Posts Tagged ‘Los Angeles’
Parkman Triangle Is A Reality
March 14th, 2010 | 
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Yesterday, we had a fantastic turnout for our work on Parkman Triangle. I asked Ara Babaian, who first thought about doing something good with that 2000-square foot patch of asphalt, to share his thoughts on this project. I will invite others working on PT to give their views and hopes for a plan that we hope catches on in LA. Let me start with Ara!--LK/GGP
On Saturday, March 13, 2010, over 20 residents of Silver Lake and a few others from as far away as Brentwood volunteered at the future site of Parkman Triangle to spread, mix and compact the fill dirt with clean base. Parkman Triangle will be a micro-park situated in this high-traffic, urban residential part of Silver Lake—an “urban lounge” of sorts where walkers will hang out for a few minutes, get some shade, and then move on. This urban lounge, to be called “Parkman Triangle” because of its triangular shape and its location at the intersection of Silver Lake Boulevard and Parkman Avenue, will provide much needed green space to this part of Silver Lake just south of Sunset Boulevard. But Parkman Triangle will do more than just add some green—it will also serve as the focal point for this part of Silver Lake which is not quite as developed as the areas near the Reservoir and at Sunset Junction. (more...)
Posted in air - land - quality of life, construction and architecture | 
Tags: Ara Babaian, Eric Garcetti, John Southern, Los Angeles, Office of Community Beautification, Parkman Triangle, Parkman Triangle Improvement Project, Parkman Triangle Park, Silver Lake, Silver Lake Improvement Association, Silver Lake Neighborhood City Council | 
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Parkman Triangle: Volunteers Needed!
The transformation of Parkman Triangle is piling up: literally, as we received three more HUGE truckloads of fill dirt on our little gem at Silver Lake Blvd. and Parkman.We will need volunteers between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday the 13th. If you cannot make it this time, no worries: we will need your efforts for another 8 to 10 Saturdays.
Today's delivery of dirt gave us a great lesson in what it takes for LA drivers and commuters to behave civilly and how to read hand gestures by construction crews. Despite my orange Land's End vest (the closest thing to a CalTrans uniform I've got), some people apparently thought the outstretched hand in a STOP pose meant either get in the other lane and block traffic coming the opposite direction, or just continue driving on anyway. Then there was the woman in a black Cadillac who kept honking her horn (while she was plugged in to her iPod) loudly as a truck was dumping its load, not realizing that behaving like a twit won't make 30 cubic yards of dirt move any quicker, though it did stress other cars around her out!
Lesson learned: give construction crews a break and follow their lead. They are only stopping and slowing traffic for your safety--and more importantly, theirs!
Please contact me directly if you can help us in the morning.
Special thanks to Materials & Applications (a jewel in Silver Lake's architectural and design scene) for helping to get the word out, and to Stacy at C.D.G. Materials in Riverside for the great pricing and outstanding professionalism of their truckers, who made a dicey delivery seamless!
Angel’s Fright
It's a simple technology, but there's something magical about a funicular, no matter where you are in the world. Emanating from the Latin word for rope, a funicular is simply an inclined railway in which two cars, connected by a cable, move up and down a steep hillside, with the weight of each car counter-balancing each other. The most famous one is probably Hong Kong's Peak Tram, but my favorite include the two charming funiculars in Italy's medieval city, Bergamo; Istanbul's sleek modern line connecting Kabata? and Taksim; but the best, by far, are the several romantically creaky hillside trams that line Chile's bohemian seaside port, Valparaíso. Surprisingly, I ran into another one yesterday in downtown LA, Angel's Flight. Shocking, I know, as rail in LA seem to make as much sense as . . . palm trees and snow. (more...)
Posted in transportation |
Tags: Angel's Flight, LA Metro, Los Angeles, public transportation |
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Parkman Triangle: Stage One!
I was thrilled to find out that work Parkman Triangle Park has finally started. I took the dog out for a walk to see for myself, and I like what's been done!
The asphalt has been ripped out, and soon the water main can be installed. It turned out to be quite a job. The workers who were at the site told me that it turned out there were two layers of asphalt: one was the original street, and then you had the top layer which has been home to illegal parking and Sunday flea markets for years. The workers seemed excited about this project, too: they had also worked on a similar greening project in East Hollywood. (more...)
Parkman Triangle-Demolition Monday?
GGP is in Brazil with little internet connection, but we have heard that demolition on Parkman Triangle may start on Monday--so stay tuned. Let's hope this finally happens. Since we cannot be there, please take pictures if this happens!!!!
Many thanks to John Southern and Ara Babaian for all their work.
Slowly to the Sea
I'm so thrilled. After years of NIMBYism, supported by the hypocritical likes of Henry Waxman, the Metropolitan Transit Authority approved the subway to the sea. Well, it's more rail to the sea as we are talking about a light-rail line. Although one neighborhood, Cheviot Hills, fought tooth and nail against the project (even though the line wouldn't run through their neighborhood), it looks like expanded mass transit in LA is going to happen.
Posted in politics, transportation |
Tags: Antonio Villaraigosa, Cheviot Hills, Henry Waxman, LA Metro, Los Angeles, public transportation, subway to the sea |
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Water Wars: The Floodgates Have Opened!
Wow. Two weeks ago I posted a short film I did with Patrick Benson on LA's tenuous relationship with water. And as I often do weekly, I posted the link to most of the LinkedIn groups to which I belong. From a bird's eye view, the results were interesting: I think few actually watched the film, but I sure got a lot of comments based on my title, which was "Is water really the next oil?"
The discussions are still flying on LinkedIn. Most were engaging, and I was so overwhelmed I wasn't able to reply to all of them. (more...)
Parkman Triangle Park in Silver Lake
At the corner of Silver Lake Boulevard and Parkman Avenue lies a 2000-square foot patch of asphalt that has lain empty for decades. Occasionally, trash is strewn across it; sometimes there are unpermitted weekend yard sales or flea markets; often cars are parked on it illegally. Years ago this space was paved over to make right turns off of Parkman to Silver Lake Blvd. safer, but the redesign left wasted space that currently does nothing for the local community.But soon, after two years of research, phone calls, and neighborhood activism, this barren space in Silver Lake, south of Sunset Boulevard, will become a vibrant park, thanks to the Parkman Triangle Improvement Project. (more...)
What Green Economy?
Yesterday, as I walked up Pico Boulevard to the Los Angeles Convention Center, a sense of doom overcame me as I saw the crowds outside the entrance on Figueroa Street.Drat, I thought. It's 10:20, it started at 10, and I won't get into the Go Green Expo. The place is mobbed, so "green" really is the rage! There will be thousands of people accosting the exhibit hall for a handful of job openings--just like what we see in the newspapers when a new hotel opens and 3000 folks queue up for 100 jobs.
I could not believe all the tension in the air. People really looked down and out. It seemed half of them were smoking cigarettes. I saw many with determined looks on their faces. It seemed that most were with their families. Such is life in LA at a time when employment is over 12%.
Will I ever get in, I thought, as I approached the glass and steel entrance.
Posted in business |
Tags: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Go Green Expo, green events, green jobs, greenwashing, Los Angeles |
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LA’s Fragile Water Supply
Los Angeles and water sure have a sordid history together. Of course there's the 1974 movie, Chinatown, that sums up the backroom deals and violence that worked to bring water to a thirsty and ambitious Southern California. Now we are on the verge of another chapter in the "water wars," as years of drought, increasing population, and frustration elsewhere in California threaten to disrupt the way of life to which Angelinos have grown accustomed.
(more...)
Posted in water |
Tags: conservation, Ivanhoe Reservior, Los Angeles, Patrick Benson, Silver Lake, Silver Lake Reservoir, videos, water rationing, water wars |
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A Watershed Moment in LA
Last week's rains reminded me of the fragility of our water supply in Southern California. While the rain is always welcome for its clearing of the air and the resulting soft green carpets that cover Los Angeles, I cannot help but wonder where all that precious water is going. Most of us are concerned over landslides, but if you live in the beach communities, you are often reminded after a rain, you cannot swim for several days because pollution levels in the water spike.
Before Los Angeles County became home to 10 million people, you had the untouched Los Angeles and San Gabriel watershed. Water from snow and rain ended up in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers, and eventually flowed into the Pacific Ocean. During the 20th century, both rivers were subjected to dams and concrete channeling, and runoff from areas paved with asphalt and cement completely changed the rivers' ecology (or technically, hydrology), resulting in many endangered and many lost species. (more...)
Next Year, Babysit a Tree!
So it's the day after Christmas, and hopefully your tree will last till New Year's Day, or if you have some Armenian or Eastern European blood in you, it will hold out until January 6. I do not have a problem with buying a live tree, as long is it is mulched by the city, or you pay the local Boy Scout troop a few bucks to have them recycle it for you. Plus my impression of most Christmas tree farms is that they are run by small business owners who care about the land and are responsible. I was, however, educated about an entrepreneur who has a fantastic idea: renting trees.Scott Martin has found a budding market in Los Angeles for his rented trees. He operates a web site, The Living Christmas Company, where customers can select from several tree varieties and then rent them for three weeks. The prices range from $50 for a Charlie Brown-sized tree to $185 to something more appropriate for the White House. Martin's business is a winner all the way around: he hires adults with disabilities, will haul away Goodwill donations, recycles used Christmas wrapping, and his fleet of delivery trucks run on biodiesel.
Launched as a pilot program in 2008, Martin, a landscape architect by trade, rented about 500 this year. Let's hope his business surges even more during 2010.
A Walk Along Sunset Boulevard
A few days ago I had to take my car to the shop. With my handy Flip camera, I took some random shots as I walked from Echo Park to Silver Lake, along Sunset Boulevard. I really do believe that the best way to learn a city is to walk it: whether it's along Chong-no in Seoul, Michigan Ave. in Chicago, or Charles Street in Baltimore, you notice so much that you miss in a bus.
I hope you enjoy the little 2 minute video. The title is a little confusing--in the video, it says "A Walk Along Silver Lake." Once you create a movie using the Flip, you cannot edit it, and if you look on GreenGoPost's You Tube channel, there is a nearly identical video . . . but instead of the music, you hear hissing traffic noise if that's more your speed.
Posted in art and culture, transportation |
Tags: Echo Park, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Sunset Boulevard, videos, walking |
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I’m a Vegan Hair Salon, and I’m Taking Over.
I've seen enough. Hand me the keys. I'm taking ooh-vah. - Tabatha Coffey, star of Bravo's hit reality series, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, to another clueless owner as she is gob-smacked, once again, by a poorly-run hair salon . . .I know there are far more serious issues going on right now, such as the climate change conference in Copenhagen, but I figure COP15 has enough media buzz--not to mention the discussion of all the private jets and limousines that are hauling all the politicians and potentates to and around a Scandinavian city . . . in winter.
Which is why it may seem ridiculous that I am bringing up Tabatha's Salon Takeover (more...)
Posted in art and culture, business, food and consumer products |
Tags: greenwashing, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Tabatha Crowley, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, travel, vegan |
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A Non-profit that LEEDs
The debate over climate change and energy independence is often divisive and polarizing. First we must confront the apathetic and the nay-sayers, which has not been easy in the USA with the purported "Climate-gate" bruhaha and our concern over 10% unemployment. The Obama Administration has not been very helpful with its "green jobs" rhetoric--I think every week we have heard of the push for "home weatherization" schemes, which leaves me with the image of former Avon salespeople tapping our walls to make sure they are properly insulated (is this really the best Obama & Co. can do?). Then you've got the debate over who should lead . . . corporations, or government? Well, what about non-profits? One organization with a stellar "green" record is the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a 103-year-old advocacy group with 32 chapters in the United States. (more...)