Take Back The Boulevard

This initiative took a huge step forward when, at a recent committee meeting, Bill Roschen, President of the Los Angele Planning Commission characterized Take Back the Boulevard as one of the most exciting streetscape initiatives for the City of Los Angeles. In fact, Bill was so enthusiastic regarding our initiative that he agreed to make it the next targeted streetscape project for the Planning Commission and the Streetsf4People citywide initiative. Bill felt that the well-established broad based community approach and the inherent potential of Colorado Boulevard for improvement are compelling reasons to support Take Back the Boulevard. Bill’s support is invaluable.

Bill’s support gives credibility to the aspirations of this project. His approval of our project does not solve the funding issues. However, as we compete for grants and other sources of funding, his validation that our initiative has strong merit will prove to be invaluable.

Continuing the community outreach, we are in the process of making update presentations to various community groups over the next month. Presentations are planned to representatives of the following organizations: Collaborative Eagle Rock Beautiful, the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Eagle Rock Community Preservation and Revitalization Corporation, the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society, Occidental College, The Eagle Rock Association, and the Twentieth Century Women’s’ Club of Eagle Rock. The entire community will be invited to attend a similar update on June 5.

The initiative also will be found on Facebook.

From the beginning Occidental College has supported the Take Back the Boulevard initiative. One more indication of the partnership the college has fostered with the community was evidenced at the last steering committee meeting when Mark Vallianotos joined the steering committee. Mark is the Policy Director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute and an Adjunct Professor at Occidental College. The knowledge and skill that Mark brings to our effort is invaluable. Welcome Mark!

From the beginning the need to fully communicate with the community, making sure that Eagle Rockers have ample opportunity to express their opinions regarding how the Boulevard could be improved has been a key part of the plan. For the next few weeks meetings will be scheduled with several individual Eagle Rock community organizations, providing the opportunity for feedback in a more intimate environment. It will also allow organizations to express opinions that may be unique to their specific community interests. In June the entire community will be invited to convene once more as we move closer to finalizing the elements that have been determined by the community and will be included in the final plan.

The initiative also will be found on Facebook.

As was expected from the beginning of this initiative, parking is a topic frequently raised. There is no doubt that there are portions of Colorado Boulevard that lack adequate parking to support the local merchants. Parking alternative solutions include more effective use of existing parking, exploring the potential of angled parking to add to the parking inventory, and ideally new public parking lot(s).

There is a little good news to share. In the most densely populated commercial section of Colorado Boulevard (from Eagle Rock Boulevard east), parking spaces on the north side of Colorado Boulevard are often less utilized. In earlier public meetings, the challenge of crossing Colorado Boulevard and the shorter time limits of the parking meters on the north side of the street (one hour) were the most frequently cited reasons for the lower usage of those meters. I am pleased to report that, based on recent efforts by the Council Office, the time limits on the meters on the north side of Colorado Boulevard have now been changed to two hours.

The public parking lot at the intersection of Merton and Caspar Avenues significantly mitigates the parking issues in that area. Many have claimed they did not know this parking lot exists. New signage has been installed, making the availability of this lot, which is located within three blocks of a large number of commercial establishments, more apparent.

As one travels further east on Colorado Boulevard the parking challenge becomes more acute. Exploring angled parking will be examined but does not have the potential to add a significant number of new spaces. Building a new parking lot, similar to the existing Caspar / Merton lot, but farther east on the Boulevard, would be an ideal solution. Property values are at a historic low, making the acquisition of private property for a new public lot less costly. However, the potential of city funding to underwrite such development probably does not exist today.

Part of the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan is a “Parking Credit Program”. The program is structured so that when merchants desire to open a business, but cannot provide the number of parking spaces deemed appropriate, they are required to pay an annual fee into the Parking Credit Program. The guidelines indicate the following regarding the parking credit fees. “The Fund shall be used for the deposit of money paid to the City of Los Angeles pursuant to Section 13 of the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan and any other money appropriated or given to this Fund for the purpose directly related to parking, transit, or pedestrian amenities in the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Community Parking Pilot Area.” Further, it states “There shall be no expenditure, transfer or other form of disbursement of money from the Fund, except for purposes directly related to parking, transit or pedestrian amenities in the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Community Parking Pilot Area.” I have requested that the Council Office provide a record of the income and expenses for the Parking Credit Fund for the last three years. Of course the dream would be to discover that enough money is in the fund to make purchasing property for a new lot possible. However, it is more likely that whatever money is in the fund is too modest to purchase property for a parking lot. Nevertheless, it will be appropriate to better understand how the program is working to ensure that the proceeds are truly being used to improve parking, transit or pedestrian amenities on Colorado Boulevard, even on a modest basis.

The initiative also will be found on Facebook.

Photos of the 2nd community meeting have been posted on Facebook.

• Something Now:  Making dramatic changes to any major thoroughfare such as Colorado Boulevard is a lengthy process.  Conducting a meaningful community dialogue, performing the due diligence analysis, funding, and many other factors preclude over night solutions.  Accepting that reality, we looked for the potential for any near-term benefits.

  For more than a decade, the topic of parking has been a constant point of concern and conversation.  Based on feedback from the community a couple of changes that provide some parking benefit are possible in the short-term.  The municipal parking lot behind the stores located at the southeast corner of Colorado (Sworks) is not known to exist by many Eagle Rockers.  The Council Office has requested that the Department of Transportation (DOT) replace existing signage with new signage that more visibly makes the availability of parking at the Casper and Merton lot more obvious. 

  The inconsistency of the parking meter limits on the north and south side of Colorado is another opportunity for parking improvements that was cited by the community.  The Council Office has acquired signatures from the businesses located on the north side of Colorado Boulevard, between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Shearin Drive, to have the limits on those meters increased from one to two hours, consistent with the meters on the south side of the street.  The request to change the meters has also been submitted to the DOT. 

  Signage changes and parking meter updates are expected to be completed in the next four to six weeks.  The plan is that these changes are the first of many that, over time, will improve how Colorado Boulevard serves our community.

• Survey:  This survey (link below) is your chance to participate in the dialogue regarding how Eagle Rock’s Colorado Boulevard can be improved to better serve the community.  If you haven’t already participated in the survey, please do it now! 
  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TakeBacktheBoulevard
• Next General Meeting: – Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 /
  Center for the Arts, Eagle RockThe goal of the first meeting in September was to introduce the topic of boulevard improvements, to encourage the community to begin to consider the ways in which Colorado Blvd. could better serve Eagle Rock, and to provide initial feedback to the Steering Committee. 

  At our second meeting in January, we will ask the community to more specifically identify the things they would like see changed in Colorado Boulevard.  Based on the feedback from the first meeting, and the results of the on-line survey, the participants will be asked to examine a list of alternative changes and ultimately identify the most wanted improvements.  Recognizing that the needs of Colorado Boulevard may vary based on what part of the boulevard is being considered, the boulevard will be broken up into several segments, allowing for the unique characteristics and needs of each section of the boulevard to be considered. 

  Please save the date on your calendar.  Your participation is important.

• Survey:  This survey (link below) is your chance to participate in the dialogue regarding how Eagle Rock’s Colorado Boulevard can be improved to better serve the community.  The voice of the community is a crucial foundation of this effort.  The first community meeting on September 21 was a great success—the turnout, participation and ideas we heard were fantastic.  Now is your turn to provide additional feedback that will influence the process as we move forward.  Please take a few minutes to complete the survey found at the following link.

  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TakeBacktheBoulevard

  Thank you for your participation and we look forward to seeing you at the next meeting on January 19.

• Environmental Impact Report

  Otherwise known as an “EIR”, Environmental Impact Reports are required when a proposed change could have significant environmental impact. One of the alternatives discussed at the first general meeting was the potential of removing one lane of traffic in each direction. Another consideration is the potential addition of bicycle lanes. It has been determined that these proposals would require that an EIR be conducted, in which the precise impacts would be analyzed and alternatives / mitigations considered. The good news is that Colorado Boulevard will be part of the first “EIR Package” for Los Angeles streets, with contracts to conduct the studies projected to be awarded by the time this eLetter is published. This action will avoid a delay of a year or more for the studies to begin. No decisions regarding any changes to the boulevard have been made at this time. However, should the final plan include a desire for bike lanes and/or the removal of traffic lanes, having the Environmental Impact Reports already completed will be of considerable benefit.

• New Supporter – Solheim Lutheran Home

  Many thanks to the Solheim Lutheran Home for being the latest supporter of the Take Back the Boulevard initiative. Safety is certainly one of the considerations that the Take Back the Boulevard initiative considers. Safety for our senior citizens needs to be included in future conversations. We welcome Solheim’s support.

We want and need your input.

Tell us what you think about Colorado Blvd by taking our Stakeholder Survey.