This Week In Livable Streets

By Joe Linton

4:46 PM PDT on September 7, 2021

Paramount road widening, Malibu road widening, Metro Rail2River, Glendale ride, and more:

Varies - L.A. County Public Health's 2 p.m. COVID-19 briefings are now generally on Mondays and Wednesdays. Watch at the County Channel, Channel 94 on most cable systems, or via the County of Los Angeles Facebook page, where broadcast briefings are archived.
Tuesday 9/7 - Tonight starting at 6 p.m., the Paramount City Council will discuss and vote on an engineering contract for widening Alondra Boulevard to add an additional vehicle lane. The staff report (page 168 of agenda packet) justifies the widening based on the never-approved, now-abandoned 710 Freeway widening environmental documents. Similar to the other misnamed complete streets programs, the staff report states that the added car capacity would "improve multi-modal functionality consistent with the City’s Complete Streets Policy... Pedestrian and bicycle circulation will improve along the Alondra Boulevard corridor by the elimination of architectural barriers such as existing power poles, steep driveway aprons and potential non-compliant curb ramps." To access the meeting, see details at meeting agenda.
Wednesday 9/8 - The city of Malibu will host its special Planning Commission Meeting at 6:30 p.m. The agenda includes a mile+ widening of Pacific Coast Highway to make more room for cars and parking, with no added accommodation for bicycling or walking. (The item has already been rescheduled a couple times, so that could happen again.) Details at Streets for All alert.
Thursday 9/9 and Saturday 9/11 - Metro is hosting two meetings to share its newly watered-down plans for extending its Rail-to-River multi-use path eastward through the cities of Huntington Park, Vernon, Bell, Maywood, and unincorporated L.A. County. Virtual meetings will take place Thursday 9/9 from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday 9/11 from 10 a.m. to noon. Details at Metro's The Source post.
Sunday 9/12 - Walk Bike Glendale will host a bicycling tour and discussion of the city's upcoming bike infrastructure projects. Meet at the Glendale Central Library at 222 E. Harvard Street at 9 a.m. for a 9:30 a.m. roll-out. Details and RSVP via Facebook event.