Downtown LA

The Sporting News provides one of the first real looks at what plans entertainment giant AEG has planned for their proposed NFL Football Stadium that would be located in Downtown Los Angeles.  There's some good news for those concerned that the new Stadium would be accompanied with a gigantic sea of parking, as most NFL Stadiums do.  According to the Sporting News:

Here's a quick rundown of the major votes by today's Metro Board. Each of these five motions were discussed at Streetsblog over the last couple of weeks, and links to those stories can be found at the end of each summary.  Streetsblog will have links to all news reports on today's meeting tomorrow.

What would you do if you had $20 million dollars and were tasked with turning three and a half miles of one of Los Angeles' most iconic streets into the kind of street that encourages people to be outside?  That's the question the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is asking at two workshops on Saturday, October 2, and next Tuesday, October 5, about Figueroa Street from the southwest corner of Exposition Park, past USC, and Staples Center in to Downtown Los Angeles.  Flush with $20 million in state "Proposition C" funds, the CRA is asking residents and business owners "what's your Figueroa" and what do you want Figueroa to look like in the future.

This morning, while preparing "Today's Headlines" I came across a story in the Times about cyclist Jose Guzman, our friend Ramon Martinez and a day in the life of a day laborer on a bike.  I thought the story was a good narrative, and was probably a more relevant story about what happens every day in L.A. than the story about bus riders earlier in the week; but it was missing one thing.

Yesterday the Los Angeles Times featured a story on what the Community Redevelopment Agency's (CRA) plan to bring a linear park to the corner of Olympic and Grand.  The Times does an excellent job explaining what the CRA is planning, but misses a key point.  A workshop, sponsored by the CRA and the Department of Recreation and Parks, will be held tonight to gather community feedback on what the linear park should look like.  but first, the Times explains the basics of the project:

Yesterday, transit advocates received a double-dose of good news as the air of compromise blew in and the debate over two light rail projects was changed.  In Santa Monica, the City Council endorsed a "compromise" plan on the location of a light rail yard for Expo Phase II.  Downtown, Metro staff unveiled a new potential design for an entirely below-grade Downtown Connector that could address all of the concerns of the Little Tokyo community.

Ok everyone, maybe we need to talk about the purpose of a calendar section. This is the second day in a row that I've been tipped off to an outstanding event less than twenty four hours before it occurs. The purpose is to send me awesome and educational events much earlier so I can get them on my calendar and attend instead of just writing a preview before hand.

In 2006, the City of Los Angeles opened the Urban Design Studio in the Planning Department to create what the LA Downtown News referred to as "Special Places" but what Streetsbloggers would call Livable Streets.  Basically the studio, which currently consists of two full-time staff members and many volunteer interns, was responsible for turning Los Angeles into a beautiful city.