Downtown LA
Streetsblog LA
LADOT Pilots “Pedestrian First” Timing on Broadway
It seems like a simple concept. If you give pedestrians a walk signal before giving cars the go-ahead, pedestrians crossing at intersections will be more visible and crashes and injuries will be reduced. But in a city where too much of the infrastructure is still designed to encourage cars to move quickly, even a small change that benefits people who aren't in cars will be noticed.
October 24, 2014
Law Enforcement and Bike Safety: Top Cops Must Innovate, not Prevaricate
If you approach LAPD headquarters from First Street, City Hall is reflected in the windows. This was designed into the building intentionally, to remind cops that they’re not there to serve the police department itself; they’re to serve the people of Los Angeles.
September 2, 2014
Eyes On The Street: Broadway’s Got New Bulb-Outs
Crews are out this week doing striping and new crosswalks for a project called Broadway's Dress Rehearsal. Broadway is, arguably, Los Angeles' most heavily pedestrian street. The current project reallocates former car-lane space to make way for pedestrians. It's no secret that the transformation here is inspired by NYC's relatively-inexpensive street plazas, including Times Square.
April 17, 2014
City Leaders Shepherding MyFigueroa Stakeholders Toward Consensus
The long-anticipated MyFigueroa project made another appearance at the Los Angeles City Council's Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) committee yesterday. With more than a hundred supporters in attendance, a great deal of staff work, political leadership, and a stakeholder summit process underway, it appears that MyFigueroa may be on track to break ground some day in the not too distant future.
March 26, 2014
Eyes On The Street: Second Street Tunnel’s Semi-Protected Bikeway
Sahra Sulaiman, SBLA's Communities Editor for Boyle Heights and South L.A. took this photo last Sunday, showing the flattened and missing pylons in the Second Street Tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles. This is Los Angeles' first and only protected bikeway.
March 20, 2014
Los Angeles Revisits Its Zoning Code via “re:code LA” Process
The city of Los Angeles Department of City Planning is hosting a series of seven community planning forums running now through April 12th. Tonight's forum is at Metro HQ in Downtown L.A. from 5-8pm. The forums are for public feedback on three citywide planning processes: re:code L.A., Mobility Plan 2035, and Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles. Streetsblog is previewing the citywide initiatives; today it’s the city’s zoning code update. See earlier SBLA coverage of the Health Plan and Transportation Plan.
March 19, 2014
MyFigueroa Project Picking Up Key Neighborhood Council Support
MyFigueroa is picking up some steam as the city's decision on an appeal of the project's certification approaches.
March 12, 2014
More Eyes on the Street: 2nd Street Protected Bike Lane Damaged in Crash
Some time in the last couple of days, the 2nd Street protected bike lane was damaged when a car crashed through the pylons into the side of the 2nd Street Tunnel heading into Downtown Los Angeles. Sahra Sulaiman snapped this picture yesterday and reports that at least three of the barrier pylons were removed, a trail of debris was left behind, and even a tire can be seen in the picture.
January 16, 2014
Buffered Bike Lanes in Downtown Los Angeles and Regular Lanes Through Second Street Tunnel
Getting to Downtown Los Angeles from points west seems to be getting easier every day. For the past several weeks, Streetsblog covered the addition of new bike lanes on 7th Street that link up with existing lanes in the Downtown. This weekend, the city striped new lanes through the iconic 2nd Street Tunnel into the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.
November 12, 2013
Despite Calls for Boycott, Los Angeles and Long Beach to Continue Relationship with Troubled BYD
Several labor and social justice organizations—thirteen to be exact—called on the three public agencies engaged with bus manufacturer BYD Motors to boycott their engagement while protesting in front of BYD's office in Downtown LA. However, despite all the shouting, chanting, and finger-pointing, all three agencies—LA Metro, Long Beach Transit (LBT), and the City of Los Angeles—are not making any moves that indicate they will abandon the troubled bus manufacturer.
November 6, 2013