Parklets

"Thank you for liberating our streets," City Council Transportation Committee Chair Mike Bonin greeted LADOT staff last week. While LADOT staff may not be used to a hero's welcome, Assistant General Manager Dan Mitchell and Assistant Pedestrian Coordinator Valerie Watson weren't there to present a typical transportation project, or even to talk about why some five-lane street in The Valley needs to have its speed limit increased.

“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

There were lots of cameras, but only one outlet broadcasted the parklet opening live. It felt like a political rally.

The first of Los Angeles's four parklets opened up Saturday on York Boulevard in Highland Park. While its the second of its kind in Greater Los Angeles, it may be one of the few parklets across the nation that isn't tied to any one business as it sits adjacent to a crosswalk, and is in front of a bank and a hardware store.

(Note: Details on all three City Council hearings on the resolution authorizing four parklets to be built can be found at the end of this story.)

The Virgin de Guadelupe shrine is one of the most recognizable landmarks at the Mercado de Los Angeles. The christmas lights that drape over the shrine make it one of the brightest and colorful spots in the Mercado parking lot at night, even with the Mercado only a few steps away.

Last Friday, January 20th 2012, Long Beach opened its, and Southern California's, very first parklet. It's located in Long Beach's Retro Row district, on Fourth Street just east of Cherry, directly across from the Art Theater. It's right in front of Lola's Mexican Cuisine at 2030 East Fourth Street, LB 90814 (map.)