I started the DRY RIVER project to map out the legal and "homemade" entrances to the Arroyo Seco Bikeway as well as potential new points of access along the route.  As a resident of Highland Park, I commonly use the space for running, biking, and relaxing, however, I noticed several points of surprising oversight in its construction.

The Arroyo Seco Bikeway stretches through Northeast LA to South Pasadena winding beside the 110. It offers excellent pedestrian and bike only transportation through some of the largest parks in the region.  However, access to the bikeway is extremely limited by chain link fences lining each side.  Half of the entire bikeway does not have any access points as it runs alongside Ernest Debs Park and Hermon Park.

Opening access to the Arroyo Seco Bikeway opens access in NELA to parks and alternative transportation.  It is easy to add gates where there is fencing so that local residents can easily access the river.  As of now, NELA's greatest alternative transit corridor is simply closed behind a chain link fence.

Read more about the project here!

-Jack Moreau

Join Los Angeles Walks  at the next CicLAvia on Sunday December 7. We'll be walking the whole route, starting at Central and Washington at 9am.

And you can also find us at the Leimert Park Plaza hub, collecting feedback for our "Walk This Way Leimert Park" pedestrian wayfinding signs. Come tell us where you walk in Leimert Park! And if you can volunteer for an hour or two to help us with outreach, sign up here!

Passionate about your neighborhood, Los Angeles history, art, food, culture and walking? Then share your passion with the Los Angeles Walks community! We rely on passionate individuals to share their Los Angeles with us each month as Walk Ambassadors. Walk Ambassadors design and lead us on walks to explore the many diverse neighborhoods that make up the City of Los Angeles. Our walks range from being 1.5 miles to 10 and along the way we meet artists, residents, community leaders, and learn about the past, present and future of our communities.

Pitch your idea for a walk by submitting a completed Planning Your Walk form to [email protected]. Walks need to be in the City of Los Angeles, but other than that there are no limits! Check out some of our 2014 walks by scrolling through our archives.

**Deadline extended through January 20**

Thanks to Small Business Saturday, Mar Vista is going to be host to numerous pop-ups for your perusal!

The Mar Vista Chamber of Commerce encourages everyone to Shop Local and Shop Small at the first-ever Small Business Saturday Pop-Up Mar Vista event.

Over 35 businesses along Venice Blvd will be participating; welcoming customers shopping for Holiday gifts, enjoying art galleries, getting some pampering done, or just enjoying a stroll or bike ride.

The Mar Vista Chamber will hand out maps listing all the participating stores. You’ll be able to find the Chamber at our "Home Base" for the day – at the South East corner of Venice & Centinela. Each store will stamp the map every time someone comes in to shop or browse – and for every stamp on their map, customers will earn a raffle ticket for some terrific prizes donated by local merchants.

If you ride a bike to any of the stores, you’ll earn an extra stamp on your map, which will earn you an extra raffle ticket, too!

The raffle prizes will be given away at the end of the day, and winners need not be present to win. Join the Chamber after the Pop-up event at Louie’s of Mar Vista, beginning at 4:30pm, to find out who will win the prizes!

Join us to #ShopSmall on this very fun day supporting local businesses!

Saturday, November 29
1:00-4:00pm

At the Great Streets route on Venice between Beethoven and Inglewood Blvd

This Saturday, November 22nd we're partnering with the Mayor's Great Streets Initiative and City Impact Lab on a tour of NoHo's Arts District evolution, including a brand new People St plaza!

The plaza will be located just one block off of the Great Street development in the alley at the corner of Lankershim and Magnolia. People St is exactly what makes Great Streets and their efforts to transform the city have brought beautiful plazas into fruition.

If we are lucky, we may even catch a glimpse of Magic Johnson, who is rumored to walk through the alley on the way to his gym. Soon he'll be walking through a People St. instead!

Afterwards, you might want to meet up with the Great Los Angeles Walk, which is venturing eastward down Ventura!

NoHo Neighborhood Impact Walk
Saturday, November 22
Meet at 9:45am at the Northeast corner of Lankershim & Chandler
NoHo Metro Red Line and Orange Line Station (Lankershim and Chandler in NoHo)

Tickets for the walk are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the walk.
Click here to RSVP and purchase tickets.

Join us to explore North Hollywood with Walk Ambassador John Bwarie on Saturday, November 22nd. John will lead this special NoHo Neighborhood Impact Walk that will showcase the ways, methods, and people that have transformed the NoHo Arts District over the last 20 years. We’ll explore historical sites, municipal improvements, residential, industrial, and commercial districts, as well as theaters and, of course, the Television Academy! The walk will focus on the history of the area and its transformation in the last 2 decades. Experts will join the group along the route to share their first-hand insight on how things changed both the challenges and successes. This tour will present the convergence of history, cultural, and politics. (John has lived and worked in the area and was part of these changes; and currently, he leads food tours across LA via Secret City Tours and runs the City Impact Lab in Los Angeles.)

You're invited to explore one of Los Angeles' most fascinating neighborhoods: Koreatown. Also known as Wilshire Center or Ktown, this neighborhood stands at the intersection of Los Angeles' past and its possible future. Along this walk, lead by Walk Ambassador David Barboza, a former Ktown resident who works as a city planner for the City of Lakewood, we'll learn about the historic buildings, subway service, stunning cultural diversity, and generate lots of food for thought about what makes a place good or bad to walk (plus there's lots of non-metaphorical food for hungry pedestrians!).  Highlights include architectural gems like the Bullocks Wilshire building and quirky sights like a multi-story driving range.  The walk also explores some of the streets around Wilshire, to give a sense of the City you won't find on a postcard.

The walk starts at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 15th at 3183 Wilshire Boulevard (meet at the Coffee Bean directly above the Wilshire/Vermont subway station). This 3-mile walk through city blocks is mostly flat will end at the Wilshire/Western subway station about one mile west (as the crow flies) from the starting point. More info here.

Past Meets Future Koreatown Walk
Saturday, November 15
Meet at 10am at the Coffee Bean directly above the Wilshire/Vermont subway station.
Wilshire/Vermont Metro Red Line and Purple Line Station (3183 Wilshire Boulevard )

Tickets for the walk are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the walk. Click here to RSVP and purchase tickets for the Koreatown Walk.

We're fundraising this week for an awesome new project we have in the works: a system of pedestrian wayfinding signage that gives information on walking times between different destinations to show connectivity between neighborhoods and change perceptions that many places are too far away to walk.

These signs are similar in concept to the Walk My City signs (walkyourcity.org), but we intend to create a visual language for our signs that references the eclectic hand-painted signs found all around Los Angeles, which is a visual language more inviting and more specific to LA. Two professional sign painters who love our work have offered to help us with the designs.

We are funding the project through an ioby crowdsourced campaign, with matching funds from Transit Center.

Please donate before Thursday, October 23rd at 11:59 p.m! Every dollar you donate will be matched by Transit Center, so your donation will help us 2-fold!

Join the LA Walks steering committee for an open meeting!

We're inviting the larger community to contribute to discussions pertaining to all of our current projects. If you've ever wanted to get involved in our work, this is the time! This meeting will cover our many elements of our S.A.F.E. campaign which includes:

• 2013/2014 Pedestrian Count
• Vision Zero Policy
• Hyperion Bridge Project
• Metro Complete Streets Policy
• Street and Sidewalk Repair
• Pending and Future Grants
• Past & Future Walks
• Cap & Trade Policies
• Potential Pedestrian Funding Opportunities
• Any new ideas brought to the table!

Anyone from the public can attend, so please bring someone you feel will be interested in our work. We are excited to hear everyone's thoughts about our projects and goals so that we can be more inclusive, effective, and efficient!

Los Angeles Walks Open Meeting
Thursday, November 13
6:30pm to 8:30pm

KAOS Network
4343 Leimert Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90008

RSVP and invite friends on Facebook!