Los Angeles Considers Replacing Traffic Lanes with Public Park Space

The Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles is proposing that traffic lanes between 9th and Olympic Avenue in downtown be reduced by two lanes and replaced with public green space. +In addition to providing desperately needed open space in dense downtown Los Angeles, the reduction in lanes would also serve the purpose of creating a more pedestrian-oriented environment.

''The bottom line is, we need more park space,'' said Mike Pfeiffer, president of a downtown neighborhood stakeholders group.

''According to this article in the Los Angeles Times, this is the first time the city has considered replacing asphalt with parkland. ''We decided with the city that we could close some of the lanes on the street and create a new street that was smaller and more pedestrian-friendly,” said Lillian Burkenheim, the redevelopment agency's project manager for downtown. As the article notes, the concept of street narrowing has become increasing popular in planning and engineering circles—as streets become narrower, drivers become more cautious, making the street more appealing for pedestrians and other modes of transportation.

The idea of turning asphalt to parkland has become so popular that a similar idea is being proposed a few blocks away at Hill and 9th streets. New residents to downtown want to convert an underused parking lot into a residential park.   1/6/2010

Resource(s): www.latimes.com/

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