According to the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), Portland, Oregon's Pioneer Courthouse Square is one of the Top 10 greatest public spaces in the U.S. & Canada. I couldn't agree more. Affectionately referred to as the city's "living room" the charming and versatile block was once slated to be a parking garage in the 1960s. Thankfully the residents didn't let that happen.

Recently while grabbing lunch in Portland, I wandered into the "Festival of Flowers" - a beautiful urban meadow installation that was so pleasant and comforting, I just had to shoot some video. Ethan Kent from PPS has often said to me that the key to the success of Pioneer Courthouse Square (and many public spaces) is its amazingly diverse programming. He's right, I've been to Portland a dozen times and there always seems to be something wonderful going on there.

The Entrance to the Festival of Lights, 2007 

The Griffith Park's annual Festival of Lights is supposed to be one of the highlights of the holiday season for thousands of Angelenos.  The park is festively lit up by the Department of Public Works in an effort to make the park visible from the moon an outpouring of Holiday Spirit.

What's also becoming a bit of a tradition is the battle over the city's illegal exclusion of cyclists from the event.  With the exception of a "cyclists night" that occurs in mid-November before Thanksgiving, bike riders are banned from the event in violation of state law that clearly states that municipalities cannot ban bikes from roads except for freeways.  Naturally, bike activists find this ban an affront to their rights and engage in a yearly battle with the city.  Last year, even the Times joined bike blogs such as Illuminate LA in decrying the festival's ban.

This year cyclists are off to an early start.  On June 9th, a group of cyclists, the Sierra Club, local Neighborhood Councils, homeowner associations and equestrians attended a public meeting on the festival to ask the DWP to lift the ban on bikes.  Some went so far as to suggest a festival wide ban on cars.  Thus, instead of 100,000 cars idling through stop and go traffic; pedestrians, cyclists and even equestrians could enjoy the nation's largest urban park and its unique light festival.  DWP hasn't announced either a lifting of the bike ban or imposing a car ban.

The cyclists efforts don't end with bureaucratic committee meetings, Illuminate LA has also written to Councilman Tom LaBonge, asking him to help lift the ban because it is against state law.  The full text of their letter is available after the jump.

July 1, 2008
The Honorable Tom LaBonge
City Council District 4
200 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA

Dear Councilmember LaBonge:

The 2008 Griffith Park Holiday Light Festival is upon us and discussions are already underway
between the DWP and the community on the elements of the Festival. However, before any
decisions can be made as to the form and function of the Festival, it is imperative that the DWP
and the Festival cease to violate State law by excluding cyclists from the same streets that are
open to the motoring public.

I contend that the current ban on cycling in the LADWP Festival of Lights at Griffith Park is a
violation of California Vehicle Code because the city does not have the express authority (per CVC
21) to regulate bicycling on non-freeway roads. An outline of this position is attached.
Suggestions by DWP reps that the ban on cyclists is for safety purposes are simply absurd and
irrelevant. Festival auto traffic is typically so congested that riding the Festival by bike is safer that
the access streets used by a cyclist to get the Festival.

Regardless of the DWP’s well-intended perception of safety issues, keep in mind that cyclists not
only ride the 6500 miles of LA streets but also ride over 1000 miles of Freeway & Highway
throughout the State of California. This access is guaranteed and protected by State Law.

Ultimately, it is State Law that trumps any desire to restrict cyclists to a “special” night. I ask you to
remedy this situation by intervening on our behalf and by acting to prevent the DWP and its
Festival Partners from violating the cycling community’s right to enjoy access to our streets.

I do not intend to discount your commitment to the Holiday Light Festival nor to our community but
instead simply urge you to support cycling as a legal and viable transportation choice on the
streets of Los Angeles, all of them!

Image: beastandbean/Flickr 

Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero is taking a stand.  Romero tells the Times that if she doesn't get she wants for San Gabriel Valley, at no extra cost to her constituents, she'll vote to make sure all of LA County is denied the opportunity to to vote to increase everyone's transit options.  The Senator may have the muscle to back up her threat as AB 2321, the legislation authorizing the sales tax to be on the fall ballot after Metro's approval, still needs a full vote of the State Senate.

Romero's position doesn't make sense from a transportation stand point.  She's basically opposed to the sales tax measure because Metro won't guarantee a Gold Line extension without the funding from the sales tax.  While her argument that the $328 million set aside from sales tax proceeds won't extend the Gold Line as far as it needs to go has some merit; her argument that Metro should guarantee more funds for an extension without the sales tax rests on the argument that San Gabriel Valley residents would be more likely to support a sales tax increase if they have nothing to gain from it doesn't make a lot of sense.  After all, would you vote for a tax increase that has no benefits for you?

Have a headache yet?  If not, Romero also tells the Times that she opposes congestion pricing and Metro should approve it's plan for transit for the valley without knowing whether it will have the $213 million in federal funds.  Her argument?  SGV residents shouldn't be "forced" to pay tolls because there is a lack of reliable transit options.  Last I checked, which was right before I wrote this post, most of that $213 would be going to provide increased transit options for the effected corridors, including the San Gabriel Valley. 

So let's sum this up.  She can't support the sales tax proposal without a guarantee that she gets what she wants without the sales tax proposal.  She also opposes spending hundreds of millions of federal dollars to manage lanes and increase transit because Metro hasn't spent enough money to increase transit. 

This kind of grandstanding isn't new to Romero.  In the past she's slammed Metro for not lobbying hard enough for eastside projects after doing nothing to stop the governor's raid on transportation funds.  I guess the good news is that if she's as effective opposing the sales tax ballot proposition as she was the governor's budget or lobbying for local projects AB 2321 should pass the Senate easily.

Photo: Barack Obama/Flickr

The 101, Today

By now most of you have read the opinion piece from last Friday's Times that called for a "Central Park" for Los Angeles.  The piece by Vaughan Davies, director of urban planning for EDAW's LA office, is just the first step in a campaign to show Angelenos what opportunities exist in the "Big Trench" area bordering, Chinatown, Angelino Heights, El Pueblo, Boyle Heights, Civic Center and Little Tokyo.

The next step will be this Friday sat 5 P.M. in the CALTRANS Building's plaza, when planning students from around the world present the challenges and solutions in capping the 101 Freeway and turning it into a large, urban park similar in size and character to New York's Central Park.  The students are part of EDAW's, summer intern program and have worked with staff from CALTRANS, the Los Angeles Planning Department, the Metro, the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Southern California Assn. of Governments, City Council members and even the Mayor's Office to develop this plan.

To read more about EDAW's summer charrette program, click here.

Image: EDAW