Streetsblog Los Angeles

For those of you that have been reading Streetsblog for awhile, you know that Park(ing) Day is a sort of unofficial holiday around here.  In 2008, I toured 14 spaces by myself.  In 2009, I had a small crew, and we made it to 13 spaces.

This year, Park(ing) Day looks like it might be a little smaller, and so are our plans.  Instead of a sixty mile all-day challenge, we were hoping to ride a Westside Loop and end at 11555 National Boulevard to set up our own Park(ing) Day space.  If  that address sounds familiar, it should as it’s where we held our last last fundraiser.  But, unless the map Park(ing) Day map adds a lot of new spaces, here’s our plan b for Friday:

At 10:00 A.M. we’re going to roll out our own Park(ing) Day spot at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (11555 National) in the area adjacent to the courtyard on Federal Street.  We’ll have a grille, seating, wi-fi, a baby play area and some other fun things including a Westside Interactive model put together by James Rojas .  I’ll actually do the day’s blogging live from our Park(ing) Day space.  We’ll take the space down at around 2:00 P.M. and take a trip up to the other Park(ing) Day site on the Westside, Westwood Square…and that’s it!

Feel free to take a spin by and join us.  It’s going to be a heck of a day, even if it’s going to be a lot easier on my legs than past Park(ing) Days…

If you’re not familar with Park(ing) Day, head on over to the Park(ing) Day L.A. website and read on…

Ok, so maybe I bit off a bit more than I could chew.  The route I originally mapped on Streetsblog had us visiting twenty parks at all parts of the city.  Thanks to arriving early, late, or just flat-out not being able to find the spaces we ended up making it to thirteen spaces in our over forty-mile ride that began in Culver City, swung through Santa Monica and ended in the Downtown.

Most of the spaces that we planned to swing by and hit were in the Downtown, and many of those were captured by Curbed and will certainly be on blogdowntown early next week.  As for the rest of our coverage, read on after the jump.

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Unfortunately, I have to announce some major changes to the planned Park(ing) Day ride for Friday.  Unlike last year, there aren't any parks planned for the City of Santa Monica so it seems like a bad idea to try and start a ride at 7:30 A.M. at the "Critical Mass Canon" because, well, there wouldn't be anything to do.

However just because Santa Monica doesn't want to be part of this year's festivities, a Park(ing) Day volunteer told me that the city was going to require a permit for every space because "parking spaces are for cars," doesn't mean we're going to ignore the Westside.

A quick note, I won't be carrying too much extra water or supplies so people are encouraged to bring their own.  We'll be "riding legal" and will make stops as time permits for supplies but the only stops that are guaranteed to have food are in East Hollywood so come prepared.  However, at every stop I'll be leaving a map to our next space.  So, if you're late and want to catch up or want to just do your own ride, you can just follow our maps.  We won't be leaving a map at the start of the Westside Ride because there won't be anyone staying at the park after the Greensters leave at 10:00 A.M.

We're still going to divide the ride into three parts, a westside, a mid-city and a downtown ride with the following starts.  For full routing, read on after the jump.

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While parks continue to be added to the Park(ing) Day map for the big day on September 18, there are enough parks listed that we can begin to sketch out the route for the Park(ing) Day ride.  The point of this ride is just to view the spaces that people are setting up, picture it a giant Easter Egg hunt through Santa Monica, the Wishire Corridor, East Hollywood and the Downtown.

Here’s the first draft of the timeline:

7:30 – 8:00 A.M. – Ride starts at "The Cannon" in Santa Monica near the corner of Ocean and Colorado Boulevards.  Yes, the same place that Santa Monica Critical Mass starts.  From there we will meander through Santa Monica, stopping at several parks along the way, and down Abbot Kinney in Venice.

10:00 A.M. – We’ll meet up with the Greensters leaving the Load(ing) Zone in Culver City’s Media Park.  The Greensters ride is more of an activist ride than ours, as they’re sporting the materials to make their own parks as they go.  From Media Park, we’ll scramble through the Westside, West Hollywood and Hollywood until we end up at the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council mega-park.

11:30 – 12:15 – The East Hollywood at Heliotrope just north of Melrose park has a grill with burgers and dogs.  If you’re a vegetarian, Pure Luck is open across the street.  Once everyone is re-charged, we’ll hit Mid-Wilshire and head Downtown for the afternoon.

A map for the Downtown is going to have to wait for a little bit, as I expect dozens more spaces to be added for Downtown L.A. in the next week.  But rest assured we’ll be done in plenty of time to grab another bite before the movie night begins in Echo Park.

Alfredo Hernandez is one of those Angelenos who makes this city a better place to live but manages to fly under the radar of most people’s consciousness. Professionally, Hernandez works with the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, a non-profit that works with low and middle income communities to bring open space projects to the community.

If that weren’t enough, Hernandez is a founding Board Member of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council and Chair of its Planning and Beautification Committee. Partially because of his influence, the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council has become one of the city’s most progressive when it comes to transportation.  They’re the first council to adopt the Cyclists Bill of Rights, the first to participate in Park(ing) Day and the first to create a video with a vision for their community. And of course, who can forget the amazing ArtCycle event?

Speaking of Park(ing) Day, have I mentioned that it will be on Friday, September 18 this year?  I have?  Great.

Hernandez is also a Board Member of the Friends of the Hollywood Cap Park and U.S. Veterans Artists Alliance where he produces a monthly improv comedy show called the
LAAVAA Slam in Culver City; but it was the high quality of last year's Park(ing) Day spot that led to this interview. You may remember East Hollywood’s elaborate series of spaces last year that included a grill, free food, street furniture and a swimming pool. Hernandez promises this year’s Park is going to dwarf last year’s. If you want to find out more, listen on…

I should note that we decided to do the interview outside next to Heliotrope just North of Melrose, in the heart of the unofficial bicycle district.  However, there was a lot of truck and car traffic, and a lot of people that couldn't figure out how to park in spaces where the head of the car would face the sidewalk and not the car in front of it.  We thought the street noise would add a second message to the interview, but do regret lacking the expertise to drown the woman talking on her cellphone during the first interview segment.

First we discuss Park(ing) Days past and present.  The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council have been such strong supporters of Park(ing) Day, that this year they may sponsor two parks, not just Hernandez's mega-park in Hel-Mel.  Hundreds of people visited last year's park, which is made possible with the help of the surrounding businesses.  Hernandez believes this year's will be the best one yet, and perhaps one of the best Park(ing) Day parks in the world.

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The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council is one of the most progressive ones in Los Angeles.  Find out what they're up to from one of their founding Board Members and how they're vision for they're community has changed the way people think about East Hollywood.

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When he's not volunteering, Hernandez works for the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust helping communities without park space carve out open space for themselves.  If you want to bring green and open space to your community, listen on to see if you're situation is a good match.

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Recycled Movie Celebrates Park(ing) Day in East Hollywood in 2008

Mark it down on your calendar, September 18 is the date for this year's Park(ing) Day LA.  While some people find the event, ahem, a little nerdy; for Livable Streets advocates Park(ing) Day falls somewhere between their birthday and Halloween in their list of favorite holidays.

Last year, I pedaled about 30 miles with no companion except Gunpowder to visit fifteen different temporary parks.  This year, I'm opening up an invitation to everyone to join me for the First Annual Streetsblog Park(ing) Day Ride.  I won't have an exact route until we know all of the exact sites, but I expect the schedule to look like this.

9:00 A.M. - Visit the Santa Monica Parking Day sites then head to Mid-Wilshire.

11:00 A.M. ish - Visit the Mid-Wilshire sites and grab lunch

Afternoon - visit as many sites as we can Downtown

3:00 P.M. ish - End at the East Hollywood N.C. site in the Hel-Mel district.

When I have a final route I'll post it and people are willing to join me for as much, or as little of the ride as they want.  If we get enough interest, I'll try and figure something out for ride cards as well.

For the uninitiated, Park(ing) Day is a once a year global event where advocates, architects and people that love open space convert a parking spaces into small public parks.  The purpose of the event is to remind people of what we give up in the quest for low-cost parking.  What would you be willing to give up for more parks?  Last year's Park(ing) Day L.A. had over 70 parks.  The year before their were only 50.

Photo from Ubrayj 02's Park in Front of the Flying Pigeon Bike Shop

Well, Park(ing) Day has come and gone and for at least another year, the urban jungle known as Los Angeles will be a little less green than it was for one glorious day last Friday.  However, Park(ing) Day isn't just about temporarily reclaiming some public land for public use, it's about raising awareness that whatever its benefits, there is a high cost we pay for the convenience of on-street parking.

The organiazation that did the best job, at least of the spaces I saw, of illustrating that point had to be Torti Gallas and Partners.  Some readers may remember that their "park" illustrated what the square footage required for a parking space could be used for, and what it would cost to purchase or rent if it were placed on the open market instead of being a subsidized place for private storage.  From their handouts:

As Urbanists we at Torti Gallas ask: what elements of public benefit could be accommodated if a parking space was used for things other than just parking? How can the space be reprogrammed? Could it contain small-lot affordable housing? Mixed-use development? Geothermal heating and cooling pumps? Vertical stacking areas for Smart Cars? A continuous linear park space for joggers and urban hikers? Profitable real estate for the City?

What is the city losing by giving over so much of its prime real estate to the car? What could the city and its inhabitants gain by taking some of this land back?
All together,the existing parking spaces in downtown could accommodate:
· 1,300 new two-bedroom units (at 1,100 SF per unit). The City could increase the supply of small-lot affordable housing.
· 13,000 parking spaces for smart cars,using six-story robotic parking facilities. Why design a parking space for a Hummer or Escalade? Why not design the space so that it encourages drivers to chose small compact cars?
· 4.6 miles of continuous paths. Downtown LA severely lacks green and open space. If the City were to take this land back from the car and give it to the pedestrian,we’d have a space that would stretch from here to Hancock Park . It’d be a linear green area that is as long as Riverside Park on the westside of Manhattan. Think of all the dog runs and urban jogging trails the space could accommodate!
· Enough geothermal energy to heat 2,280 residential units (at 1,100 SF per unit) and 26.5- office buildings (at 120,000 SF).

Throwing a few quarters into a parking meter,doesn’t reveal the true value of the parking space,especially in a dense place like downtown where property values are sky high. Parking the way that we do,for one or two quarters an hour,is an unfairly inexpensive short-term lease option for the storage of our vehicles,at a significant cost of our health,our housing,and the urban realm. It’s time to rethink the way streets are used and the priority we place on making room for cars.

Donald Shoup himself couldn't have said it better.  For a comprehensive blog coverage of Park(ing) Day LA, read on after the jump.

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If you’re a regular reader of this blog, it’s probably no surprise that Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckeson was out and about in New York City on Friday on his bike shooting film just as I was on my bike taking pictures.  Eckerson reports that Park(ing) Day NYC had: 

…over 50 parking spaces temporarily reclaimed throughout the city, nearly doubling last year’s total. I’ll say this: that’s a lot of freaking sod!!

The First Park I Actually Made It To on the Corner of Heliotrope and Melrose

I hope everyone had as great a Parking Day.  Here at Streetsblog we spent the day documenting as many of the parks as we could.  You can see the efforts from New York, here, here, here, here, and here.

In Los Angeles, I pulled my bike into 14 different parks throughout the day.  You can see all the pictures I took at the Streetsblog Flickr Page but for the best picture from each park you can read on after the jump.  Before you get into the pictures let me give apologies to the two parks I couldn't find that I wanted to get to.  The first is The Bus Bench's park at Union Station and the second was the Koreatown Performing Arts and Fixed Gear Society's moving park.  However, on Monday we'll be doing a follow-up post so get your Park(ing) Day LA pictures online and either email them or send me a link and we'll give them the praise they deserve.

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