LA 2050 Listens – Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park Walk

Posted on April 12, 2014 by lawalks

New River Park!

Join us for a trip through North East Los Angeles! This month our walk will start in Lincoln Heights and explore Cypress Park.

Come learn about how Los Angeles is gearing up for future change. Our walk will include speakers from local businesses, artists, and residents all focused on how we interact with our streets. Highlighted locations include the Figueroa Art Tunnel, new Los Angeles River parks, local high schools and more. A supporting foundation, LA 2050, envisions a Los Angeles where we create, connect, learn, play, and live healthily. Participation in this walk will include a survey to gain feedback about how we can improve our city to embrace these values. Together, we can explore a unique corner of LA and provide important data for foundations, businesses, and policy-makers to change our urban structure.

The walk is 2.6 miles round trip and is stroller/wheelchair friendly. Families and kids are welcome on this walk as we are exploring some great new local parks!

Sunday, April 27
10:00am-12:30pm
Metro Gold Line- Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park Station

Tickets are FREE, donation are welcome – just RSVP here on Eventbrite.

Join the event on Facebook and Twitter for live updates. As always, please promote and share so we can spread our reach and build a safer LA faster.

Stay tuned for more info!

So many WalkLAvia options for the next CicLaviA on April 6!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by lawalks

The next CicLAvia on Sunday, April 6 returns to the Wilshire Boulevard route, the most pedestrian-friendly CicLAvia of all! Rather than organize a single walk, we’re gathering all the great walking opportunities here so you can pick and choose how to spend your day on foot! Stay tuned for more details, but here are the options so far…

The LA Leggers will be walking (and running) from the One Wilshire Hub westward when CicLAvia begins at 9am. Meet up at 8:45. All details here.
Join Bob Inman for a 7.5 mile loop highlighting the architecture and history of Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire, starting in front of the Wiltern at the Koreatown Hub at Wilshire and Western at 11am. All details here. (You’ll be walking in and around the route so there will be plenty of chances to leave early.)
The City Planning Department will also be leading a walk eastward starting at the Miracle Mile Hub between Spaulding and Ogden at 9am. All details here.

Also: Be sure to stop by the Poketo booth outside the The Line Hotel at 3515 Wilshire (near Normandie) to stock up on Los Angeles Walks merchandise!

Walk Koreatown with us, de LaB and Open Streets on 4/4

Posted on March 18, 2014 by lawalks

Join de LaB, Los Angeles Walks, CicLAvia and the Open Streets Summit for an evening walking tour of Koreatown, one of the most exciting neighborhoods in the city—maybe because it has LA’s highest concentration of bars and restaurants!

We’ll start at The Line, to hear more about this brand-new hotel that’s revitalizing this stretch of Wilshire, and the unique collaboration between The Sydell Group, chef Roy Choi, The Houston Brothers, Sean Knibb and Poketo. The mid-century building was designed by Daniel Mann Johnson + Mendenhall in 1964, the same architects behind the American Cement Building down the street, and we’ll go see that, too. Other stops include the site of the Ambassador Hotel and the Legendary Park Plaza. LA Walks steering committee member and de LaB founder Alissa Walker will be leading the group and introducing us to special guests along the way.

We’ll end at Lock & Key, a new speakeasy that provides a contemporary take on Koreatown’s pub culture. Your ticket includes one of two complimentary punches to choose from (if you’d like anything else you can purchase it from the bar), and we’ll also receive a discount on their excellent and affordable food menu.

More details will be emailed to attendees the week before the walk!

KOREATOWN WALKING TOUR
Friday, April 4
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Tickets are $10 and include a cocktail at Lock + Key: Buy tickets here

THE LINE
3515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Map It

We’ll be at The Line from 6:00 to 6:30 pm. The tour will leave The Line at 6:30 sharp, heading east on Wilshire.

Help LA plan for a more walkable city

Posted on March 17, 2014 by lawalks

As we’ve mentioned before, the City of Los Angeles is updating the Mobility Element to its General Plan to guide transportation infrastructure and policy for the next twenty years; creating a new Health and Wellness element to make the city a healthier place for all residents; and updating its zoning code for the first time since 1946. All of these policies could potentially make LA a better place for walking.

Drafts of all three of these planning efforts are being shared with the public at regional forums in March and April. Walkers should attend to make sure the plans prioritize walking. Events are being held all over the city, see the list of upcoming forums to find one near you!

Read more about re:code LA and the Mobility Element update.

Welcome Crenshaw WALKS!

Posted on March 15, 2014 by lawalks

We’re happy to welcome Crenshaw WALKS as our newest partner in advocating for a more walkable LA. Join their Facebook group to find out more about what they have in the works, including a meet-and-greet before the Leimert Park Art Walk. Details on that below!

Crenshaw WALKS Meet and Greet Prior to the Leimert Park Art Walk
Sunday March 30
1:00 to 2:00 pm

KAOS Network
4343 Leimert Avenue, Leimert Park

Invite friends on Facebook

Walk Colorado Boulevard and Eagle Rock with us on 3/23

Posted on March 10, 2014 by lawalks

Join us for our first ambassor-led walk of 2014: Colorado Blvd and Eagle Rock Walk: Appreciating the Past and Improving the Future.

Co-sponsored by the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council this walk will explore the past and future of Colorado Boulevard and beyond. Led by Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council member Ashley Atkinson and LA Walks Steering Committee member Mark Vallianatos this four mile walk will travel along Colorado Boulevard up to the iconic Eagle Rock itself and return to our starting point. Along the way you’ll get to learn a little about the history of the Eagle Rock neighborhood; recent efforts by the neighborhood council, Council District 14, and Take Back the Boulevard to improve the boulevard; and can help identify opportunities for additional improvements.

This walk is four (4) miles roundtrip and is a stroller/roller friendly walk (families and wheelchair users encouraged, however there is a significant uphill portion to this walk, a 344 ft one-way elevation gain).

Sunday, March 23
10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Swork Coffee
2160 Colorado Boulevard, Eagle Rock

Tickets are $5 + online fees, buy tickets here or bring $5 cash

Our monthly walks help grow our organization and will range in price depending on the event. thank you!

Share the event on Facebook

We have a series of walks in the works led by walking ambassadors from around LA. Stay tuned for announcements about these!

Apply for a People St project in your neighborhood

Posted on March 4, 2014 by lawalks

Los Angeles Communities can now easily transform underused areas of L.A.’s largest public asset—our 7,500 miles of city streets—into active, vibrant, and accessible public space with People St, a program of the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). Eligible Community Partners can apply for approval to install three innovative types of projects: Plazas, Parklets, and Bicycle Corrals.

These temporary project types have one thing in common: they are situated below the curb. Unlike repurposing a vacant lot into a park, or planting trees along a sidewalk – both examples of above the curb improvements – People St projects reallocate pieces of the roadbed, where you step down from the sidewalk, as their home.

Plazas are installed in underused or redundant road space by blocking off a segment of street with heavy planters and colorized or textured surface treatments.
Parklets and Bicycle Corrals are installed in on-street or metered parking spaces.
All three People St project types transform below-the-curb roadbed into spaces for people to enjoy.

Sounds Great! How Do I Start?

People St offers an application-based process for Community Partners to receive approval to install a Plaza, Parklet, or Bicycle Corral. Through peoplest.lacity.org, potential Community Partners can access an online-application portal and the materials required for the application process, including downloadable PDF Application Manuals and Kit of Parts documents.

Each year, LADOT opens an application window, a time during which Community Partners can submit an initial project proposal. In 2014, there will be two windows available so we can get a jump-start on projects all over the city. You can apply during the March to April window or wait until the regular, yearly window opens in October.

Introductory Application Window
March 3–April 30, 2014

Regular Annual Application Window
October 1–November 28, 2014
(October—November every year thereafter)

Using a set of established criteria to assess each proposal, LADOT selects a limited number of applications with which to move forward. Considerations for proposal selection include: organizational capacity, site location, site context, community support, and access needs for public spaces. Those selected then work closely with LADOT to complete the process of bringing a project to life.

Go to the Get Ready page of the People St website for an overview on what you can do to build support for a project, identify a viable site and potential Community Partner, and prepare for an upcoming application window.

Make sure to download the Application Manuals from the Plaza and Parklet pages of the website – these are your guide to all of the requirements and considerations for Plazas and Parklets. The Bicycle Corral page points you to the latest info for this project type. In these materials, make sure to review the site location criteria, the hard and fast rules for where you can and can’t locate these types of projects. Design professionals like architects, planners, and landscape architects can help you out with this if it’s not totally clear at first if the slice of street you’ve earmarked meets the criteria.

You can fast-track questions on site location feasibility to LADOT staff by filling out the Inquiry Form found at the bottom of the Get Ready page.

For more information on People St

visit peoplest.lacity.org / e-mail peoplest@lacity.org

via Valerie Watson, LADOT

The City of Los Angeles declares Complete Streets Day

Posted on March 3, 2014 by lawalks

Last Friday, Councilmember Jose Huizar introduced a resolution to proclaim March 5, 2014 as Complete Streets Day in the City of Los Angeles. The idea is to celebrate the City’s early accomplishments in implementing complete street projects in the City of Los Angeles.

Here is an exerpt from Deborah Murphy’s speach at City Council Chambers during the Complete Streets Day celebration this morning.

I am here today to support councilmember Huizar in his declaration of complete streets day in los angeles so that we can celebrate the vital accomplishments that we have made in the past few years to create SAFE streets – safe, accessible, fun and equitable streets – that are for everyone.

Councilmember Huizar has exhibited courageous leadership to implement strategies to transform the streets in his district to slow down drivers, to make it safer to walk and bike to school, shopping and work, to have a safe park to park your bike, to encourage people to linger in their neighborhood shopping district, to promote transit ridership, to recognize that streets are our largest open space network.

I would also like to recognize the appointment of two pedestrian coordinators, margot ocanas and Valerie Watson, in 2012, something that I have encouraged the city to do for over 20 years. their safe routes to school strategic plan and people st programs are responding to the demands of our communities that want safer streets so that their kids can walk and bike to school and for neighbors to meet and hang out with each other at a parklets or plaza.

In addition to the accomplishments, we need to have a larger vision for what our streets mean to our city, how they are the lifeblood of our neighborhoods where our kids walk to school, where our seniors stroll, where our merchants conduct their business, where we can capture the vital and rare water resources that we have, where we create shade and provide habitat, where we all shop, meet, walk our dogs, chat with friends, celebrate our city and more.

We must develop a comprehensive and thoughtful policies and programs to deal with the state of our streets. We have many proposals on the table that each go part of the way that need to be coordinated. We have the 50/50 program, the save our streets bond proposal, the mayor’s great streets program, the green streets program, the complete streets initiative, the transit corridors cabinet ideas, the new mobility element – where most of these ideas can be incorporated, and other efforts.

We need to be thinking about this issue in a holistic and sustainable manner and we must include safety as a critical part of our efforts. We must develop a VISION ZERO campaign like san Francisco and new york. We must reduce crashes as peds and bike make up 39% of our crashes, yet only receive less than 1% of the funding and make up over 25% of the trips in los angeles.

Los angeles walks encourages the city council of los angeles to have the courage to show their leadership to create streets for the future – not just repairing streets, or greening streets, or transforming parking spaces into park spaces but Complete, great, transit-oriented, safe, green, fun and place-making streets.

Remember we are all pedestrians, every cyclist, every transit rider, every driver is a pedestrian.

Here is the Council resolution below!

March Forth Pedestrian Day of Action

Posted on February 20, 2014 by lawalks

Come help the pedestrian superheroes of Los Angeles Walks protect pedestrians at busy intersections. Wear your superhero gear — capes, bright colors, masks, head dresses — whatever gives you your super power. For inspiration, here is a photo of LA Walks’ own hero Peotonito in Mexico City, who has inspired us to take to the streets as superheroes.We’ll meet on the northwest corner or Alameda and Los Angeles St at the Placita de Dolores at 4pm.

Around 5:30, we’ll head to 1st and Hill — near the Civic Center Red Line stop.

We will train volunteers at the start of half hour or so, if you can’t arrive right at 4:00.

If you want to come volunteer to be a pedestrian super hero for the day, RSVP to our Facebook event page.

Here is where we’ll meet at 4pm! :

Come to the next Active Streets event on February 1

Posted on January 21, 2014 by lawalks

Join Los Angeles Walks at the next Active Streets, which empowers communities to create safe walking and bicycling routes to parks, schools, and local businesses along their neighborhood streets.

This event will feature FREE raffle, FREE Family activities, FREE snacks and beverages, and a bike safety skills training and a walk throughout the community.

Active Streets LA is a partnership of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, TRUST South LA, and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation with funding through the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Active Streets LA
Saturday, February 1, 2014
10:00am-1:30pm

1201 W. 48th St.
Los Angeles CA 90037
Vermont Square Library and Park

See who’s coming and invite friends on Facebook