Complete a Livable Streets project = Make L.A. more pedestrian/bike friendly

There was a time when I didn’t have a car in this grandiose town we call Los Angeles. It was during this time that I realized that cars thought they owned the town. Wielding middle fingers and horns does not make you an enforcer of traffic law, it makes you a citizen prick. None-the-less, it is important to realize that riding a bike or walking through the city dominated by cars driven by oblivious drivers is a hazard. I would like to focus on a particular stretch of highway that is where La Cienega goes by an oil refinery towards L.A.X. the area should be open to pedestrians because of a park that is along the side of the high speed road but is not.

Try walking from S. La Cienega & Jefferson to LAX. First you will have to navigate the gravel and glass which coats the sidewalks, then comes overhanging thorn bushes maze. Next as you ascend the hill you will lose all shade and the freeway-like traffic begins. It is at this time that most sane folks turn and look for the nearest bus, train or cab knowing the probability of the traffic or sun to beat you down. You might justify continuing on the basis that you have a small narrow sidewalk to guide you. After 500 feet near the crest of the hill you will find your decision in vain because the sidewalk ends. Although you might see the cut in the fence as a guiding light of those who went before, do not trust it, because it leads to a cul-de-sac neighborhood. They most likely cut this as a way to stop and smell the flowers and retreat back on rural streets.

Driven by sheer youthful ambition and rebellion I continued on walking on what feels for the next few miles to be the emergency lane aside a freeway. You can feel drivers giving you the “are you crazy?” stare on the entirety of the trip. Oil dikes are on both sides except for a reasonable sized park with a waterfall (oh, the hidden inaccessible oasis!).

It needs to be fixed because this is the main thoroughfare for getting to LAX airport from the north. And if your a pedestrian you might feel like a complete outcast by the time you actually get to your destination.

This area has great potential. There are a few wonderful trademarks along the route including the famous Kindle’s Drive-In Donuts donut shop, a beautiful park with a long bumbling creek and the place where Beverly Hills Cop I shot the opening sequence. Let’s make a change.

The Livable Streets Initiative and Challenge:
http://www.livablestreets.com/about
Local group:
http://la.streetsblog.org/
GOOD’s street of the future
http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/web/0904/livable-streets.html