Movement & Transportation

One Rack at a Time Too Slow for Creating a Bicycle Friendly City

By Eric Richardson — June 16, 2008
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Bicycle Rack Install

A pair of new bike racks showed up on Spring street today, in front of 626 Gallery. They were placed in orange markings that had been put down way back in September of last year. While certainly every rack is helpful for a cyclist looking to park, the excitement the sight of just one or two new racks can generate illustrates how far off the mark our city is...


Streetcar Workshop to Air Saturday

By Eric Richardson — June 13, 2008
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Jim Graebner

Last month, hundreds of people interested in the idea of a Downtown streetcar gathered at the Orpheum Theatre for the Los Angeles Streetcar Workshop. Those who didn’t make it or those who would like to relive the experience will be able to do so tomorrow, June 14th, when LA Cityview 35 airs the conference in its entirety. The fun starts at 4pm, with a...


Chinatown Median Dedicated as Pocket Park

By Ed Fuentes — June 13, 2008
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the jig

One of the last city intersections be signalized for pedestrians and traffic is now home to a new pocket park. It’s located across from the California Endowment, Engine Company Number 4, and Phillipe’s restaurant, and yesterday’s dedication was celebration enough for city officials to dance a jig. For decades, the intersection at Alameda Street and...


Blocked Sidewalk Next to Ralphs Shows Little Concern for Pedestrians

By Eric Richardson — June 11, 2008
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Another Sidewalk Closure

A stretch of sidewalk next to Downtown’s new Ralphs is closed due to construction, leaving pedestrians inconvenienced and creating an unsafe situation as walkers take to the street. Downtown is widely talked of as a place for pedestrians, where those who live and work are freed from the need to have a car, but the city’s attitude toward sidewalks...


Historic Core Braces for "Criminal Minds"

By Eric Richardson — June 10, 2008
29 Comments

Downtown Filming

|Photo Gallery| The Historic Core gets a major television shoot this week, as the CBS show ”Criminal Minds” moves into town for a location stay spanning Wednesday through Friday. Nighttime shots are the order of the day, with closures slated for Broadway, Spring and 6th streets.


Upper 2nd Nearing Its Grand Connection

By Eric Richardson — June 06, 2008
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Connecting 2nd

|Photo Gallery| Work on the connection between upper 2nd street and Grand Avenue is nearing an August completion. Westbound 2nd street enters its tunnel at Hill street, traveling under Bunker Hill to Figueroa. The upper spur of 2nd had previously connected Hill street to Olive, but will continue up to Grand Avenue after completion. A separate stretch of 2nd connects Grand...


Streetcar Workshop Afternoon Panels

By Eric Richardson — May 22, 2008
10 Comments

Jolene Hayes

|Photo Gallery| After a hearty lunch, the Los Angeles Streetcar Workshop kicked things back into gear this afternoon. Two panels were slated for the afternoon. Streetcar 202 looked at the nuts and bolts of options for running streetcar lines. Local Case Studies showed that Downtown isn’t the only place in Southern California looking at streetcar operation.


Streetcar Panels #2 & #3

By Eric Richardson — May 22, 2008

Watching Steve Brye's Slides

|Photo Gallery| Panel two of the Los Angeles Streetcar Workshop was a short one, focused on the history of L.A.’s trolley system and an update on the work that’s been done on bringing the streetcar back. Panel three, titled “Ok, but What About…?” brought Downtown leaders to the podium to ask questions of the panelists from the morning opener.


Streetcar Panel #1

By Eric Richardson — May 22, 2008

Panel 1

|Photo Gallery| Panel one of the Los Angeles Streetcar Workshop ran the gamut of streetcar topics. Titled “Streetcars 101,” it was a in-depth primer on designing, funding and building a system. With each of the five panels today we’ll be running a recap of some of the panelists’ comments and the Q&A session that follows the presentations.


Streetcar Workshop Intros Highlight Downtown Transformation

By Eric Richardson — May 22, 2008
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Gloria Ohland

The introductions to today’s Los Angeles Streetcar Workshop focused on the transformation currently underway in Downtown, and how public transportation in general and the streetcar in specific are necessary components of urban revitalization. Opening remarks were given by Councilmembers Jose Huizar and Jan Perry, Don Spivack of the Community Redevelopment...