with addressing the homeless issue in Hollywood completely missed the fact that when you destroy homeless camps, you don’t reduce homelessness.

The Sheriff’s Department is not without a plan for addressing homelessness. Ride the Metro Rail to either end of the line and you'll see Sheriff's Deputies whose only job is to make the homeless exit the rail cars, stand sleepily on the station for a few minutes with their abundant possessions, teeter and totter and then reenter to resume sleeping on the journey to the other end of the line.

The LAPD has a similar strategy for the vehicles and motorhomes parked on residential streets, occupied by folks who simply move their vehicular campsite from one side of the street to the other to accommodate street cleaning, necessary to address the trail of trash and human waste left behind. The Senior Lead Officers typically use the 72 hour chalk to keep them moving in circles, ignoring LA Muni Code 85.02 which prohibits people from inhabiting parked vehicles on public streets.

In either case, the strategy seems to be based on the belief that if the homeless are annoyed enough, they will simple grow weary of the inconvenience of homelessness, snap out of their stupor, resolve to prosper, buy a home in the Valley, and leave Hollywood behind.

I’ve lived in Hollywood for a dozen years. I believe in Hollywood and I proudly refer to it as “the center of the universe,” a claim I make with utmost sincerity based on its history, its industry significance, its creative community, and its potential.

For three years my wife and I have hosted “Bike to Work” events at the Hollywood & Western Metro Station. We have organized rides that use the Metro Station as the meeting place. Hollywood & Western is where we meet friends, where we shop, it’s often the beginning and end of our journeys and it is, in many ways, the center of the universe. It’s the heart of our neighborhood.

The Hollywood and Western Red Line station is the tip of an iceberg that can’t be neglected or ignored any longer.

It is imperative that the many departments that have responsibility for some aspect of development, public safety, homeless services, law enforcement and simple quality of life issues in Hollywood to come together, put down the jurisdictional drama and to simply work together to make Los Angeles a Great City.

(Stephen Box stands vigil on the City of Angels and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net) ◘

CityWatchLA - Hollywood Gives up on Tourism, Embraces its Truck Stop Future

CityWatch, Sept 11, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 73

Hollywood Boulevard is one of the most famous streets in the world and to many people, it's known as the Walk of Fame. But those days are gone as the leadership of Los Angeles gives up on tourism and embraces trucking as the future of Los Angeles. As a sign of that commitment, Hollywood Boulevard is being reinvented as the Truck Stop to the Stars!

Tourists come from around the world to walk the Boulevard, starting at LA Brea Gateway and passing the Roosevelt Hotel, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theater, Ripley's, Madame Tussauds, the El Capitan, the Egyptian, the Pig 'n Whistle, Musso & Frank's, Boardner's...phew! We haven't even hit Vine Street! Keep going and there's the Pantages Theater, the Music Box Theatre, a great view of the Hollywood sign and an equally good view of the Griffith Observatory. It's as if Hollywood Boulevard is the center of the Entertainment Industry universe.

Along the walk, there are abundant cafes, restaurants, shops and opportunities to enjoy the local flavor which varies dramatically from one block to the next, featuring a community so diverse that over 100 languages are spoken within the densely populated neighborhood that wraps around the Thai Town and Little Armenia area known as East Hollywood.

One would think that such a hot tourist attraction would be guarded and protected by city leadership, celebrated and supported as a valuable heritage that deserves to be nurtured, not just for its economic potential but simply for its cultural legacy and value as an iconic symbol of the entertainment industry that gave birth to to the celebrated community.

Granted, Hollywood has had a bit of a roller-coaster past, going from peaks filled with klieg lights & red carpets to lows lit with red lights and inhabited by squatters. Along the way, Hollywood Boulevard lost its claim to fame as the center of the Entertainment Industry. FilmLA Inc., (formerly the EIDC) the company that handles the bulk of the film permitting process for the LA area, gave up its Hollywood digs in order to move to the old Unocal Building in downtown LA. Production companies, post-production facilities, payroll companies, sound studios, rental companies, and studio support of all flavors left town for more hospitable accommodations in surrounding communities. While Hollywood fiddled, local cities such as Santa Monica, Culver City, Burbank, Santa Clarita, and Glendale courted the Industry and facilitated moves that left Hollywood light on production and heavy on blight.

Things have now reached the point that even if a local crew member were to get called by a local production company to shoot a film locally, that person would likely be paid by a payroll company located in Burbank or Santa Monica, would likely rent everything from trucks to grip & electric from over the hill, would likely drive to the westside for all post-production, and would likely go to Santa Monica to sell the finished product at the American Film Market. "Local" just doesn't really mean "local" anymore!

Of course, Paramount Studios and Eastman Kodak are still in the neighborhood and if the film does well, our local crew member will be able to sit in the grandstands on Hollywood Boulevard to watch the stars arrive at the Kodak Theater to pick up their Academy Awards, so it's fair to say that Hollywood has hung on to some of its glamorous past. Barely!

While Hollywood's shine faded and the CRA came in to address the blighted conditions, speculators started circling, waiting for the right moment to dive in with bags of taxpayer money to develop any of the large number of chain-link protected empty lots that litter the Boulevard all the way to Sunset on the east. For literally years the locals and the developers have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the past, the present and the future of Hollywood Boulevard, debating development, revitalization, funding, traffic, infrastructure, community character, and nightclubs. Adding fuel to the fire were and are charges of cronyism, corruption and simple incompetence.

In the midst of the brouhaha, Hollywood lost its most valuable commodity, its name! Hollywood is the brand known around the world and Universal City, located just outside of Los Angeles on LA County land, simply lifted it and reinvented themselves as Universal Hollywood, leaving the locals on the boulevard to debate the CRA projects that litter the landscape and promise, at best, a better quality strip mall selling more expensive t-shirts.

Apparently, the fix is in, the deed is done and all that remains is for Hollywood to recover, rise from the ashes, reinvent itself, a task that appears to be underway.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took a shot at promoting Hollywood as the Capital of Healthcare, an image that is supported by the fact that of the top three employers in Hollywood, two of them are Hospitals! Kaiser Permanente and Children's Hospital edge out Paramount and Sunset-Gower Studios, 8800 employees to 8000 employees, and based on results, often harsh but always fair, the Healthcare Industry has overtaken the Entertainment Industry as the substance of Hollywood.

All of which could change quickly, especially if LA's leadership continues to support the Trucking Industry with the bold and cavalier carte blanche and red carpet that they have offered thus far.

Hollywood Boulevard is designated as a Major Highway. It ranges in width from 60' at the eastern Laurel Canyon end to 70' at the western Virgil end and it varies in width along the way, getting as wide as 82' at one point. It is referred to as "built-out" by the Transportation Department, meaning that it is lined with historical buildings that prevent the widening or streamlining of the boulevard. It has three Metro Rail stations between Highland and Western, making this one of the most transit rich boulevards in the City of Los Angeles.

And yet, requests for bike lanes and sidewalk widenings are quickly squelched as simply impractical. The current City of LA Bike Plan maps confirm this by simply ignoring Hollywood Boulevard on the surveys and by using the visionary term "Infeasible" when referring to bikeways improvements for the boulevard. After all, "It's simply too 'built-out' and there is no more room!" This has become a popular refrain from the Department of "No!"

This position is repeated at community meetings throughout the area while complaints of 18 wheelers parked on Hollywood Boulevard, often for days on end, fall on deaf ears.

Calls to Councilmembers Eric Garcetti and Tom LaBonge yield instructions from local deputies on how to dial 311, an exercise in futility that leaves the caller frustrated and the 311 operator confused. The LAPD defer to the LADOT, the LADOT has been aware of the problem for two years and Chief Jimmy Price himself has claimed that the department is all over it and yet...the Hollywood Boulevard is still an 18 Wheeler Parking lot.

The simple secret is this; the parking ticket is cheaper than the off-street parking fee plus the shuttle back home. Locals park 18 Wheelers on Hollywood Boulevard because they can. They can because Garcetti and LaBonge let them. Parking Enforcement Supervisors acknowledge that there is no political will to enforce of parking restrictions for the operators of 18 Wheelers who leave their vehicles on the Boulevard, even when parked under a Tow Away sign.

As for the parking enforcement officers, there's simply no motivation to spend an entire shift working on the impound of an 18 Wheeler when during the same time, the same officer can write a full book of tickets. One Supervisor explained "These drivers need to sleep! It's better to let them park on the boulevard than to drive tired."

Good logic but not when it impedes traffic, forcing those in the #2 lane on a congested and "built-out" street to merge into the #1 lane to avoid sideswiping the 18 Wheeler.

Unless, of course, Garcetti and LaBonge are now reinventing Hollywood as the Trucking Capital and if that's the case, then it all makes sense. With the Healthcare Industry in flux, Garcetti and LaBonge are apparently betting on the future of Hollywood as a Truck Stop. It's the kind of genius plan we've come to expect, although the thought of Garcetti and LaBonge working in sync is a stretch. Regardless, public safety concerns be damned, Walk of Fame be gone, it's time for Hollywood to welcome its destiny, don the Trucker Cap, and embrace the future.

Hollywood is now your "Last Stop for Gas!"



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

CityWatchLA - Greuel Scolds Transpo for Dismissing the Public

CityWatch, June 19, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 49

Transportation Committee Chair Wendy Greuel chastised representatives from both the Transportation and the Planning Departments, saying "We've got a room full of people, all claiming to have been left out of the Bicycle Plan Update process. You can't call that the result of effective outreach!"

This took place at a "Special" meeting of the Transportation Committee scheduled for 8 am on what turned out to be Laker Celebration Day. A glance at the agenda indicates that it must have been Greuel's intention to wrap up all of the cycling issues in one big meeting, as she approaches the conclusion of her reign as the Transportation Committee Chair and prepares to take over the City Controller helm. Unfortunately, Councilmen Parks, Alarcon and LaBonge were no shows and it was left to Chair Greuel and Councilman Bill Rosendahl to navigate a busy bike agenda that included the Bike Plan, Bikeways funding, Bike Parking, Abandoned Bikes, the efficacy of the Bikeways Department and the LAPD's relationship with the cycling community.

When it came time for the LAPD to report on their training for LAPD officers on cycling rules and regulations and to report on recent incidents between the LAPD and cyclists, Greuel called for the LAPD to step up and ... they weren't there. Somehow it was the LADOT who knew the LAPD weren't going to attend the meeting, not the Councilmembers, an interesting revelation in the realities of our City Government.

Greuel at first moved the item to another date but the room erupted in protests from people who wanted to be heard. She took public comment on the item and heard from a long list of people who called on the LAPD to support cycling as a transportation choice and who called for better education of the LAPD on the specifics of the California Vehicle Code that cause so much confusion on the streets.

Attending the standing room only meeting were cyclists from all over the city representing a wide range of cycling interests and expressions but united in their desire to see the City of LA support cycling as a transportation solution. They were joined by representatives from homeowners associations and neighborhood councils, as well as cycling organizations and a variety of advocacy groups.

We’re all here noted one participant because "we just want to be involved in making our streets better places to ride and our communities better places to live."

When speakers complained of the consultant-driven process that has kept the public from participating, Rosendahl sat up and called for the consultants to step forward. Nobody moved. Not the consultants in Portland, not the consultants in Berkeley, not the consultants in Colorado, and not the consultants in San Francisco. They just couldn't hear the call.

Rosendahl found this to be disturbing and he began digging into the money. "How much have we paid these consultants?" he asked the Transportation and Planning representatives. When he heard that the City of LA has already paid out 80% on a plan that all at the table profess they have not yet received, he was not happy. He called for the consultants to show up next week at the regularly scheduled Transportation Committee meeting to account for the money, the contract and the Bike Plan.

The Department of Transportation was well represented at the meeting, in spite of their claim that this is a Planning Department process. Rita Robinson, General Manager of the LADOT was flanked by Haripal Vir, Michael Uyeno, and Carolyn Jackson, all of whom were there backing up a Bikeways staff that claimed not to have the Bike Plan. As for the Planning Department, GM Gail Goldberg, who said last month "The Bike Plan will be out in two weeks!" was nowhere in sight and in her stead were two Planning reps with a feeble PowerPoint presentation that should have been entitled "Smoke and Mirrors."

In a meeting that stretched for three hours in spite of the 60 second limit on public comment, cyclists took opportunity after opportunity to share their experiences riding the streets of Los Angeles and stressing the need to address the significant safety issues that cyclists confront every time they roll onto the streets, it was a comment overheard after the meeting was adjourned that was the most revealing.

"Well, I guess we survived that one!" said one LADOT staff member to another … demonstrating clearly that from their perspective … it's meetings such as this with calls for accountability that pose the most significant threat, not the streets of LA. (Stephen Box is a transportation and cyclist advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net) ◘

CityWatchLA - The Valley on Speed

CityWatch, Apr 10, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 28

Our City's leadership, elbow firmly on the pulse of the community, is considering LADOT/LAPD proposals to increase speed limits on several Valley streets.

As neighborhoods throughout LA recoil in shock at the recent wave of pedestrian deaths, our City Council Transportation Committee continues to ignore the simple fact that speed kills.

On Wednesday afternoon, Committee Chair Wendy Greuel and Councilmembers LaBonge, Rosendahl, Parks and Alarcon, will decide if the speed limits on Victory Blvd., DeSoto Ave., Balboa Blvd., and Zelzah Ave., should be increased. Zelzah Ave. was recently in the news as the location where Victoria Santos, 60, stepped into the crosswalk with a green light, only to be struck and killed by a motorist in a pickup truck.

Lassen's speed limit was increased by City Council action last year along with streets throughout the Valley.

Zelzah's speed limit was almost increased last year but an uproar from the community resulted in the proposal getting pulled at the last minute.

The speed limit proposals seem to come in small batches of up to six streets, usually spread out so that only one or two increases occur within any Neighborhood Council area. In spite of this low impact approach to increasing the speed limits throughout the Valley, NC's have gone to great lengths to oppose the increases. Woodland Hills-Warner Center NC has appealed to the LAPD, the LADOT, the Transportation Commission and the Transportation Committee, all in an effort to prevent the speed limits in their community from being raised.

The City Council put their relationship with the Neighborhood Councils in perspective when it ignored the wishes of the people and raised the speed limit on Mulholland.

As for the upcoming increases, the LADOT and the LAPD argue that their hands are tied, that State law treats all cities alike, from Mayberry to Los Angeles, and that if we are to certify our streets for radar and lasar speed limit enforcement, we must raise the limits.

Los Angeles is the largest city in the most populated state in the most powerful country in the world. For our leadership to claim helplessness is to argue for mediocrity.

People are dying in our crosswalks. Our streets aren't safe for our most vulnerable of loved ones. Now is the time for our leadership to work with the Neighborbood Councils to make our city safer, not faster!

Councilman Zine has introduced a resolution calling for a revision to the law governing the establishment of speed limits. It won't go anywhere until the City Council joins him in making this resolution a priority.

CityWatchLA - Students Win 4-Way Stop for Hollywood School

CityWatch, Pub: Mar 10, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 20

Pulling a play from Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals," the students in the Hollywood Schoolhouse's Leadership Class successfully used the threat of a student march down Fountain Avenue to Councilman LaBonge's office, at first getting his attention, then getting his support and finally getting a promise of a four-way stop sign at the intersection of Fountain and McCadden. Not only that, it came with the assurance from LADOT Assistant John Fisher that it would be installed within two weeks.

The best part is, the march never took place. At first rescheduled and then finally cancelled, the students instead held a Thursday afternoon rally on their playground and hosted parents and LaBonge. It's a good thing the kids never marched because the sidewalk from the school to the Hollywood Constituency Center is narrow, uneven and broken. Add the uncrossable streets and the intense traffic and the route was hardly suitable for a protest march.

Of course, that's the point. Fountain Avenue is hardly an appropriate route for pedestrians. Yet that's the route the kids take every day when they walk from the school to their educational garden several blocks away. All on 3rd world sidewalks, past the neighborhood liquor store and alongside the traffic that weekly sends a car careening onto the sidewalk, into a fence or across somebody's front yard.

Debbie Wehbe, President of the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council, reports "the area is simply not safe for pedestrians, not just because the intersection is dangerous to cross but because the cars speed around each other, causing collisions that occur on a regular basis." Wehbe pointed out the scarred fence, the skid marks and the narrow sidewalks that bear witness to the vulnerability of the pedestrians who dare to walk alongside the heavy traffic. "The last accident had a motorist racing at 45 mph from one stop sign to the next stop. It's madness!"

Brent Becker, a parent who has been involved with the school for 9 years reports that there was some opposition to the 4 way stop signs but countered "It won't slow down traffic, it's already at capacity. It will simply make it safer for our kids to cross the street."

The Hollywood Schoolhouse has been in the neighborhood since 1945. It has grown, just like the neighborhood and it sits in one of the most densely populated areas of Los Angeles and it suffers from some of the most intense cut-through traffic in the city.

Stephen Bloodworth, Head of School, was proud of his students explaining "Our school has a long history of civic engagement and in the tradition of its founders, we offered the students in the Middle School Leadership Elective class the opportunity to select a project. They organized themselves around the public safety initiative and selected the intersection of Fountain and McCadden for the focus. They wrote the speeches you heard today, they made the signs you saw today and they wrote the letters that drew the attention of our Councilman, all of which culminated in this victory for everybody."

Bloodworth was beaming as he surveyed the his students and declared "This is a great civics lesson that furthers our mission and makes it safer for our kids to go to school."

As for the intersection improvements at Fountain and McCadden, LaBonge was careful to point out that the stop signs would not be supported by crosswalks, explaining "Our studies show that there are more injuries to pedestrians when there is a crosswalk than when there is no crosswalk. You see, crosswalks give pedestrians a false sense of security." (Stephen Box is a transportation activist and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net)

CityWatchLA - Griffith Park Festival of Rights

CityWatch, Nov 28, 2008
Vo. 6 Issue 96

The City
By Stephen Box

The Griffith Park Festival of Lights opened with a whimper this past Monday night as Councilmember Tom LaBonge joined the DWP in hosting the Festival's token "Bike-Night."

This year the displays were brighter, the attendance was lighter, and LaBonge's stubborn resolve to limit cyclists to this one night of pre-holiday festivities was as strong as ever.

LaBonge reaffirmed his claim that it's simply not safe for cyclists to ride on the street at night with so many automobiles, forgetting that Crystal Springs is striped with a bike lane. Well, it was. Actually, the bike lane disappears during the Festival of Lights in order to create another lane for motor vehicles.

All this from the self-proclaimed Patron Saint of Cyclists!

This is the 13th year for the Griffith Park Festival of Lights. It was originally conceived by Councilmember John Ferraro as LA's "gift to the people." Ferraro was inspired by a Festival of Lights he witnessed in San Antonio and he returned to Los Angeles vowing to create a display worthy of LA. This he accomplished, in ways he may not have imagined.

In all fairness to the DWP, this year's festival shows great improvement with two weeks (November 25 - Dec 7) set aside for a vehicle-free festival featuring special accommodations for equestrians (Tues, Wed, Thurs) and even a protected lane for the peds who bring their dogs. In other words, even those who arrive by dog-sled can enjoy the Festival of Lights, all while cyclists are banned.

The progressive changes in the operation of the Festival are largely the result of strong lobbying from the Parks, Rec and Open Space Committee (PROS) led by Bernadette Soter and a coalition of supporting organizations which includes the Los Feliz Improvement Association, the Oaks Homeowners Association, the Sierra Club, the Greater Griffith Park, the Hollywood United and the Atwater Village Neighborhood Councils, the Bike Writers Collective and a full complement of community groups that totals approximately 30.

The Coalition has long been advocating for improvements to the auto-centric, environmental nightmare that the Festival of Lights wreaks on the local community. Fully a half-million people arrive each year to enjoy "LA's gift to the people" resulting in traffic congestion so significant that the adjacent freeway is brought to a halt. Festival attendees sit in traffic congestion so thick that the notion that cyclists would be endangered is laughable. (Coughable?) Signs announcing 90 minute to 2 hour delays in traffic bear witness to the significant negative impact that the large number of idling vehicles represent, all as they wait for access to the one-mile long Festival of Lights.

Meanwhile, cyclists are banned in order to allow for more motor vehicles. (Or was it for the safety of the cyclists?)

In either case, the "Yea for Motorists! Nay for Cyclists!" Griffith Park Light Festival is well under way, with only one week left to join the DWP in its effort to help the City of LA become "America's Greenest City!" and to enjoy the vehicle (and bicycle) free Festival. After that it's business (bike-free) as usual.

As for the cyclists of Los Angeles, December 8th, which is the opening night for the motor vehicle crowd, is also the night for the Griffith Park "Festival of Rights," a ritual ride of protest where cyclists adorn themselves in the appropriate holiday decorations and ride through the gridlock, sharing holiday goodwill and cheer with the motorists who find themselves trapped in the awe-inspiring gridlock that is most certainly worthy of a city such as LA. This was certainly not what Ferraro had in mind. (Stephen Box is a transportation and cyclist activist and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@ThirdEyeCreative.net )

INFO: For the “Festival of Rights” ride, cyclists meet at the Mulholland Fountain at the SW corner of Los Feliz Boulevard and Crystal Springs/Riverside Drive at 6:30 p.m. December 8 and ride @ 7:00 pm. (3700 Los Feliz Blvd. LA, CA 90027)

CityWatchLA - LaBonge: Lights Out on Cyclists in Griffith Park

CityWatch, Sept 5, 2008
Vol 6 Issue 72

But, It’s the Law?
By Stephen Box

Councilman Tom LaBonge declared the Griffith Park Holiday Festival of Lights "unsafe for cyclists" on Wednesday and reaffirmed the ban on cyclists saying "the cars would be moving slowly, the cyclists would be riding fast and the motorists would be distracted. It's just not safe!" With the Holidays fast approaching, LaBonge convened a long overdue meeting, inviting reps from the DWP and the Department of Recreation & Parks to sit down with Equestrians and Cyclists to iron out details for the upcoming Festival of Lights.

LaBonge cut right to the chase and asked the Equestrians what they wanted and they responded with a reasonable enough request. They want to ride horses through the Festival of Lights, "after dark!"

There was a bit of discussion on the logistics of automobiles and pedestrians and horses all in the same area and finally it was agreed that the Equestrians would ride along the river, come up by the Ranger Station and then ride through the Festival, but only from 5pm to 7pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This compromise seemed to satisfy all parties.

Then LaBonge turned his eyes on the Cyclists and asked what they wanted and they also responded with a reasonable enough request. "Abide by State Law. When the streets are open to motorists, ensure that they are also open to cyclists." There was more than a bit of discussion and none of it moved toward a compromise.

Joe Salaices of Rec & Parks explained that the streets had been reconfigured to accommodate the motor vehicle traffic, leaving no room for cyclists. He went on to explain that cyclists are known to ride "25 miles per hour between the cars" and that the difference in speeds between the cars and the bikes is just too dangerous!

Kimberley Hughes of the DWP pointed out that there will be a Bike Night on November 28th so that "the kids can ride their Big Wheels, parents can teach their children to ride their bikes and families can enjoy the Festival together."

The Cyclists rejected the "Bike Night" offer, prompting Rory Fitzpatrick, LaBonge's Chief of Operations, to call it a stalemate. LaBonge again asked for a compromise but the cyclists simply responded by explaining that they have no authority to negotiate State Law.

LaBonge pulled out a memo from the City Attorney's office, unsigned and on plain paper with no letterhead, and claimed that it authorized him to ban cyclists from the Festival of Lights. He passed out copies of the memo and repeated his claim that "the streets of Griffith Park aren't City streets!

The meeting concluded with the following arrangements being made for the different user groups.

Pedestrians will have 14 nights of vehicle-free Festival ending on December 7th.

Motorists will have access to the Festival beginning on December 8th and running until December 30th.

Equestrians will have access to the Festival on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 5 – 7pm, also beginning on December 8th.

Best of all, this year, special provisions are being made for man’s best friend. The bridle trail will be set aside for the exclusive use of dogs (and their humans) on the 14 Pedestrian nights.

Ultimately, there are many ways to enjoy the upcoming 2008 Griffith Park Festival of Lights. Guests can come by automobile, they can walk, they can ride a horse, they can even come by dog sled. They simply can’t ride a bike through the Festival.

Somehow this makes sense to Councilman LaBonge, the self-proclaimed best friend of LA’s cycling community. LaBonge, on his website, proudly proclaims “We could solve so many of the challenges facing Los Angeles right now if more of us rode bikes. We could take a big chunk out of air pollution, traffic and our waistlines, too.”

He then turns around and asks the City Attorney for support in banning cyclists from the streets of Griffith Park, a request that is met with the simple caveat “it is by no means certain that a court would agree.”

The author of the “Bicycle Ban” memo suggests arguing “the closing is necessary for the safety and protection of persons who are to use that portion of the street during the temporary closing.” In other words, cyclists are banned in order to provide for the safety and protection of the permitted motorists.

Another proposed argument is the idea that the law allowing for the prohibition of certain vehicles (heavy trucks that might damage streets) get flipped and used to prohibit bicycles, again for safety purposes.

The final claim is that the Festival of Lights is a group activity, “specifically designed to attract and permit vehicles to pass through and view the lights” and that cyclists aren’t part of that group.
It’s hard to believe that LaBonge can read this memo and hold it up as a credible support for the ban on cyclists.

Ultimately, the Festival of Lights is an autocentric environmental nightmare that fills the park with idling automobiles, clogs the adjacent neighborhoods, chokes the air with exhaust fumes and causes congestion that is significant enough to shut down the freeway!

The Festival of Lights is also the City of LA’s gift to the people of LA, and to the horses of LA, and to the dogs of LA, just not to the cyclists of LA!

Cough, Cough! Here’s wishing LA Green Holidays!

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