For the full image, visit The Source.  If the page doesn't load, it's their server, not my link, that's the problem.

First announced at The Source, then covered at Blogdowntown, Metro staff unveiled a draft of what the Downtown Connector would look like if it were entirely below-grade.  Previous drafts, including a plan referred to as "the Underground Emphasis Option" had the train spending a lot of time at-grade in Little Tokyo.  Even the most underground option had The Connector coming above ground near First and Alameda before connecting to an at-grade station.  Blogdowntown explains the new alternative:

The new alternative would instead place a station underneath the Office Depot site, with trains continuing under the intersection as tracks split to emerge via portals along Alameda and in the middle of 1st.

The Alameda portal would be located north of Temple street, while the 1st street tracks would rise just east of Alameda, leveling off just past Hewitt. Some temporary track on 1st would allow the newly-opened Gold Line Eastside Extension to continue operating throughout construction.

Of course, there are still significant barriers before such a design becomes a part of the final plan.  Most importantly, it needs to be included in Metro's environmental review, a step the agency has yet to announce.  Second, the new plan would cost a cool $200 million more than the most expensive of the currently studied options.  Not surprisingly, even the expanded price tag didn't bother the Little Tokyo community that saw the design last night and voted unanimously to encourage further study.

Meanwhile, in Santa Monica, the City Council voted to endorse a location for the maintenance yard that will house Expo's light rail cars when they're not active on the line.  The surrounding community had argued that a residential neighborhood was a poor location for the yard, but as Curbed reports, via the Argonaut, there were some compromises.

Concessions have been made: A city official tells the paper that the "new planned location had been redesigned to eliminate 'wheel squeal' from the train and a car wash and cleaning platform would be relocated north of the Verizon property. A 110-foot sound barrier is also proposed to reduce noise from the train and the light rail yard."

Again, two issues remain before the light rail yard is a done-deal.  First, it's Metro, not the City of Santa Monica that decides where the yard goes.  Second, the station's new neighbors aren't done fighting.  Now they're concerned with a higher-than-originally reported level of methane gas in the area.

Nevertheless, tonight at the 7th and Figueroa Art Center, the same place that hosted James Rojas' Interactive Car-Free Model last year, the HABEAS LOUNGE exhibit will sponsor a series of discussion about the future of bicycles and public transportation in Los Angeles. Their speakers and presenters are an impressive list of names that Streetsbloggers will recognize, such as Josef Bray-Ali of the Flying Pigeon Bike Shop and Esperanza "Super Pasajera" Martinez of the Bus Riders Union, to some names we should discuss more here and don't such as Ilaria Mazzoleni of Sci-arc and the cast of charachters that lead CicLAvia.

The gallery will be open all evening as part of the Downtown Art Walk, but the presentations don't start until 5:45. Bonus points to the organizers for including transit directions and bike valet, but no driving directions in the announcement. Full details can be found after the jump.

Art Walk night @ HABEAS LOUNGE will be all about bicycles and public transportation. Pricey parking lots, scarce street parking, the threat of being towed...bicycle, metro and bus are THE alternative ways to get around DTLA and we want to hear what you think! This is the last in an 8 week series of events, "HABEAS LOUNGE: A PLURALISTIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES".

Advocates will be on hand to share their experiences and visions for transportation in LA, as well as challenges, from proposed master bike plans to everyday commuting. Participants include Guy Bagley (bicycle messenger/DTLA), Nathan Baird (MTA), Josef Bray-Ali (Flying Pigeon), Clifford Johnson (Asymptotia), Alex Kenefick (LA County Bicycle Coalition), Esperanza Martinez (Bus Riders Union), Ilaria Mazzoleni (SCI-ARC), Michelle Mowry (LA DOT), cooks from the Bicycle Kitchen, CicLAvia project members (Bobby Gadda, Sandra Hamlat,Adonia Lugo, Aaron Paley Stephen Villavaso), and YOU!

Take the Metro Red Line from the Pershing Square station to 7th + Metro or ride up 7th Street from the Art Walk to dialogue, discuss, debate, or learn ways to connect to the carless city.

A bicycle valet service will be provided by the LA County Bicycle Coalition. Show your support for 7+FIG's decision to allow the bike valet by riding your bike so you can use the valet.

During the event, check out the HABEAS LOUNGE, designed by Ilaria Mazzoleni: a cardboard sofa built from bike boxes by architect Nina Marie Barbuto, projections of classic/contemporary DTLA films selected by Linda Pollack and Maryam Hosseinzadeh, maps and bottled specimens from workshops by Katie Bachler, urban placemaking by James Jones, film footage of LA shot from a helicopter and a Pontiac G6 by Italian artists/architects ERGOT, an oversized Metro map, and more..

Emily (on the right) with Eco-Village Founder Lois Arkin

The Studio has produced three visionary documents, the Walkability Checklist, the Downtown Design Guide, and the draft Urban Design Principles for 21st Century Los Angeles, (an earlier version can be found here. 

I recently had a chance to sit down with the Studio's director, Emily Gabel-Luddy about the Downtown Design Guide which, when implemented, will change the character of Downtown Los Angeles.  The plan widens sidewalks from 12-15 feet, caps road widenings and doubles the bicycle amenities in the Downtown.

There are plenty of highlights in this interview, which is available in its entirety via mpg files below, but my favorite fact is this.  Before this plan, there were only two street design standards that existed for every street in Downtown Los Angeles.  The new plan maps out a new design for every street  in the Downtown that will, when its realized, create a downtown that more closely resemble the great streets that we see in Europe than the ones we see in the Downtown today.

The Downtown Design Guide and the new Street Standards are available on-line through Planning and the City Engineer's websites.   Click here and query the address "426 S. Spring St." for a sample. Put your cursor over the centerline. The link will lead you to the Design Guide and new Standards.

Also, we're trying something new here in Los Angeles.  Instead of having you read through a wall of text for our interviews, I downloaded mp3's of the interview, broken into three parts, below.

In the first part of our interview, we discussed the new street standards, what that means for the Downtown, and how they are different than what we see on the ground right now.

Then we talked about the transportation mode split for the Downtown.  While it's more diverse than I thought, we still have a ways to go.

In the third piece, we talk about the process of creating these sorts of standards.  If nothing else, listen for the story about her favorite moment of the process.  We are starting to get through!

Last, we discuss how to take the new plans for the Downtown and spread them through the rest of the city.  It sounds like the city has exciting plans for Chatsworth Boulevard.

(Longtime readers will remember that Streetsblog has covered many of James Rojas' efforts to explain planning and get people to use their imagination when thinking about the future of transportation.  In the past, we've covered a fraction of Rojas' interactive planning  workshops "Pushing Planning Boundaries in Santa Monica," "A Future without Cars,"and "the Interactive Downtown Workshop."  Below is Rojas' coverage of the opening of the Re-Imagining Chinatown Exhibit opening from this last weekend and above is a video made of the opening.  The entire exhibit will be on display until September 5 at the Fifth Floor Gallery.)

Saturday night was a flurry of urban interventions in Chinatown as local residents, artist, curators, urban planners, children, and the general public participated in the Re-Imagining Chinatown art opening/community visioning meeting. The Fifth Floor become an impromptu urban planning "store" with shelves lining the wall that hosted an array of small, colorful buildings made from recycled objects.

Visitors took these buildings off the shelves and placed them on an interactive map/model of Chinatown, the Cornfields, Elysian Park, and parts of the LA River, located in the middle of the gallery. From a disco city on the LA River to a large bridge that connected Cornfields to North Broadway the ideas were everything from whimsical to serious; this process forced participants to think creatively and playfully. Children as well as adults shared there urban interventions for the area.

The map/model helped participants express and share their ideas and visions for this area. The model constantly changed through out the night as the work builds upon the contributions of others.

Photo of a BID Bike crushed in a crosswalk sent after this story was first published by Stephen Box.

Last Sunday while biking through the Downtown I noticed the LA Business Improvement District's "Purple Patrol," those cyclists with the purple shirts and black pants charged with keeping the Downtown safe and clean, rode as close to the curb as possible, even if it meant weaving back and forth where cars were parked, crossing intersections in the crosswalk before weaving back into traffic and even positioning themselves in right-hand turn lanes at signaled intersections before crossing when the light turned green.  I observed this same behavior from three different members of the Purple Patrol during my slow ride through the Downtown.

None of this behavior is illegal, save for the one incident of a Purple Patrolman crossing the street in the right hand turn-lane, but the constant weaving stands in stark contrast to what I've learned in safe bicycle courses which is to "take the lane" and "hold the line."  The constant weaving is much more likely to create confusion with drivers, and if it hasn't happened yet, I worry that a crash is inevitable if this is common practice for the Purple Patrol.

But the most egregious example of bad behavior came from a driving instructor.  After a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" announced loudly on the back cut me off by making a left-hand turn well after the arrow had turned red, I caught up with the instructor at the next light and asked him why he thought that was an appropriate thing to teach a new driver.  After calling me an expletive, the instructor told me to "look it up" and that making a turn after the arrow turned red was perfectly legal.

The state of driver safety education in Los Angeles worries me if driving teachers are encouraging their students to run red lights.  While the Downtown LAPD has a pretty poor record enforcing traffic laws on everyone except pedestrians, it's chilling to get told off by a safety instructor for questioning the running of a red light.

For a decade Los Angeles has tried to build-up it's urban core in an effort to densify and change the character of the city from its sprawling reputation to a more traditionally urban one.  However, instead of modeling its growth after that of New York, a pattern formerly referred to as the "Manhattanization of Downtown" by Mayor Villaraigosa, perhaps Los Angeles should be following the example set by Paris instead of our older brother on the east coast. 

That theory is put forth from Jarrett Walker, a public transit consultant who runs the blog Human Transit.  Walker explains why he feels that Paris is more like Los Angeles than it is like New York:

This observation has one interesting and controversial corollary for Los Angeles.  At least from a transit perspective, the last decades' effort to build up downtown Los Angeles as THE pre-eminent center of the region may not be the path to a more sustainable city.  If you want a really balanced and efficient public transit system, nothing is better than multiple high-rise centers all around the edge, with lower-rise density in the middle, because that pattern yields an intense but entirely two-way pattern of demand.  If balanced and efficient transit were the main goal in Los Angeles planning, you'd focus your high-rise growth energies on multiple centers such as Westwood, Warner Center, Burbank, Glendale and perhaps new centers in the east and south, while continuing to add density in the middle as opportunities arise.

I "spoke" with Walker over email yesterday and he expressed interest in hearing our take on how we think L.A. should be growing.  So what do you think?  Should we be scrapping "Manhattanization" for "Parisization?"  Feel free to leave comments here or at the Human Transit story.

A street car on Tornoto's King Street. Photo: Kevinseanw/Flickr

For many Downtowners, 2014 just can't get here fast enough.

That's the projected opening date for a Downtown streetcar planned to link South Park, Bunker Hill and the Historic Core. L.A. Streetcar Inc. (LASI) today launched a new website full of information about the project and its current status.

Most importantly, the site includes maps for three conceptual alignments currently under consideration.

The non-profit LASI was set up in 2008 to spearhead the streetcar project, following a model established in other cities like Portland. In January, the board named Dennis Allen its Executive Director and he's been hard at work on streetcar issues ever since.

What follows is an interview with Allen that touches on the choices behind the roots and other issues.  If you're not familar with Blogdowntown and have some thoughts on the streetcar, please feel free to leave comments there as well as here.  The folks at L.A.S.I. are familar with Blogdowntown and will be mining the site for feedback.

It may not have drawn the crowds that were expected, but for the second time in three weeks the City of Los Angeles shut down part of its Downtown street grid for an outdoor party and the world didn't end.  If the city is willing to spend $4 million for police presence and to shut down streets for a rock star's memorial; imagine what they should be willing to spend on a weekend car-free party for everyone in the city, not just those people who happen to like Michael Jackson or the Los Angeles Lakers, similar to those we see in San Francisco, New York or, of course, Columbia.

Plenty of bloggers have some coverage of the event itself, so while we wait for Los Angeles to get serious about a Ciclovia-style event that will be the envy of the world; we'll have to make do with pictures of the streets on LAist, Curbed and Blogdowntown.

The LAPD testified that this hummer had full license plates at today's hearing. Where they intentionally lieing, or hadn't the officer looked at the pictures that had been submitted? Photo: Luis

On April 24, a gentleman and his family were driving around Downtown Los Angeles in a hummer when a crazed cyclist rammed the back of the vehicle.  Confused and angry, the downed cyclists' friends surrounded the hummer and threatened the driver.  With only a hummer to protect him and the people he cared for, the driver continued forward, inadvertently striking some of the bikes.  One of the rabid cyclists threw their bike at the vehicle, damaging the mirror.  After he was safely away from the cyclists, the driver pulled over and waited for the police to arrive.

That is the story LAPD Commander Mike Williams presented earlier today of the now-infamous April "bike v. hummer" crash in Downtown Los Angeles.  The LAPD further testified that the only part of the case being pursued by City Attorneys was whether there should be misdemeanor charges filed against the cyclist who "threw their bike at the hummer."

A stunned cycling community, who's seen the damage to the side, not front, of Andres Tena's bike and a series of photos that contradict Williams' version of events; aggressively questioned the reality of the LAPD's report, prepared by Officer Cho who was not present.  Also not present was Kirk Albanese, the officer who defended the report in front of the full Council in May.

First off, the cyclists on the scene responded that they weren't harassing the hummer, but were trying to keep it from fleeing the scene because he didn't have plates.  The LAPD cockily responded with the plate number, but photos of the hummer at the time of the crash clearly show that it was an unmarked vehicle.  Those pictures will be available here tomorrow. (edit: That picture is now at the top of the post.)

Second, the hummer wasn't "waiting for the police to arrive" it was fleeing the scene with a bicycle underneath the grille when a squad car pulled it over blocks from the crash.  Williams responded that the report did not mention the bicycle underneath the hummer. 

The LAPD claims to have never seen this picture, nor others I have witnessed presented at the Police Commission and to the Inspector General.

Third, the LAPD never responded to my query about what the condition of Tena's bicycle was and what that says about the laws of physics and the crash.  What did the secret "publicly available report" say about the bicycle?  Was it damaged in the front from where it collided with the hummer?  Crickets.

The most moving testimony was again given by Tena, sitting to my right on the witness stand.  Proving that you don't have to be an experienced public speaker to move an audience, Tena recounted the story of the crash that left him hospitalized.  To recap, he never saw the hummer until it was passing him and he was falling.  He was sideswiped from behind, couldn't stand after the crash and suffered a badly sprained ankle and back pains.  He did not run into a hummer from behind, he was just a hungry sober kid, biking home from a party, who was hit by a hummer.  Gone was the smile and good humor that he showed when we last chatted back in May, and he testified that he has good and bad days and is sometimes scared to get on his bike...his primary form of transportation.  Don't get me wrong, he was back to his smiling self after the hearing, but it takes a toll to hear the police spread misinformation about one of the worst days of your life and forming a defensive wall around your attacker.

Wendy Greuel, Bill Rosendahl and Bernard Parks were the only Councilmen present.  "Bike Friendly" Councilman Tom LaBonge left before the bicycle portion of the hearing and Richard Alarcon was a no-show for the second week in a row.  Greuel and Parks seemed annoyed and confused by the LAPD's bizzarro world report, but Rosendahl seemed angry.

Rosendahl asked that the LAPD return to once again try and actually bring a copy of the "accident" report as well as the report being prepared by the Inspector General.  "I don't want to do this again," the Westside Councilman said, referring to holding a hearing on a report that hasn't yet been provided to the Council.

What kind of a justice system do we have if a hummer can sideswipe or rear-end a cyclist and get the city to seek damages on his behalf?  What hope do us common-folk have getting a fair hearing from the LAPD when they won't even provide their report, a public document, to the City Council when it's been a month and a half since it was first requested and today was the third hearing on the issue?

Ironically, the clash over the "bike v. hummer" crash followed a report from Williams where he admitted that the LAPD needs to do more internal education on what obligations that bicyclists have on the road and for what they can and cannot be ticketed.  The LAPD is working on a re-education program as part of an officer's continual training that would clarify the rules of the road for cyclists and pedestrians.  While this is a good step, Williams was unable to make the mental leap that maybe, Officer Cho who prepared the "bike v. hummer" report could use a refresher himself.

However, just because the LAPD realized there may be a gap in their training and working to address it; not everyone was happy with the news.  Aurisha Smolarski, of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, wanted a chance for the cycling community to look at the training documents before the training starts.  Stephen Box noted that the police seem more concerned with finding out how they can most effectively ticket cyclists, not how to protect and defend their rights on the streets.

There were a lot more issues, both about bikes and not, covered at today's meeting. Look for the rest of the stories tomorrow.

For anyone that's so interested in the Livable Streets Movement that they missed the results of the NBA Finals, the Lakers beat the Magic on Sunday and yesterday the city celebrated with a mostly privately funded victory parade and rally.  The Times estimated that a quarter of a million people attended the party, but what was far more exciting to me was the precedent such parades have for the city.  You see, yesterday proved that you can open streets to people by shutting them down to cars and the world doesn't end.

In other parts of the country, it doesn't take a victory parade for governments to open streets to people.  After Bogota showed the world how it's done with their weekly Ciclovia's, city's such as New York and San Francisco put their best feet forward with car-free parties on Sundays.  Caltrans officials still gripe about car traffic "problems" created by Arroyofest six years ago, when parts of the I-10 were opened to pedestrians and cyclists, but yesterday Figueroa street and the feeder streets feeding into it was shut down for two miles in the middle of the work day and there were no reports of road rage, no reports of violence.  Heck, shutting down streets to car traffic was more orderly and safe than trying to leave a Dodgers game any day of the week.

So here you go, L.A.  We proved we can "survive" some temporary car-free corridors and even have a pretty good time while doing it.  Given that other cities hold their car-free parties on Sundays, our CicLAvia would be even more painless than yesterday.

In addition to discussing Measure R, tomorrow's L.A. City Council Transportation Committee also features a couple of motions that spell out the top priorities for the city's transportation planning in the 2010 Fiscal Year.

The three motions would move just over sixteen and a half million dollars from the city's general transportation funds to advance the Green Line Extension direct to LAX, the downtown Streetcar project for Broadway and pedestrian safety improvements for the Foshay Learning Center after the Expo Line is completed.

None of the new funds will result in project construction in the next fiscal year, but they could help insure that all of these projects move forward and could be part of changing the transit culture in Los Angeles.  In the case of the Green Line Extension and the streetcar, the funds will be used for needed environmental and planning documents.  For the pedestrian improvements around the Foshay Learning Center, the funds will pay for land acquisition needed to build a pedestrian bridge required by court orders. build a pedestrian tunnel and for other pedestrian improvements.

While it's not a surprise that these projects are moving forward, after all they've been talked to death at City Council hearings; it's always good news to see the city moving forward on transit funds.  If there's any major changes to these motions, we'll be sure to let you know.

Back in January, the LA Downtown News reported on exciting new design standards for new development in the Downtown which will lead to wider sidewalks, landscaped parkways and medians, and bring additional streetlights, trees and street parking to Downtown.  The standards, approved last week by the City Council, will require that as new development comes to the Downtown, that developers will be required to come up with pedestrian plans for the development.

Another part of the plan requires that 75% of the parts of buildings at street level be zoned retail, office or other active uses. The standards also dictate that buildings' primary entrances open onto the sidewalk or a sidewalk-accessible public space.  This part of the new rules may be more important than the sidewalk requirement.  Let's face it, there are plenty of areas in Los Angeles that have wide, attractive sidewalks, but as I discovered when I went for an unplanned, unmapped walk in the Downtown in 2007 wide sidewalks along dead streets with no pedestrian attractions aren't going to encourage anyone to walk through the neighborhood.

In other words, if I were to be planning the new development of Streetsblog Towers in Downtown L.A., I would be required to look at widening sidewalks around the Towers, not widening the road.  In addition to my office, Streetsblog Towers would also have some shops and other attractions for people walking by. 

While these new design standards are certainly a sign that elected officials are looking for ways to breathe life into dead streets, it remains to be seen if they're really willing to do what it takes to truly reclaim the streets for everyone and change the city's parking requirements for new developers.  It's great to encourage people to walk by planning a better walking environment.  It would be even better if those pedestrians aren't required to pay for other people's parking when they buy or rent in the Downtown.

Image: Metro.net

Last night Metro, kicked off a week of public outreach for the environmental studies for the Downtown Connector,aka Regional Connector, with a meeting at the University of Southern California.  This marked the first time that they held a meeting at USC as previous efforts had focused on the Downtown and Chinatown.  For those new to the project, this project will connect the Blue, Gold and Expo Lines providing one-seat rides from Pasadena to Long Beach and vice-versa.  The connector could save riders up to 21 minutes if a rider from Long Beach needed to get to Pasadena and had to transfer multiple times and buy multiple tickets.  For more details of the project, go to the project's official website or check out this great article from Blogdowntown.

There wasn't a lot of news from last night's meeting.  The same four alternatives that the Metro Board passed in January are still on the table, despite a quick lobbying effort from City Councilman Tom LaBonge to have the connector run along the Alameda  instead of the current route along Flower and Second Street. 

At this point, there are basically two alternatives to build the line being studied as well as a no-build option or Transportation Demand Management option.  A TDM option is basically using more buses and modern intersections to increase traffic flow.

Meanwhile the two alternatives would have trains running along identical routes, up Flower Street, take a right at 2nd through the Downtown until connecting with the Gold Lne Station in Little Tokyo.  However, the at-grade also run up and down Main and Los Angeles Street to connect to Temple Street before heading into Little Tokyo.

At previous meetings, concerns over the light rail's traffic impacts and the construction of a new station in Luttle Tokyo were the key points of testimony; but weren't mentioned last night.  In addition to LaBonge, the public testimony included remarks by USC Professor Najmedin Meshkati, various students and other rail activists.  Professor Meshkati, an outspoken opponent of at-grade crossings for the Expo Line, warned Metro to build this project correctly the first time, i.e. to build it below grade. 

Meshkati, an expert on factoring human behavior into transit planning, pleaded with Metro not to build at-grade light rail because he didn't want to spend hundreds of pro-bono hours fighting with them again, "I would give the plan for Expo a C-, if I was feeling generous...I plead with you not to do this again."

Meshkati's remarks were echoed by all of the half dozen speakers who joined him, including Justin Walker who represents the USC Chapter of CALPIRG.

There are still three more public meetings on the project this week.  Or if you can't make it out this week but want to have your say; you can send testimony to regionalconnector@metro.net  before the May 11 deadline.

Yesterday morning, the LA Times unveiled Rios Clementi Hale's new design for the Civic Center Park, which will be under construction in the spring of 2010.  Reaction to the plan, be it from the LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne or downtowners at Blogdowntown has been more negative than positive.  Before jumping into your own analysis, make sure to read this synposis of changes at Curbed, the story going over the basics at the Times and the collection of images at Blogdowntown.

Personally, I'm torn between being excited that funding for the park is in place and construction should begin by the Spring of next year, and sharing some of the concerns others have expressed with the park.  While I wouldn't go as far as Hawthorne who says the park has no identity or some of the readers at Curbed who believe it's just going to be a glorified dog park that's taken over by the homeless.  Our downtown desperately needs green space, and personally this is something for which I can't wait.

So what do you think Streetsbloggers?  What's right or wrong with the plan for Civic Center Park, and what changes would you make if you could?

Yesterday, LAist reported, based on an LADOT report, that roughly 1,000 people a night rode the Red Line during the expanded late night hours of the holiday season.  The report admitted that because the plan had been adopted so late in the year, that there was insufficient lead time to market the program.  Remember, the late night service was funded privately, so if we want to see the service again we have to convince them that the service can be even better in 2009.

A report on how late night DASH service was received was more dire.  The DASH Service ran for only 13 nights and attracted 1,847 people boarding the service, an average of 142 per night, or 5.4 boardings per bus per hour.  However, the time to promote the service was even more limited than for late nights on the Red Line, funding was secured a week before the program launched.  For example, LA Live, which needs several weeks lead time didn't even run an ad for the service.

The future of late night Red Line and DASH service may be uncertain for now, but we can be certain that the quicker funding is found for the next holiday season, the more people will use the service.  I'm certain that Blogdowntown, which not only covered the late night service but helped bring about its funding, will have details on what we can do to make sure the service comes back.  In the meantime, feel free to leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments section.

Photo: Fire Monkey Fish/Flickr

As part of their efforts to revitalize the commercial corridor along Broadway, Bringing Back Broadway wants our help to tell them what streetscaping and pedestrian amenities are needed to spruce up this iconic boulevard.  While Broadway is still a place teaming with pedestrian life, Broadway itself is one of those mis-designed Los Angeles streets that place a premium on moving cars and not creating a safe and enjoyable place for people to walk, talk, and, not least of all, buy things.

That's where we come in.  On February 17, Bringing Back Broadway is hoping that people interested in the revivial of the Broadway District, located between 2nd Street and Olympic Boulevard, will meet at the Chapman Building, located at Broadway and 8th, for a brief presentation before taking to the streets for a self guided tour of the District.  With cameras and notepads in hand, each participant should take notes on specific changes he or she would like to see to, in the words of Bringing Back Broadway:

enhance the pedestrian, streetcar, bus and other transit experience, support a reviving theater district, activate and encourage life on the street to spur economic development, and encourage reusing and celebrating existing buildings and historic assets.

For those of you that don't have Facebook, you can read the full invite from Bringing Back Broadway after the jump.

BROADWAY WALK!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
4:00–7:00 PM
(participate anytime you like within that timeframe)
Meeting Point - The Chapman Building
756 S. Broadway (at 8th Street)

The Broadway Streetscape Plan project is part of Bringing Back Broadway, a public-private partnership initiative focused on the long-term success and viability of the historic Broadway district between 2nd and Olympic.

The Streetscape Plan will provide a framework for streetscape and infrastructure improvements that will rehabilitate the street and enhance the pedestrian, streetcar, bus and other transit experience, support a reviving theater district, activate and encourage life on the street to spur economic development, and encourage reusing and celebrating existing buildings and historic assets.

This Broadway Walk is the kickoff for the community process that will inform the Streetscape Design -- come and share your input! All are welcome!

1. Meet at The Chapman Building * -- Get inspired by what other communities are doing to improve their streets.

2. Take a stroll at your own pace along both sides of Broadway -- Share your vision for the Broadway Streetscape. Tell us what you think is special about the street and what could be improved or changed.

3. Bring your camera to document what you see! -- We will solicit your photos to share with everyone via Flickr after the Walk.

4. Return your completed worksheet to us at The Chapman Building.

* Check-in and receive worksheet forms at The Chapman Building starting at 4:00 PM, then embark on a self-guided walk to observe and compile input. We recommend allowing 60 minutes or more to walk both sides of Broadway, from 2nd Street to Olympic. The Chapman Building base camp will be open from 4:00–7:00 PM.

See you on Broadway!

Photo: DaveofCali/Flickr

The Planned New Genesis Apartments Will Comply with New Proposed Pedestrian Standards

The LA Downtown News reports that Downtown Los Angeles will be getting a major pedestrian makeover.  Last week, the Planning Commission approved changes to developers requirements that will bring wide, tree-lined sidewalks, landscaped courtyards, more streetlights and other pedestrian amenities to Downtown Los Angeles.

The Downtown News explains how many of the new amenities will be paid for by developers who are looking to densify and "build-up" the downtown:

The plan is twofold: The Urban Design Standards and Guidelines address sidewalks and buildings, establishing standards for sustainable design, setbacks, architectural detail and other elements, while the Downtown Street Standards would update the area's street classifications to better balance car, pedestrian and bicycle traffic and other uses.

The guidelines would apply to new developments in an approximately 2.8-square-mile area roughly bounded by the 101, 10 and 110 freeways to the north, south and west, and the Fashion District to the east.

The guidelines still need approval from the City Council and Mayor's office.  The council is scheduled to vote on them in March.

Image: Killefer Flammang Architechts

Via Blogdowntown: Metro's Proposed Below-Grade Route

Speaker's at today's hearing on potential routing for a project that would connect the Blue and Gold Lines in Downtown Los Angeles drew near-unanimous support earlier this afternoon.  If the plan goes through, passengers could have a direct trip from Long Beach to Pasadena without having to transfer.  However, as we've seen before, the issue of whether or not the line should be grade separated dominated much of the public discussion at today's meeting.

Metro is proposing to study two routes in an environmental review along with a no-build alternative and a "transportation demand management" strategy.  The two routes both would start north on Flower Street before turning east along the 2nd street corridor. New stations would go on for the connector on Flower, Bunker Hill, and in the Historic Core.

Blogdowntown explains the differences between the above ground and below ground routes.

The above-ground alternative would emerge from the existing Blue Line tunnels around 5th street. An above-ground station would be placed in the blocks between 5th and 3rd, and the line would cross 3rd before cutting into the 2nd street tunnel. The line would travel east through the tunnel, emerging at Hill street. Once in the Historic Core, the line would split, with one direction of train travel placed on Main and one on Los Angeles. Both would converge on Temple, and the line would interface with the Eastside Extension at Temple and Alameda.

The subway alignment would continue north on Flower, with an underground station roughly at 5th street. The tunnel would curve east under 2nd street, with a station at Bunker Hill. It would then have a station under 2nd street somewhere between Broadway and Los Angeles. In Little Tokyo, the station would come above-ground on the block currently occupied by Office Depot.

The above-ground alternative is projected to cost $800 million.  The below grade one just over $900 million.

 Unlike the heated debate over the Expo Line, this time there was almost no debate amongst advocates; everyone agrees the line should run below ground.  Whether it be concerns over pedestrian safety, or the impact a crash, either involving the light rail or just a crash between motor vehicles, could have on the line.  If both the Blue and Gold Lines are running on the same tracks through the Downtown, an ill-placed crash could take out the entire light rail system between Pasadena and Long Beach if the Connector is at-grade.  It's rare to see Darell Clarke and Damien Goodmon agree on a grade separation issue.  Enjoy it while you can.

Another part of the plan causing debate is the plans for the intersection between 1st and Alameda Streets.  Metro's current plan, which Metro planner Dolores Roybal assured the crowd were just an initial plan with more details to be decided, calls for diverting north-south traffic by having a tunnel run below the intersection.  Pedestrians, east-west traffic and regional connector cars would all run above ground.

Representatives from the Little Tokyo Business District, while supporting the plan as a whole, raised concerns about the intersection because it would have train tracks moving in six different directions.   Goodmon noted that if the intersection is expected to handle 48 trains per hour, the official estimate for how many trains would be crossing the area at rush hour,  there will be tremendous gridlock and a pedestrian safety hazard.  Goodmon was also concerned that Metro's rendering, pictured above, was inacurate and made to show a much more orderly intersection than would be expected.

Of course, funding for the project remains an issue, as it is for every transit project in America.  Roybal mentioned the Federal New Starts program as a possible funding source, which seemed ironic because it was less than a month ago that I heard Metro CEO Roger Snoble complain to Senator Boxer that New Starts is woefully underfunded.  Of course, Measure R would also help fund the project.  A total of $160 million on local funds would be dedicated to the Regional Connector if this ballot measure passed in 19 days.

There will be a second meeting next Tuesday evening at 6:30 in the Japanese-American Heritage Museum.

Earlier today the Metro Board approved a plan to run late night train service from November 14 to January 3 on Friday and Saturday nights along the Red Line, assuming that the promised private funding for the lines materializes by October 17.  Despite some opposition and discussion, the motion passed unanimously.

Kymberleigh Richards, who is both a member of the Sen Fernando Valley Service Sector Council and a Board Member for the Southern California Transit Advocates, testified that without appropriate feeder services also running, the added train service won't be an alternative for many late night commuters, "With the exception of a couple of local lines, there won't be a bus connection to the Red Line.  Potential riders will be disappointed that they can't get to the Red Line."

While Richard's comments echoed those made last week by Metro staff, there was no provision in the final proposal to increase funding for bus service that could take late night train commuters to and from the Red Line stations.

Metro Board Member Gloria Molina raised concerns that the motion, as originally written, doesn't insure that private funds would pay for the late night service.  "This document calls for a legally binding commitment?  What does that mean?"

Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa, who authored the motion with City Councilman and Metro Board Member Bernard Parks, accepted friendly ammendments to clarify that the late night trains won't run unless the private funds have been collected by October 17.

Photo: Osamu Ito/Flickr

Seeking to preserve the historic and cultural feel of Little Tokyo, the city council has proposed changing the downtown zoning requirements to the point of removing Little Tokyo from the Downtown zoning area.  The Planning Department didn't like the idea of removing Little Tokyo as a whole, it would make tracking data for the downtown more difficult and isn't necessary, it did provide some suggestions for protecting Little Tokyo from what the City Council terms:

...concern that Little Tokyo will be overtaken by the development activity in the rest of Downtown - eventually losing its distinct characteristics and becoming lost as part of Downtown proper.

The City Council's Planning and Land Use Committee will hear the Planning Department's recommendations at a hearing later today.  Basically, the Department recommends changing the downtown's community plan to promote the goals of preserving the community through restrained development, streetscaping and creating an improved pedestrian development.

1. Maintain the existing boundaries of the Central City Community Plan which include the Little Tokyo Community as defined by the Little Tokyo Redevelopment Project Area,

2. Through the Central City Community Plan Program, consider the development of design guidelines, land uses changes, and other planning implementation tools to preserve and promote the community's unique character including possibly:

a. Establishing a Community Design Overlay District (CDO) to promote the distinctive character and visual quality of the Little Tokyo Community, to prevent the development of structures which are not of acceptable exterior design or appearance, and to provide for on-going community involvement in project design and the evolution of the Design Guidelines. The exact boundaries of the CDO would be refined through the public participation process.

b. Establishing a Streetscape Plan to reinforce the distinct identity of the Little Tokyo Community through consistent and appropriate, design of both public and private improvement projects within the public right-of-way.

c. Proposing land use changes and other planning tools in the context of the Central City Community Plan as a whole to address the community concerns regarding the types of uses and the intensity and density of development including the possible expansion or modification to an existing condition in order to create a pedestrian oriented environment or the development of Specific Plan to address design concerns, land use changes, and other land use regulations and incentives as appropriate .

Photo: Wad/Flickr