Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Boyle Heights

How Do You Taint A Block Party? Lobby For A Freeway!

"Close the Gap" shirts supporting the I-710 expansion ran for $5 each. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog

For most people who live in Alhambra, the pedestrian is a second rate participant on the city's roads. Car dealerships line Main Street in the north, wide four lane streets run along Valley.

So, to see Alhambra close one of the busiest north-south arteries in the city from 11 am to 2 pm on a Wednesday was beyond surprising. Alhambra's "Close the Gap" event blocked Fremont Avenue from Valley Boulevard to Mission Road from 11 am to 2 pm. Wednesday to automobile traffic as a way to promote the Interstate 710 expansion project.

Alhambra hasn't closed a street since the annual Jubilee ended a few years ago, but that event happened on a minor side street off Main Street that doesn't get nearly as much foot or car traffic.

Art Beanda, 46-year-old Alhambra resident, sat with his two children in front of the apartment complex off Fremont Avenue.   After four years at the apartment complex, the block party gave Beanda his first chance to meet his neighbors.

"You see them and I mean, this guy lives here and you just say hi, but from far away," Beanda said.

While the block party is a great direction Alhambra is headed for pedestrian activities, the association to the highway project felt odd. It's great to see Alhambra close off a street for a recreational activity, but I've never heard of a pedestrian friendly event lobbying for a highway project. One step forward for Alhambra pedestrians felt like a step back by lobbying for the highway project.

Whether or not the 710 project goes through or not, will Alhambra continue to use July 10 (7/10) to promote the existence or non-existence of the expansion? Probably not.

Hopefully it's not the last block party in Alhambra, but it would be best to move this ped-friendly activity back to, you know, promoting livable streets.

Three-year-old Anneliese Diep rocks a Close The Gap balloon. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog
A children's take on the I-710 expansion project icludes open roads with no pedestrians. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog
Participants relax near the front of residences on Fremont Boulevard. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog
Carnaval games get the cars treatment. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog
Drive, a Cars cover band, plays to a crowd of one nearing the end of the event. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog

And, here's a treat from Lauren Gold on Alhambra's amazing civic pride.

And a recap:


Kris Fortin was born and raised in Alhambra.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Metro Approval Sets Stage for Construction of NoHo-Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Line

$135M approved today will take the NoHo-Pasadena BRT project through the next two years. If this preconstruction phase goes as planned, the project will ramp up to full construction by 2027.

December 6, 2024

Morgan Park Improvements on the Way in Baldwin Park

The city of Baldwin Park’s flagship park is slated for enhancements to its plaza, playground, basketball courts, and splash pad

December 5, 2024

CA Speed Camera Pilot Program Is Not Moving Very Fast – If At All

None of the six cities authorized to test the use of speed enforcement cameras has deployed them yet

December 5, 2024
See all posts