Westdale Connection

Westdale Avenue is one of Eagle Rock’s shorter streets, only about a quarter of a mile long according to Google Maps. The street is bisected by Eagle Rock Boulevard, cut into two distinctive sections.

Westdale Avenue as seen from Google Maps. Image credit: Google Maps

Two blocks east of Eagle Rock Boulevard, Westdale Avenue terminates by Occidental College where the street meets with Campus Road. Many residents in the area have probably traversed at least part of this section of the street between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Campus Road– perhaps to reach Oxy or to get onto or off of Eagle Rock Boulevard.

Westdale Avenue, “Not A Through Street”

The western portion is an unassuming a cul-de-sac, as signified by a “Not A Through Street” sign placed where the street intersects with Eagle Rock Boulevard, one block before the street terminates. Oddly, Westdale holds the distinction of being the only street in Eagle Rock that ends in a cul-de-sac one block immediately west of Eagle Rock Boulevard. Most streets that intersect with Eagle Rock Boulevard connect to Ellenwood Drive, if heading west. But what does this part of Westdale really look like? What is this unique cul-de-sac like in person, beyond what a Google Map street view tour can provide?

Immediately off of Eagle Rock Boulevard the street seems fairly typical– narrow sidewalks, single family homes and a small apartment are visible. As one approaches the end of the street, the sidewalks terminate, which is a little unusual for streets in the flat, non-hillside parts of Eagle Rock. The sidewalk probably ends though because technically beyond that point land is private property, according to ZIMAS (Zone Information and Map Access System).

End of the sidewalk

Continuing, one is suddenly in a parking lot and there ends the street rather unceremoniously.

End of Westdale Avenue

However, looking at this “Not Through” street, visible is a navigable walkway in the corner of the parking lot.

Center left, the asphalt continues along a narrow path

A look down the paved path

And at the end of the path is Ellenwood Drive!

Looking east on Ellenwood Drive, behind the car and the bush is the narrow path that connects to Westdale Avenue

Upon closer inspection, one can see a cut in the curb adjacent to the narrow path as though perhaps at one point Westdale Avenue was a through street or there was an alley connecting it to Ellenwood Drive.

A slant in the curb as though there was at one point car access through to Westdale Avenue

However, according to ZIMAS the path is informal. Unlike similar paths found along Delevan Drive or the Delrosa Walk, this walkway is not recognized as navigable– not a real street, alley, or walkway. A 1930 sanborn map of the area – the earliest map of the area I could find – also shows no navigable path. In the 1930 map the configuration back then is almost identical to today: Westdale Avenue ends at the same spot and the location of the path is on land recognized solely as private property.

Without further investigation, this narrow path remains a bit of a mystery. If the path really is private, why is access to the public not restricted? Who benefits from this path being here and why is it paved? If anyone knows anything about the path or the history of area more generally, feel free to chime in.

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Embrace Occidental College

Eagle Rock is very proud to be home to the humble and increasingly well-known Occidental College, or Oxy as it is known among the college’s students and locals. The sign that welcomes people at our town’s eastern end, at the  intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Wiota Street, reads “Eagle Rock, Founded 1911. Home of Occidental College”. Every year when Occidental College starts the Fall semester a banner hangs at the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Eagle Rock Boulevard that welcomes Oxy students back to Eagle Rock. These are literally signs of the affection and positive relationship fostered between the College and Eagle Rock.

There is no doubt that Occidental College has had a positive impact on our community, and that Eagle Rock has been good to Oxy. Though perhaps Eagle Rock can be more welcoming to Occidental College, particularly to its students, and equally benefit to the community at large through ways that embody the messages we put on our welcome sign and the banner that hangs over our town’s major intersection.

While Eagle Rock has always been home to a handful of Oxy students, about 60% of the school’s students are not from California, which demonstrates quite clearly many students are seeing Eagle Rock for the first time. Eagle Rock being the lovely and cool neighborhood that it is is definitely worth exploring, but is our community accessible and inviting to the many car-free college students who’ve never been here before? Our residential streets are typically relaxing and nice to walk along, but unfortunately the same cannot be said of our car-centric commercial corridors– which is a shame because that’s where our local businesses are! But things can change, for the better.

So what’s the current situation?

We can perhaps assume that most Oxy students are easily willing to walk to local destinations that are within a 10 minute’s reach. In actual distance this means students are likely able to stray about 0.5 miles from campus at a calm, relaxed walking pace. This also means that most of what is captured in this 0.5 mile radius from campus is our nice residential streets with a few businesses at the periphery of this comfortable walking distance zone along Eagle Rock Boulevard and York Boulevard. The below map shows a visualization of the 0.5 mile radius, a blue circle, around the Oxy campus with some local businesses indicated with red markers.

(Click on the map for a better view)

Almost everything within the blue zone is no more than a 10 minute walk from campus. Reaching any of the above destinations requires minimal walking on our car-centric commercial corridors and makes the local businesses indicated as likely candidates as destinations that Oxy students may visit. As one may notice, the map also includes several destinations just outside the comfortable walking zone along York Boulevard between Avenue 50 and Avenue 52. I included these businesses because that stretch of York Boulevard is enough of a hot spot, with enough commercial activity, that it is likely to warrant the little extra walking required to reach the area. York Boulevard is a relatively pedestrian friendly street that makes it attractive enough to walk to. This is especially true during Northeast LA’s monthly art walks, which liven up York Boulevard considerably.

What’s unfortunate about the comfortable 10 minute walk zone, is that it excludes many of Eagle Rock’s most popular businesses along Colorado Boulevard. This is understood clearly from a typical comment made by an Oxy freshman in a recent Eagle Rock Patch article–

I haven’t been able to venture out in Eagle Rock yet, but I’ve heard there are a lot great eating places. I heard there’s a real great Thai place and a Mexican place, although I’m not sure if they’re within walking distance of Occidental.

In reality businesses along Colorado Boulevard are not far from Oxy. The corner of Eagle Rock Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard is only a mile away from campus and businesses such as Organix are less than 2 miles away from campus. Given that it takes about 20 minutes for a typical young, healthy person to walk a mile, reaching businesses along Colorado can seem daunting, especially when one needs to walk on Eagle Rock and Colorado Boulevard– unfriendly, loud streets with zooming car traffic.

What Can Be Done?

So nothing can be done to physically move the Colorado Boulevard business corridor close to Oxy, however, as I suggested earlier, the businesses can be made more accessible. What does this mean? Well currently Eagle Rock Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard are car-centric; if you’re not in a car, you’re not prioritized. This is clear through the street design that gives the majority of space to motorists, encourages speeds in excess of 35mph, the obvious lack of crosswalks, and absence of bike infrastructure. All these conditions make our streets unaccommodating to Oxy students, 40% of which are car-free.

There are bike lanes on part of Eagle Rock Boulevard and York Boulevard, however the Eagle Rock Boulevard bike lane disappears at Westdale Avenue (just at the periphery of the comfortable walking distance zone) and the York Boulevard bike lane only makes the already pedestrian friendly portion of York more accessible, and does little to encourage students to travel north to Eagle Rock’s businesses corridor.

But there is a solution. In fact, there are many solutions but the simplest and most cost effective measure that can be implemented to make Colorado Boulevard businesses more accessible, and make our streets more welcoming is to extend the existing bike lanes on Eagle Rock Boulevard north all the way to Colorado Boulevard and to add bike lanes along Colorado itself. Comfortable bike lanes have a well-documented effect of encouraging cycling – particularly among younger people – and the bicycle allows one to cover a greater distance than walking with the same amount of time. One can easily cover a mile in 10 minutes on a bicycle, and if Eagle Rock’s main boulevards were kinder to all modes of travel there is little doubt that more Oxy students would cycle and patronize local businesses. The map below shows some local businesses that are within a comfortable bicycling distance from Oxy

(The outermost circle represents everything within a 1.5 mile radius from Oxy. The middle circle represents everything within a mile from the campus and the innermost circle is the comfortable 0.5 mile walking zone. Click the map for a larger image.) 

Will It Work?

While college students are typically thought of as being on tight budgets with little free time, this does not mean that college students do not spend money or have zero free time. It’s not unusual to see Oxy kids visiting the businesses that are within the 10 minute walking distance from campus. In fact, some Oxy students already like to eat out at businesses along Colorado Boulevard as well despite not being within the quick, and comfortable walk zone. A student from the same Eagle Rock Patch mentioned above commented the following about Eagle Rock:

I always eat at Classic Thai. The pad thai there is the best—and I can’t go to any other Thai restaurant. I also love the Eagle Rock Music Festival. People are friendly and the nightlife is very calm and chill.

Classic Thai is about 1.5 miles from the Oxy campus and could be same “great Thai place” the other student was quoted as saying it was not within walking distance. Perhaps this particular student reached Classic Thai by some other means but combining the comments made by the Oxy students does suggest that if businesses are easy to reach, the students are just as likely to enjoy local eateries, cafes and shops as much as the rest of the community. As already mentioned, Oxy students are known to visit many of the businesses that are easy to reach, within a comfortable walking distance. It seems plausible that if we extend the distance that students are comfortable traveling independently, and truly make Eagle Rock a welcoming home to Occidental College, that businesses as well as students will can benefit.

Current Eagle Rock Neighborhoood Council President, Michael Larsen, seems to have confidence in such a vision– of streets that are friendly and inviting to college students. In an Eagle Rock Patch article titled “The Future of Eagle Rock” Larsen had this to say–

“I’d love to see more places where the Oxy kids could hang out. We have an amazing, world-renowned college here and Eagle Rock should really have more of the traditional positive features of a college town… I’d like to lure them [students] back by making walking and bike riding more pleasurable and safe. I’m encouraged by Take Back The Boulevard campaign that just started, which will re-envision Colorado Boulevard to make it pedestrian and bike-friendly. Slow it down, plant more trees, give space to bikes, create safe crosswalks.”

There are plenty of bike racks along Colorado Boulevard and Eagle Rock Boulevard. Occidental College is than a mile away from 2 bike shops and the campus even has a bikeshare system, which allows students to borrow bicycles for daily use. Most Eagle Rock businesses are less than 2 miles away from campus. It seems the only thing that’s preventing more Oxy students from taking to two wheels is safe provisions for bicycling.  Existing signs are encouraging, we see on York Boulevard that bike and pedestrian friendly measures have increased the number of people walking and cycling along that street. Can Eagle Rock step up and make an environment that is welcoming to Oxy students? As Occidental College’s own website says of Eagle Rock–

“Oxy isn’t just located here; it’s a vital part of the community.” 

Let’s make our streets reflect our written commitment– let’s welcome students and have Eagle Rock feel like home.

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Highland Park Veteran Memorial Potential

A view of the veteran memorial. Photo credit: Waltarrrrr

At the intersection of York Boulevard and North Figueroa Street in Highland Park sits a triangular parcel of land known as the Highland Park veteran memorial. Unfortunately, because the memorial is relatively small and flanked speeding traffic on all sides it can be an unpleasant place to spend time.

However, it seems things could perhaps change for the better. The veteran memorial recently became property of the Department of Recreation and Parks and there is talk that the veteran memorial public space may be expanded by possibly converting the adjacent right turning pocket or parking lot into an extension of the memorial space.

The intersection of York Boulevard and North Figueroa Street. The triangular veteran memorial space could be expanded by converting the right turn pocket  and/or adjacent parking lot into parks pace. Image credit: Google Maps

Admittedly, converting a small parking lot or a right turn pocket into an extension of the public space may seem like a small gain, or perhaps even insignificant. To put things in perspective I decided to use a Google Map Area Calculator so I could see, in acres, how much the public space could be expanded. I found that the veteran memorial space is currently about 0.2 acres large, so how much bigger could the space get if we expanded it?

If we only converted the adjacent right turning pocket we would double the size of veteran memorial space, adding 0.2 acres of public space to this prominent intersection. If we converted the right turn pocket and half the adjacent parking lot into an extension of the space, we would be adding about 0.7 acres of public space. And if we converted the right turn pocket and almost the entire parking lot we could provide an entire acre to the existing 0.2 acre veteran memorial. Suddenly, it seems there is huge potential to enhancing the existing memorial which often is seen as little more than a traffic island due to its placement with high speed traffic on all sides.

If the veteran memorial were expanded to include the green shape seen in this image, we could have a 1.2 acre large public space where Highland Park’s two most prominent streets cross and have a space that truly honors veterans. Image credit: Google Maps

Expanding the veteran memorial would not only enhance the memorial space but it would also serve to connect that public space with the near by Highland Park Senior Center. In essence, an extension would almost form one large, continuous public pedestrian space well over an acre that is friendly and serves the Highland Park community. Perhaps the city could try the expansion temporarily by blocking off the right turning pocket or reduce the number of parking spaces available in the adjacent parking lot as though it were a construction zone and see how traffic adjusts. Highland Park has a unique opportunity here to beautify and enhance the public sphere, maybe that can prevail over funneling traffic at excess speeds.

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Pedestrian Friendly Elements in Berkeley

The summer is over which means that Walk Eagle Rock is migrating north to Berkeley for an other semester of university. While there’s no place like home, there are occasions on which I feel Eagle Rock can learn from Berkeley, particularly about street design and especially now with Take Back The Boulevard afoot.

Downtown Berkeley’s main street is Shattuck Avenue and  it may not resemble Colorado Boulevard much but there are elements from the street that seem they could be happily embraced along Colorado Boulevard. Let’s take a look…

• Seating implemented around street trees. Similar structures can be found in Highland Park around a handful of ficus trees that line North Figueroa Street. Having public seating available is vital if a street is to be friendly for people on foot, and these small wooden benches seem they could be attractive and easily implemented along Colorado. If someone is shopping or couples are walking, such seating can be a nice place to rest and take in the street life before carrying on.

• Hanging flower baskets from street lights. This treatment is a rather common one on main streets throughout the U.S. but it is also quite effective: it literally makes the street more colorful, gives people something to look at, and makes the street more aesthetically pleasing. In the case of Eagle Rock, if these were implemented along Colorado Boulevard perhaps adjacent store owners could agree to regularly water the plants. Like installing benches around street trees, this measure capitalizes on an existing element of the street ( the lighting) and enhances it to make the street more pleasant, attractive, and ultimately more of a destination.

• Identifier. Berkeley, like many other cities, has installed a street clock on its main street; such clocks help identify and define the commercial core of a neighborhood. Now, some might say that street clocks are overdone or cliché– and to some extent Eagle Rock already has a neighborhood clock above the awning at The Coffee Table. A street clock may not be appropriate or desired along Colorado because of this but perhaps Eagle Rock can have a unique identifier or piece of public art along Colorado Boulevard. Identifiers can be iconic, public attractions– the kind of thing that helps make Colorado a street where people might parks their car, dine somewhere, then enjoy a nice stroll along the boulevard to see the other various shops, street life and relax.

These are just simple three ways in which Eagle Rock could perhaps improve the experience of shopping, walking, and dining along Colorado Boulevard and help change the identity of the street from speedway to commercial district.

 

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Impressions of Las Flores Drive

Earlier this summer I walked some streets in Eagle Rock, observed conditions and noted my impressions. One of the streets I walked was Las Flores Drive. Las Flores is perhaps one of Eagle Rock’s narrowest and must unassuming streets, it rests parallel between our main commercial corridor – Colorado Boulevard – and one of our most prestigious and wealthy streets – Hill Drive.

Las Flores Drive is marked in blue (with a brief jog onto Hill Drive as Las Flores is bisected by Caspar Avenue), Colorado Boulevard is marked in red, and Hill Drive is the  unmarked, winding street roughly parallel Las Flores to the north.

Now, Las Flores is a little disjointed, as I’ve noted in a previous post, but it can be understood, especially with the image above, that it mostly parallels Hill Drive and Colorado Boulevard.

I started my walk on the eastern end where Las Flores intersects with Townsend Avenue

Looking west on Las Flores Drive from Townsend Avenue

I measured the street to be 19 feet, curb to curb. At this point there is no sidewalk but as can be seen in the center left of the picture (behind the green shrubbery) a sidewalk picks ups on the southern side of the street (the left in this picture). I measured the sidewalk to be 53 inches (~4.4ft) wide but the telephone pole visible in this picture reduces the sidewalk width to 35 inches, one inch short of the Americans with Disabilities Act recommended minimum sidewalk width of 36 inches.

At the next block, the intersection of Las Flores Drive and Vincent Avenue, there are stop signs facing traffic on Las Flores, none on Vincent Avenue. The sidewalk disappears when continuing west and crossing Vincent Avenue. A sidewalk appears mid-block on both sides of the street and sidewalks continue on Las Flores Drive all the way to where the street’s western end (Sumner Avenue) but seldom to pedestrians get to use the full sidewalk without interruptions. Throughout the street is comfortable and easily navigable for motorists with smooth asphalt and enough space to park, but see below some obstacles pedestrians face on these narrow sidewalks:

Poorly maintained sidewalks that can make the space difficult to navigate if pushing stroller or in wheel chair

Signs for motorists clutter the narrow sidewalk of Las Flores Drive

Crumbling sidewalk

While such features can be pleasant, especially on summer days, overhanging greenery makes the space further unnavigable when coupled with the many other obstacles on this narrow sidewalk.

On my entire walk along Las Flores Drive I encountered four people– two of which were walking, one person cycling and one person was driving his truck on the street.

Reflecting on the conditions after I walked Las Flores Drive from Townsend Avenue to Sumner Avenue I felt given the street’s current characteristics – narrow, residential, little through motor vehicle traffic, lacking adequate sidewalks – that perhaps the street could be improved if converted into a “shared space”.

So what’s a shared space? In essence, it is a street where all users (motorists, cyclists, pedestrians) are asked to negotiate the same space without physical or delineated separation.

In an Eagle Rock context the typical parking lot may be the most comparable thing we have to a shared space– drivers crawl at no more than 5mph and pedestrians walk in the same space that drivers use, without either party getting upset that the other is in front of them.

So why do I propose shared space? Two main reasons:

1) The sidewalks, even at their widest on Las Flores, are no more than 53 inches. Currently sidewalks are full with a number of obstacles including driveways, telephone poles. Every Tuesday trash bins are placed on the narrow sidewalk. By combining the sidewalk and street into one space, pedestrians are not restricted by any means as they would be able to freely walk in the 19 feet currently dedicated to vehicles. Furthermore, the sidewalks and street would simply be one, meaning stroller pushers, wheelchair users could easily navigate an obstacle.

2) Reinforce that Las Flores Drive is a residential street. It is already quite clear that Las Flores, with its low traffic volumes, is a street used mainly  by the people who live on it or visit friends and family that live on it.  However, despite this there is occasion on which motorists will use Las Flores Drive to bypass Colorado Boulevard. This is particularly true on the western end between Sumner Avenue and Ellenwood Drive where Colorado Boulevard traffic can get nasty and stressful. Residents keyed in can use Las Flores as a means to avoid Colorado Boulevard traffic when reaching their homes north of Colorado Boulevard. This isn’t a criminal use of the street but in my observations motorists using Las Flores in this manner tended to drive faster, and more aggressively– certainly not the kind of traffic the street is intended for. In a shared space there are only obstacles for drivers wishing to speed, an element I’m guessing Las Flores residents may appreciate.

Now for the fun part– what would this “shared space” look like?

A sign for a shared street in Santa Monica. Photo credit: Jarrett M

Perhaps it would look like this….

Photo credit: Joel Mann
…. the sidewalk and street are at same level. Play equipment, trees, and bike parking force drivers to go slowly. It is quite obvious the main purpose of the street is not speeding.

or like this…

… with a speed limit of “walking pace” where pedestrians can walk freely in the middle of the space without fear of aggravating motorists.

…or even like this

Photo credit: Alissa Walker
… the street painted a fun pattern and where children can play and couples can stroll, care-free.

At 19 feet wide from curb to curb, and no more than 30 feet wide from property to property, there isn’t much space on Las Flores Drive to accommodate two-way traffic for vehicles and pedestrians alike. The lack of width, traffic, and non-residential use along the street would seem to suggest the street should be designed for, and only accommodate, slow speeds. Families should feel comfortable walking on Las Flores Drive, without major obstacles every few feet. The street should empower residents and have through motor vehicle traffic be secondary to the safety and comfort of someone walking on foot. A shared space can provide just that.

It appears Las Flores Drive residents has little to lose, and so much to gain. What do you think?

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Crossing Colorado Boulevard

A lone pedestrian tries to cross Colorado Boulevard to reach Trader Joe’s

A vibrant commercial corridor is in part identified by how easy it is to cross the street. The easier it is to cross, typically, the more shopping and people friendly a street is. Think about Colorado Boulevard in Old Town Pasadena or York Boulevard between Avenue 50 and Avenue 53 in Highland Park. Both these streets have safe, convenient crossings on every block that make it easy to stroll while fostering a low stress environment for people on foot. Along these business corridors pedestrians are not confined to one side of the street for long intervals.

Conversely, on Eagle Rock’s main commercial corridor – which is frequently defined by Colorado Boulevard as it runs between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Townsend Avenue – only 7 of 12 intersections have crossing opportunities. At roughly 3,800ft long, the “downtown Eagle Rock commercial corridor” has two major gaps in crossing opportunities.

The first major gap is between Maywood Avenue and Hermosa Avenue, in which one walks roughly 1,200ft without any crossing opportunities.

The second gap is between Argus Drive and Mount Royal Drive, in which people on foot go 630ft without any crossing opportunities.

The limited crossing points are hardly conducive for visitors to take a spontaneous stroll along Colorado Boulevard and get a glimpse of all our local businesses.

“Downtown Eagle Rock commercial corridor” outlined in blue. The red blocks represent sections of Colorado Boulevard where pedestrians have no crossing points. Image credit: Google Maps

And of the pedestrian crossings we do have, not all are created equally.

Image credit: Google Maps

The non-signalized crossing at Colorado Boulevard and Hermosa Avenue (pictured left) only allows crossing on one side, making crossing at this intersection that much less convenient for pedestrians. (Note: This crossing is the only non-signalized crossing along all of Colorado Boulevard and didn’t exist prior to Renaissance Arts Academy Middle School moving in at Colorado Boulevard and Argus Drive about 5 years ago.)

Now compare this with conditions for people driving– motorists never have to go more than 350ft before being able to make a left turn or U-turn at an intersection (roughly the equivalent of a pedestrian wishing to cross the street) to reach the other side of the street .

Forcing pedestrians into having to stay on one side of the street for an extended period makes walking less convenient, less pleasant and less safe.

It’s not unusual to see people running across Colorado Boulevard at intersections that do not have any crossing provisions. While it is actually legal to cross at any intersection unless signs prohibit otherwise, not many are aware of or take comfort in this. Motorists tend to either be unaware of this law, ignore it, or  deliberately speeding up so to frighten pedestrians into a) running across the street or b) not crossing at all.

A pedestrian advantageously crosses Colorado Boulevard at LA Roda Avenue intersection during a break in the flow of cars.

The lack of crosswalks, particularly clear, well-defined crosswalks, really makes anyone walking feel as though they are being punished for walking.

But it’s not just pedestrians that suffer from lack of safe pedestrian crossings, motorists suffer a little as well.

Consider this common situation encountered by patrons at Casa Bianca Pizza:

There’s no parking on the south side of Colorado Boulevard or on Vincent Avenue south of the restaurant. There is parking however on the north side of Colorado Boulevard but because crossing is inconvenient and unpleasant the patron is left with choosing between two preferences– 1) Continue searching for parking on the south side or 2) Bite the bullet and cross at Vincent Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

Hurrying across Colorado Boulevard at Vincent Avenue to get to their car. This is a common sight during the evenings Casa Bianca is open.

Those who cannot find parking on the south side of Colorado Boulevard close to Casa Bianca often choose to park on the north side and take their chances crossing at Vincent Avenue.

If one parks on the north side of Colorado Boulevard across the street from Casa Bianca and walks to the closest signalized crossing at Mount Royal (noted by the red line above) the total length of the trip from parking space to Casa Bianca is about 400ft. If one simply crosses at Vincent Avenue (noted by green line above), the length of trip from parking space to Casa Bianca is reduced to about 100ft.

While it is common practice to cross at Vincent Avenue, and arguably safe as there hasn’t been public outcry of the situation, it remains an unpleasant and subjectively unsafe experience. Motorists seldom yield to people crossing – if they even notice people on foot – and instead zoom by at 35mph+. People with children are probably much less likely to park on the north side of Colorado Boulevard as they would rather not have to inconveniently walk to the signalized crossing at Colorado Boulevard and Mount Royal Drive or risk rushing across at Vincent Avenue.

It seems that if Vincent Avenue had a marked, zebra crossing that benefit would be two-fold: the experience of crossing the street, and the issue of finding convenient parking, could be positively affect conditions for Casa Bianca patrons during the evening (and benefit local French restaurant Le Petit Beaujolais patrons in the mornings); and pedestrians simply strolling the street or walking for transportation get a nice, convenient crossing.

Of course, it can’t be said that Casa Bianca (or Le Petit Beaujolais) has exactly been at the brink of shutting its doors due to lack of parking, Casa Bianca is among the most well-known restaurants in Eagle Rock and has been in business for several decades. However, it ultimately seems that safe, convenient crosswalks along Colorado Boulevard – particularly at intersections in the big gaps where there are no marked crosswalks –  could go a long way to not only enhance the walking experience and spontaneous visits to shops and restaurants, but also enhance the experience of driving to destinations along Colorado Boulevard.

Maybe if Colorado Boulevard has more crosswalks more people will be seen walking and Eagle Rock can truly feel like the small town residents aspire for where something as simple as crossing the main street is pleasant, easy, and safe. After all, downtown Eagle Rock as it runs along Colorado Boulevard is a commercial corridor lined with small businesses, not a freeway alternative,  adjacent to single family homes; the street should be conducive for business and neighborly interaction, not speeding.

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Can Separated Bike Lanes Save Colorado Boulevard?

Colorado Boulevard, the commercial center of Eagle Rock, will undergo a transformation if the initiative Take Back The Boulevard can maintain the momentum it is experiencing at the moment. A lot of ideas about how to improve the boulevard are being circulated– everything from angled parking to sidewalk extensions, to increased greenery, to bike lanes, and more! Just the other day Eastsider shared the idea of reversed angle in parking as solution.

While there are many popular ideas, I feel that it is important to reflect on the mission of this worthy effort to reclaim our main street from the dangerous freeway it currently resembles. Take Back The Boulevard seeks to transform Colorado Boulevard into a safe, sustainable, and vibrant street in order to stimulate economic growth, increase public safety and enhance community pride. Given that we cannot accommodate all the possible ideas being discussed due to limited space on the street I would like to share why I believe a solution that includes protected bike lanes, also known as cycle tracks, could fulfill as many of the desires of this initiative and is perhaps the most promising solution available.

Protected bike lanes essentially place a bike lane along the curb and place car parking to the left of the bike lane as a buffer separating motorized traffic  and bicycle traffic. To read more about protected bike lanes concept check out the Los Angeles Department of Transportation Bike Blog’s recent post explaining these facilities.

So, installing protected bike lanes along Colorado Boulevard would result in what is known as a ‘road diet’, the removal of one travel lane in each direction. The new found space would be used to accommodate the proposed cycle tracks. Road diets have been proven, nationwide, to increase safety for all users. They have also been known to better the flow of traffic. Read about them here.

However, before I continue, let me share a couple rough drawings I made of what these protected bike lanes just might look like on our boulevard.

This first image is supposed to a rendering of Maywood Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, looking East.

Current Appearance

Via Google Maps Street View

Sketch Including Separated Bike Lane

(From left to right) Sidewalk, separated bike lane, bus stop island, motorized traffic

Now what does separated bike lane do to fulfill the mission of Take Back The Boulevard? Well if one examines my rough sketch there are a few things being accomplished

1) Most obviously a safe space is created to allow travel for cyclists that doesn’t force cyclists to mix with pedestrians or automobiles. This facility will encourage more than just young fearless people to cycle. There is no pressure to ‘keep up’ with motorized traffic and provides an environmental, sustainable means of traveling along the boulevard

2) The bus stop is moved to an island that frees up space on the sidewalk and allows for speedier bus service as buses won’t have pull up to a curb. Bike racks can be placed on this island to again free up space on our precious sidewalks. This bus island also reduces conflict between bicyclists and buses– often bicyclists and buses ‘leap frog’ each other as a bicyclist passes a bus that is stopped then the bus passes the cyclist once in motion again. This removes such conflicts.

3) Crossings for pedestrians is made shorter by allowing them to wait at a refuge alongside the bus stop island.

4) While the moved bus stop frees up sidewalk space, the former bus stop space could also be used to plant trees to provide more greenery.

5) Greater buffer between pedestrians and automobiles, making outdoor dining (where it is available) or mere strolling more pleasant as the increased distances makes the sidewalks less noisy from cars whizzing by.

6) Cars will not be allowed to travel as recklessly as in the past since they will only have two lanes. This will likely result in more civilized speeds and careful, conscious driving. As Tom Vanderbilt notes in his book Traffic, when we make roads forgiving to motorists (like by allowing excess number of lanes), motorists tend to drive sloppier. It’s these kind of excessively wide streets that encourage illegal speeding, and unfortunately result in deaths too.

Here is an other view of the separated bike lane looking West on Maywood Avenue and Colorado Boulevard

Current Appearance

Sketch with protected bike lane

This remains a very rough sketch but I would like to highlight the benefits of this proposed configuration

1) Again a safe space for people of all ages to cycle is created

2)Pedestrian crossings become shorter by allowing the creation of a small refuge

3) The protective barrier between bicyclists and automobiles allows an opportunity to plant trees and other greenery in what is currently just plain asphalt

I realize it may be difficult to completely understand these drawings, however there are also existing examples of where similar spaces have been created. Take a look below where Colorado Boulevard could look for inspiration

Better bus boarding, reduced conflict between cyclists and buses. Photo via Paul Krueger’s flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/pwkrueger/5133809157/

Protected bike lanes can accommodate many parking spaces for cyclists. Given that protected bike lanes are proven to increase the number of trips by bike this would likely be good for business along Colorado Boulevard’s storefronts. Photo via Paul Krueger’s flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/pwkrueger/5134416434/

Protected bike lane in Long Beach. Photo via Waltarrrrr’s flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/waltarrrrr/5650654370

Unlike other proposed solutions to fix Colorado Boulevard, configurations similar to what I share in this post consider all users– pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists.

Pedestrians get more spacious sidewalks by moving bus stops to islands, shorter crossings through the refuges, greater buffer from automobiles through the separated bike lane

Bicyclists get safe travel space away from automobiles and pedestrians

Transit users get loading platforms that will make getting on and off the bus, easier and faster

Motorists get safer streets that make traveling at the speed limit easier to do, they won’t have to change lanes to pass bicyclists. Potentially shorter waiting times at lights as pedestrians will be able to cross faster thanks to the pedestrian refuges.

Everyone gets a safer configuration, everyone will benefit from increased opportunities to plant greenery by some of the pedestrian refuges. This solution allows flexibility in space. Since bus stops will move to islands sidewalk space formerly used to accommodate the bus stop can be now used to plant trees, install benches, or simply allow a wider space for pedestrians. Colorado Boulevard is currently flooded with cars, this solution will make cycling, walking, and taking the bus more attractive than they currently are and reduce the demand for car parking, one of the problems of the way Colorado Boulevard is configured today.

I’d like to compare this solution to the proposed ‘reverse angle in parking’ that the Eastsider shared the other day. The angled parking creates more parking spaces for cars and could potentially create curb extensions at intersections for pedestrians. This solution also claims it could reduce conflict between bicyclists and cars pulling in/out of parking spaces but if cars stop suddenly to start parking bicyclists will have to swerve around– a not so safe action to take.

While it is an attractive solution in some respects it is awfully car centric. This design will do little to encourage more people to cycle or make bicycling safer. It seems to do nothing to make bus travel easier either. It also, while it will create a buffer between pedestrians and moving automobiles, will rather confine the sidewalk space. I have experienced firsthand that cars tend to pull in to angled parking spaces so that part of the car hovers over the sidewalk, making pedestrian space feel cramped. It also seems that by creating more parking spaces this solution will only encourage driving and wouldn’t be very sustainable, nor make the street more vibrant, in complete contrast with the goals of Take Back The Boulevard. On the other hand, encouraging multiple modes of travel as a thoughtfully constructed cycle tracks can do, the street will be less car centric (and more sustainable) and filled with people rather than cars (and be more vibrant). Because we have limited space I support a solution that will accomplish as many of the goals of Take Back The Boulevard, and implementing separated bike lanes seems to be a promising solution.

Further readings about Colorado Boulevard:

Some Reasons I Support Separated Bike Lanes

A post where I share additional reasons why I support separated bike lanes: “ In making the case for a calmer, more bike friendly Eagle Rock sometimes those who oppose the idea contend car traffic will slow down too much. However, as local resident Jack Burnett-Stuart points out

‘ It is 1.6 miles from the post office to Swork [via Colorado Boulevard]. If the average speed was reduced through a variety of traffic slowing measures (including changing the speed limit, but does anyone pay any attention to that?) from say 40 mph to 20mph, that would add 2 minutes 24 seconds to the time the trip takes ‘ “

Some Facts and Thoughts About Colorado Boulevard

Specific facts detailing current traffic levels of Colorado Boulevard: “Colorado Boulevard is a major highway class II, projected to carry between 30,000 and 50,000 cars daily. Traffic counts available from the LADOT website from the past 15 years shows that Colorado Boulevard seldom carries above 35,000.”

Some Simple Facts

Some simple, yet unfortunate facts about the danger of a car centric Colorado Boulevard: “…there has been approximately one reported accident a week over the past five years. More than half of the accidents involve injuries.

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The Struggles and Potential of Eagle Rock Boulevard

In my last post I explored some traffic information about Colorado Boulevard. The results were surprising, showing that Colorado Boulevard on average carried no more than 35,000 average daily trips (the street is designed to carry between 30,000 and 50,000 average daily trips). Unfortunately Colorado also proved to be a rather dangerous street, but when the street resembles a freeway in width and speed in a popular downtown, the many crashes that have occurred along the Boulevard may not come as complete shocks.

In this post I thought I’d look at Eagle Rock Boulevard – our other major boulevard – as it runs through Eagle Rock, and Glassell Park.

First I compiled counts of intersections that have been monitored more than once. The counts are all available from LADOT though I have turned the numbers into easy-to-read charts that show the observed volumes recorded between 2001 and 2009 for the various intersections. Eagle Rock Boulevard is a major class II highway like Colorado Boulevard, designed to carry between 30,000 and 50,000 average daily trips as shown on the map below from the LA General Plan Transportation Element.

(From LA General Plan Transportation Element Highway Map)

Description of street designations and their capacity (from LA General Plan Transportation Element)

All the observed intersections show that Eagle Rock Boulevard can barely carry the minimum 30,000 ‘average daily trips’ it is built for, this is particularly true for the street south of Verdugo Road. Sometimes segments of Eagle Rock Boulevard struggle to reach 20,000 ADT or ‘average daily trips’. The image left shows a description of how a Major Highway Class II should be designed.

Because Eagle Rock Boulevard fluctuates in the number of lanes it has, in showing the observed traffic counts I divided the street into 4 ‘segments’. As map shared earlier above indicates, Eagle Rock Boulevard is considered a Major Highway Class II the entire length south of Colorado Boulevard despite the changes in widths and number of lanes. I am sharing the counts in sequential order as the intersections appear if one were to travel South on Eagle Rock Boulevard.

Red= 2 lanes in each direction, no bike lanes. Green= 3 lanes southbound, 2 lanes northbound, bike lanes on both sides. Purple= 3 lanes in each direction, bike lanes. Blue=2 lanes each direction, bike lanes.

The traffic volumes have  many jumps and great declines but the picture across all traffic counts is rather clear. Rarely does Eagle Rock Boulevard reach its designed minimum, sometimes struggling to reach half of that when observing intersections in the Glassell Park portion of the street. The street is designed to certain widths and to provide certain number of lanes but if not enough cars are using it, the space simply is wasted as unused asphalt.

Do the low traffic counts result in a successful street? Unfortunately no. While cars may be provided with ample space, pedestrians and cyclists are left with close to nothing. Sidewalks exist though South of Verdugo Road they become very narrow and sometimes unnavigable as the occasional tree or telephone pole block the entire sidewalk. As one goes south of Eagle Rock Boulevard the bike lanes become narrower and narrower until they verge on bothersome and dangerous. Eagle Rock Boulevard is also a popular transit corridor, serviced by the Metro 84 line taking students to school and bringing people downtown. However, many of the bus stops lack bus schedules, benches, or shelters, again this is increasingly true and apparent as one goes south on Eagle Rock Boulevard. As a general observation, the street provides fewer accommodations in the Glassell Park portion of the street. This is rather unfortunate as this is where one sees the most walking, cycling, and bus use on a consistent basis.

And while cars may benefit from not encountering traffic jams, the street is not much better for motorists from a safety perspective. As with Colorado Boulevard I tried finding crash or safety statistics for Eagle Rock Boulevard. Perhaps as a relief, there was less information on Eagle Rock Boulevard. What I did find comes from LAPD Operations Central Bureau.

Top 5 Traffic Collision Intersections of past 6 months as of January 2011:

Los Feliz Blvd/Riverside Drive, Figueroa St/Avenue 26, Alvarado St/Reservoir St, Eagle Rock Blvd/Verdugo Rd, and Figueroa St/La Loma Rd

Top 5  Traffic Collision Streets of past 2 years as of January 2011:

Figueroa St, Los Feliz Blvd, Fletcher Drive, Eagle Rock Blvd, and Riverside Dr.

"# of T/C" means "number of Traffic Collisions"

Like Colorado Boulevard, Eagle Rock Boulevard is very dangerous and there is a lot of space on the street that could go towards improving conditions for all modes of travel.

While Colorado Boulevard receives a lot of attention from the community as a street that needs improvements it could be argued that Eagle Rock Boulevard is in much more dire need of help. There is no reason that cars should be given superfluous space at the expense of other modes of travel. When something so essential as decent sidewalks are lacking and the street itself is documented for its danger it seems fairly straightforward that changes need to be made– as the traffic counts show, there’s already plenty of space that could be used to create a more  safe, complete street– it just isn’t being utilized.

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Some Facts and Thoughts About Colorado Boulevard

It is common to accept the automobile as the primary means to move along Colorado Boulevard, or to reach the many destinations that line our well-known part of town. However, I recently found myself asking why driving is the primary means and I found myself curious about the actual amount of traffic that passes by, and other statistics about the street. Colorado Boulevard is a large part of our community, why not be curious about it, right?

Colorado Boulevard is a major highway class II, projected to carry between 30,000 and 50,000 cars daily. Traffic counts available from the LADOT website from the past 15 years shows that Colorado Boulevard seldom carries above 35,000.

Some recent traffic counts along Colorado

Traffic counts of our famous Eagle Rock/Colorado Boulevard intersection over the years.

Where are these people coming from that drive along our Boulevard? In trying to solve this puzzle it may be useful to know that 40% of trips in America within 2 miles from the home and 61% of trips are within 5 miles of the home. This indicates that a considerable amount of traffic along Colorado is local. But perhaps most of us already figured as much; I can recall a recent issue of the Boulevard Sentinel a resident suggested most of traffic along Colorado was local. Determining the exact percent of traffic along Colorado that is local may be difficult, but it is largely acknowledged that a sizable portion is local– that is, the cars reaching destinations along Colorado are likely within 2 or 3 miles of their home if one were to ‘guesstimate’.

If it can go undisputed that a considerable portion of Colorado Boulevard traffic is local – especially considering that the 134 freeway lies parallel for people traveling greater distances – I also want to know why so many locals do drive to reach destinations along the Boulevard. Lately I’ve heard many complaints about the lack of availability of car parking for some of the more popular destinations. Eagle Rockers have also noticed a consistent rise in gas prices, which is increasingly taking a toll at our collective pocket books. If people are going to spend hard earned money in economically challenging times and personal frustration to reach a destination on Colorado by car and have a parking space it can be concluded that people mostly do so because the automobile remains the most pleasant and most convenient option. That or we love driving ourselves crazy. I prefer to believe the former is true.

So driving is the most pleasant and convenient option for most. However, the street is surprisingly unsafe if one chooses to motor. As pointed out at fellow Northeast LA blog, Bipediality, for approximately the three miles that Colorado Boulevard runs through Eagle Rock, 226 crashes occurred between 2005 and 2009– that works out to about one crash a week in that time period. Additionally, Colorado is among the top 5 collision streets in the LAPD Operations Central Bureau. Seeing as 600 speeding tickets were issued in the wake of the horrific 2008 crash, it may not surprise you that one of the top five collision factors in the Central Bureau in 2011 is unsafe speeding– like the freeway kind of speeding Colorado Boulevard invites daily.

In short, there isn’t much good that can be said of Colorado Boulevard – it does not provide  enough car parking, it carries relatively low volumes of traffic while providing 80% of the street to cars, traffic collisions and speeding are frequent, and the street remains unpleasant for those traveling on foot or bicycle or wishing to dine outdoors at one of our many eateries.

When locals could conceivably walk or cycle to reach the many hot spots along Colorado it seems driving is more of an endurance than choice people make freely when traveling along our main Boulevard because of its car-centric design.

This is why it is my firm belief that more people, most certainly locals, will choose to walk or cycle along Colorado if we can make it pleasant and convenient– but how do we achieve a street that truly encourages walking and cycling?

Because Colorado barely exceeds the minimum it is engineered for, the street could be made more efficient, safe and invite all modes of transportation if space were reallocated to pedestrians and bicyclists. Undoubtedly a street that is more pleasant will also be good for business. The reallocated space wouldn’t even be much of a loss to motorists as it appears cars have a superfluous amount of space to begin with. Protected bike lanes, sidewalk or curb extensions, more crosswalks… these are some of the things that have been demonstrated to increase foot and bicycle traffic where implemented. More bicycle and foot traffic means fewer people worrying about car parking and other frustrations associated with driving. Also, the space turned over to these modes of travel means cars are less likely to misbehave because the street won’t look or feel like a freeway through the neighborhood– the street simply won’t allow the degree of speeding and other unsafe behavior. Taking space from cars and giving it to pedestrians and bicyclists, a ‘road diet‘, has long been a proven safety enhancement on streets where they are implemented A street that gives people viable, pleasant choices in travel means transport can be more space efficient and our town will also be to accommodate more people and traffic in the future if necessary.

In Highland Park, with limited space a concern, this picture shows we can address the issue: 6+ bicycles in a spot only 1 car can fit.

Realizing the surprising low volumes of traffic passing by given Colorado’s width, the many collisions and dangers the street presents, the inability to adequately fulfill current parking demands, gas prices, etc… a redesign of the street that allocates greater space to pedestrians and bicyclists seems promising. In recent months Long Beach and San Francisco have shown that pleasant and convenient streets to walk and cycle on will increase the demands for these modes of travel. As far as Eagle Rock is concerned with piles of evidence at our feet it seems our community has nothing to lose, and so much to gain if we had a redesigned Colorado that favors people over the automobile. A transformed Colorado can made more efficient, more safe, more pleasant, good for business and truly reflect the small town feel of our community.

And as I’ve mentioned before, a more pleasant, convenient and safe Colorado doesn’t have to remain a dream. Please considering volunteering to or becoming a member of The Eagle Rock Association to aid their efforts in making a better Colorado a reality through their newly planted ‘Taking Back the Boulevard’ initiative.

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What a Welcome!

Back in Eagle Rock for a brief visit and Friday, my first day back, I was greeted with many positive sights, making me optimistic for a safer, livelier, more active, and more pleasant neighborhood environment. Here’s what I saw:

Just five minutes into my walk and I saw some kids with active transportation: skateboard and bicycle

Some activity, and a bicycle on the corner of La Roda Avenue and Yosemite Drive

New bike lane on Fair Park Ave in front of Eagle Rock Elementary!

Active Farmer's Market

Ped Power!

My walk through Eagle Rock ended on the corner of Eagle Rock Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard. I waited for a friend  before we proceeded to take the 84 bus to catch up with an other friend. In about 15 minutes of waiting I saw plenty of people on bicycles.

Eagle Rock Cycle Chic?

And some students happily walking

It was a good day for walking and biking in Eagle Rock. After I got on the 84 I saw about nine more cyclists and many more people on foot. And why not? It was a beautiful day and surely people would enjoy the day properly, walking and cycling to get places, if they didn’t feel forced into their cars.

Today was an especially inspiring day and I was reminded of a component of this blog which hasn’t been active lately, my ‘reasons to walk Eagle Rock’. Looking through my old posts I noticed I left off on #7. To see my other reasons to walk Eagle Rock, check the tag “Reason to walk Eagle Rock”.

Reason #8 to walk Eagle Rock: Appreciate the neighborhood by going for a walk, it is a great way to connect to the community, especially if you haven’t been around the block lately. Discover a bike lane, enjoy the farmer’s market on an especially fantastic day and go places with a friend, or two!

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