Downtown LA

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.

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.

The new bike lanes, continental crosswalks and road diet for 7th Street through Downtown Los Angeles are getting close to completion. The lanes connect to the previously painted 7th Street lanes that connect mid-town to Downtown and the Main Street buffered bike lane that runs north to City Hall.

Commuters into Downtown Los Angeles were surprised this morning to note that 7th Street had gone on a crash diet overnight. For .6 miles, between Figueroa and Main Streets, bicycle lanes were installed and a mixed-use travel lane was removed.

In response to yesterday's story on the Spring Street Bike Lane, LADOT reached out to assure me that the repainting of the Spring Street Green Buffered Bike Lane will be completed by Saturday.

By the time I hit Spring Street, I was in a bad mood.

As we reported last week, the dangerousification of Spring Street is in full swing these days. With the City Council mandated water blasting of the Green Buffered Bike Lane completed, advocates wait for the city to install its completely untested, but less expensive, new paint design.

“Over the past few years, the  community along Spring Street has  become much more tightly woven.  The ‘bump’ factor happens all the  time now. If not daily, then at least  several times a week, I will happen across not only people that I know but  that occasional person that I forgot I even once knew! … As a place that brings people together, Spring Street has become a thriving neighborhood spot and an attractive regional destination for other Angelenos seeking a brief reprieve in our little small-town urban oasis we like to call DTLA.” – Will Wright, AIA-LA Government  and Public Affairs Director and Spring Street Resident

A funny thing happened on the way to a downtown Los Angeles streetcar. According to the Los Angeles Times, the initial cost estimate of $125M excluded the costs of utility relocation, which could total $166M in additional costs, and $295M in operating costs over 30 years. That’s quite a bit compared to the $62.5M voters authorized when approving a community facilities district last November.