For Immediate Release May 3, 2013 Contact:  info@srnapasadena.org The mission of the San Rafael Neighborhoods Association (SRNA) is to enhance and maintain the character and quality of all San Rafael neighborhoods through advocacy and an activated community.  Fire Related Announcement      A fire broke out around 1:00 PM on the east side of the 100 block of S. San Rafael Ave. Fire departments from Pasadena & Glendale responded and quickly put the fire out shortly before 2:00 PM. About 1 acre on the large property was burned including a vacant structure. This area is included in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone recently discussed by Fire Chief Wells at a SRNA public meeting in April. Fire spokesperson Lisa Derderian stated that "with minimal winds, we were lucky with the Arroyo Seco just on the other side " As recently reported in a previous SRNA newsletter regarding brush clearance, the fuel source in the Arroyo is immense and the fire danger on either slope poses threats to homes and the Arroyo itself. PFD Engine Companies 33 & 38 arrived and quickly extinguished the flames and kept the fire from spreading further to other homes and into the Arroyo. PFD was also deployed in the nearby Glendale 134/2 FWY fire that burned over 75 acres. Both departments quickly extinguished that fire as well. Station #39 will re-open at the end of this year.   San Rafael Neighborhoods Association  (SRNA)  Working to Preserve and Protect Our Community

Join SRNA--West Pasadena's newest and fast growing neighborhood organization dedicated to the San Rafael Neighborhoods Area.  MEMBERSHIP LEVELS:  Member $20 Household $35 Sustaining $100 Patron $250 Benefactor $500 Contact us and send check by mail to: San Rafael Neighborhoods Association (SRNA) PO Box 92617 Pasadena, CA 91109   or join us at our website at www.srnapasadena.org  and click the tab "Join Us" Credit cards accepted  The San Rafael Neighborhoods Association is registered with the City of Pasadena Neighborhood Connections.

Heavy Rail, or a Light Rail/BRT Mix? Garcetti and Greuel Discuss Options for Sepulveda Pass

Heavy Rail, or a Light Rail/BRT Mix? Garcetti and Greuel Discuss Options for Sepulveda Pass 

  http://la.streetsblog.org/2013/05/03/heavy-rail-or-a-light-railbrt-mix-garcetti-and-greuel-discuss-options-for-sepulveda-pass/

By Damien Newton, May 3, 2013

 

 ...sure you are...

“Behind me, you can see one of the most notorious symbols of LA traffic: Valley commuters stuck in the 405 South daily traffic jam,” began Wendy Greuel at her transportation themed press conference at the Sherman Oaks Galeria. “The 405-101 interchange is the most congested interchange in the United States.”

Greuel, the City Controller who is battling City Councilman Eric Garcetti to be the next mayor of Los Angeles, took a moment to yesterday to highlight what many Angelenos already know. There is not enough freeway space for the number of people that want to, or feel forced to, drive to get where they need to go.

That statement is doubly true for the 405.

Maybe the next mayor should do something about it.

One issue that both Garcetti and Greuel agree on is that further widening of the I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass, one of the few transportation links between the populous exhurbs of the Westside and San Fernando Valley, is a fool’s game. Both advocate for a strong and real transit alternative to driving on the 405.

And advocates agree. David Murphy is the head of Angelenos Against Gridlock (AAG).  In the past weeks, AAG earned a lot of media attention by attacking the widening and revealing the celebrity support of Elon Musk for highlighting how far behind, and over budget, the 405 widening project is.
But Murphy’s group isn’t arguing for further widening, but for rail expansion.

“What does all the attention to the 405 traffic, including even on Good Morning America today, say about the need for rail?” Murphy asked rhetorically in an email.
While both candidates agree that transit is the best way to move people through the pass, they each offer different solutions.

“I am also committed to developing a relief project for the 405,” Greuel continued yesterday. “I began exploring this as a councilmember and, as mayor, I am ready to put those plans into action and provide relief to the 405 congestion. My plan supports investing in Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail, dedicated lanes and prioritizing the city’s bike plan.”

 

But Garcetti doesn’t think light rail, even supplemented with other transportation options, is the answer. At a recent candidate forum broadcast by CBS 2/KCAL 9 and hosted by the National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles and Bend the Arc, Garcetti made the case of a major investment in heavy rail, or even a subway through the mountains.

“If you look at the number of passengers we have to alleviate, light-rail probably wouldn’t do enough,” Garcetti is quoted as saying in Neon Tommy. “[The rail would] go from the north San Fernando Valley basically to LAX, including a transit tunnel through the 405 pass that would allow you to be able to go essentially from Sherman Oaks to UCLA in five or 10 minutes.”

While a tunnel may sound cost prohibitive, Greuel hasn’t ruled out the tunnel option. She noted that it might actually be easier to tunnel than build on or near the 405 given recent experiences.

Despite the higher cost of heavy rail, the plan does have backers in the transit advocacy community. The Transit Coalition proposes a “GEM Line” of heavy rail right through the mountains. Their proposal incudes stops throughout the San Fernando Valley starting at Sylmar and ending on Ventura Boulevard. Then there are another four stops on the Westside, including one at UCLA.

 

 Whether it’s Greuel’s transit mix or Garcetti’s heavy rail, the conversation sure has changed from a couple of years ago when then-Governor Schwarzenegger suggested double-decking the freeway.

However, to move a project for the Sepulveda Pass is going to require some political muscle. True, there is funding for a transit project for the Pass in Measure R, but under the current funding plan funds wouldn’t be available until the third decade of funding from the half cent sales tax. Again, both Garcetti and Greuel have pledged to work hard to accelerate construction of transit projects, but Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa can tell you that’s a lot easier said then done.

 

Despite assembling a national coalition of mayors and transit advocates, the Mayor’s famous America Fast Forward program acheived only modest reforms of federal funding formulas. All the logic in the world will be dashed against the rocks when pushed up against the short-sightedness of the House Republican Caucus. And without reforms that lower the 2/3 voter threshold needed to pass another transit tax, or an extension of the current one, it’s anyone’s guess whether another tax proposal would just pass the threshold as Measure R did in 2008 or just miss as Measure J did in 2012.

 

“We need to use our resources wisely including innovative funding mechanisms, like America Fast Forward bonds for Measure R to accelerate construction of priority transit and highway projects. Measure R transit projects will generate more than $67 billion in economic activity, adding 409,000 jobs, $25 billion in income and 8 billion in new tax revenues. But we need to keep up the momentum,” Greuel promised yesterday. “That means expediting the Subway to UCLA, extending the Expo Line to Santa Monica, and we have to get the Regional Connector built. I’ll also work closely with Sacramento and our Congressional delegation to make sure Los Angeles is getting our fair share of state and federal transportation dollars.” 

 

Garcetti agrees that it is important to find other ways to accelerate transportation and transit projects and has suggested that a second run at Measure J might be one of the best options.

L.A. Wants to Turn Its Concrete 'River' Into a Real River

 http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2013/05/ls-wants-turn-its-concrete-river-real-river/5482/

By Lamar Anderson, May 3, 2013

Bodies of water have so much allure—particularly in overpaved cities—that we’re content to put up with the algae-scented funk of the Central Park pond, or even the stench of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal, just to rest our eyes on something blue (or, er, brown).

In recent years the Los Angeles River has enjoyed a renaissance. Though the waterway hasn’t really been a natural habitat since the 1930s (when the city lined the riverbed with concrete to control flooding), new bike paths, public art, and kayak tours now draw Angelenos to the water’s edge. So far these upgrades have been largely peripheral, due in large part to urban enthusiasts’ determination to start using the giant ditch they inherited as a river. Meanwhile, the city’s more substantial plan to transform the channel into a living habitat is mired in delays at the federal level.


The Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan, completed in 2007 by the landscape design firm Mia Lehrer + Associates, calls for the removal of most of the concrete and natural habitat restoration around the river. But, as the Architect’s Newspaper‘s Sam Lubell reports, a delay in a feasibility study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has stalled this ambitious project, putting everyone’s dreams of a green urban idyll on hold.

The Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan, completed in 2007 by the landscape design firm Mia Lehrer + Associates, calls for the removal of most of the concrete and natural habitat restoration around the river. But, as the Architect’s Newspaper‘s Sam Lubell reports, a delay in a feasibility study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has stalled this ambitious project, putting everyone’s dreams of a green urban idyll on hold.

The LA River today. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering.

Before work can proceed, the Corps must assess the flood risks and, counterintuitively, the habitat risks of altering the river’s makeup. (Are we worried that all those algae colonies will die off for want of concrete?) The feasibility study was scheduled to wind up at the end of this year, but six years of bureaucratic snares and funding mishaps have jeopardized that deadline.

Carol Armstrong, director of the Los Angeles River Project Office for the city’s Bureau of Engineering, told the Architect’s Newspaper that she expects the study to drag on because of a lack of support in Washington. "They’d rather add acres to the Everglades instead of changing a concrete channel in LA. It’s a cognitive shift we’re going to have to make," she said.

Next to Florida’s famous wetlands, yes, a concrete ditch doesn’t have much to offer as a natural wonder. But let’s hope the feds realize that a city waterfront—with all the Portlandia-style frolicking and bursts of economic activity that come with it—is ultimately urban good.

Rendering of a revitalized LA River with landscaping and public promenades. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering.


Courtesy of the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering.

Why the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce Voted Against Bike Lanes

The chamber’s 17-0 vote opposing bike lanes on Colorado last week is the latest twist in a spreading controversy. 

 http://eaglerock.patch.com/articles/why-the-eagle-rock-chamber-of-commerce-voted-against-bike-lanes

By Ajay Singh, May 2, 2013

 

   

 

 

It’s a little past 5 p.m. on Thursday and Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce President Michael Nogueira is preparing to go home after a hard day’s work at Sir Michael’s, his party rentals business on Eagle Rock Boulevard. Moments earlier, he parked a catering truck in the store’s driveway, backing it with practiced precision—never mind that the right side of the vehicle slightly scraped the outer wall of a flower shop next door, sending flakes of plaster flying.

As Nogueira stands on the sidewalk, facing the boulevard, a man driving a sparkling white Mercedes sedan waves casually at him. “Alatorre,” says Nogueira, returning the greeting. Minutes later, a man riding a bicycle cruises south on the boulevard, and Nogueira perks up.

“He doesn’t need a bicycle lane,” does he? Nogueira asks, instantly answering his own question: “No, he doesn’t.”

If Nogueira gets his way, no biker in Eagle Rock will get to ride in a bike lane, and he’s hardly the only member of the community to oppose plans by the Department of Transportation to create a bike lane along both sides of Colorado Boulevard by July next year, reducing the number of vehicular traffic lanes on each side from three to two.

There’s a reason why Nogueira has bikes on his mind today: Last week, on Tuesday, April 23, the executive board of the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce held a closed session at the Solheim Lutheran Home, where it voted unanimously, 17-0, to oppose the installation of bike lanes on Colorado at the expense of traffic lanes.

Among those who voted against the dedication of an entire traffic lane to bicycles was Bryan Paul, general manager of Eagle Rock Plaza, Nogueira said.

“We’re not saying we don’t want the bikes—we’re saying why give up one lane for them,” Nogueira explains. “This is a big city and the bigger it gets the more people are going to rely on cars.”
The reason the executive board of the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce is against dedicated bike lanes is that “we don’t see bike lanes helping business in any shape or form,” Nogueira said, conceding that the only businesses that might benefit would be cafés.

“Will bike lanes slow down traffic?” he asked. “Yes, big time—maybe bumper to bumper. Will the city give us more parking in exchange for bike lanes? No. Will it give us more turning lanes? No.”
The issue of turning lanes might appear to be the newest wrinkle in the simmering bike lanes controversy in Eagle Rock and Highland Park. And on the face of it, it might even seem irrelevant—if not also a distraction from the core issues at hand.

But as Nogueira tells it, turning lanes are inextricably tied to the larger issue of how traffic on the “island” stretch of Colorado between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Townsend, will be impacted by bike lanes.

“Let’s say we have two lanes of traffic and I want to turn left in my truck on Colorado to go to Colombo’s,” says Nogueira. “I have to wait for a break in the fast lane on the other side, while I’m blocking the fast lane on this side.”

Emergency vehicles, too, will be impacted by bike lanes, according to Nogueira. That’s because when an emergency occurs, motorcars are required to pull over to the right—which is going to be difficult because the far right bike lane will be out of bounds to them.

“You’re going to have a traffic jam,” says Nogueira, adding that the spillover of traffic onto Hill Drive (where Nogueira and Chamber Corresponding Secretary Kaye Beckham live) is another concern.

There are safety issues, too—such as the prospect of motorists opening the doors of parked vehicles smack into an oncoming rider, Nogueira pointed out. But the bottom line is: “We have to look at whether bike lanes are going to help us any in business.”

Nogueira doubts bikers are likely to ride all the way from Pasadena, for example, to eat in Eagle Rock restaurants. “Really?” he asks rhetorically, adding: “Come on!”

The best way forward, Nogueira recommends, is to conduct independent studies about the number of bikers who actually use Colorado right now.

“We have cameras, don’t we? Put them out there and see how many bikes go down Colorado,” he says.

Asked how he reconciles the fact that as president of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council he voted for bike lanes recently, Nogueira replies: “I did vote on it at the time. Now I’m hearing from my chamber and I’ve got to look at it both ways.”

The other point a lot of folks don’t understand is that there aren’t many people in Eagle Rock who are both residents and business owners like him, Nogueira says.

“How many in TERA or on the neighborhood council have a business and live here?” he asks.
Nogueira said he will soon issue an e-mail blast to all 129 of the Chamber members, informing them of the executive board's decision. Subsequently, he expects the Chamber to write a letter to the Department of Transportation, apprising it of the Chamber's opposition to exculsive bike lanes.
Because the Chamber’s vote was in closed sessions, details are of course unavailable. Meanwhile, there are theories as to what might have transpired behind those closed doors.

“I’m glad to hear that the Chamber’s leadership is informing its members of the decision they’ve made on their behalf,” says David Greene, vice president of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council.
“In my experience, it's better for these decisions to come from the bottom up—at the Neighborhood Council, for example, we listened to residents and business owners before we voted unanimously to support buffered bike lanes on Colorado.”

Adds Greene: “Our vote reflected the overwhelming support we heard for bike lanes. I'll be interested to hear the reaction of Chamber of Commerce member businesses to their leaders' decree, since I know some are strong bike lane supporters."

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