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L.A. River plan inching slowly forward By Allison Milionis
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Images of L.A. River courtesy L.A. River Revitalization Master Plan Team. 
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The Los Angeles River runs 51 miles through the middle of the L.A. basin. It has been largely ignored since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers channeled it in the 1930s, but it is finally being recognized as an important natural and economic resource.
Last June, a team was chosen by the L.A. City Council to create a master plan focused on a 32-mile stretch of the waterway that runs between the San Fernando Valley community of Canoga Park and the East L.A. community of Boyle Heights. [record, June 2005, page 30]. The technical and engineering consultants are Tetra Tech, the urban design firms are Civitas, Wenk Associates, and HNTB Architecture, and the landscape architects are Mia Lehrer + Associates. Community outreach organizations include The Robert Group, Transportation and Land Use Collaborative of Southern California, and consultant Adan Ortega, Jr., while Urban Partners LLC and Asset Strategies are providing implementation services.
The designers say the goals of the $3 million master plan, scheduled to be completed by next January, include developing an interconnected park system, including sports fields, parks, trails, greening along the banks, and enhanced areas for wildlife. Another aim is to reduce the volume and improve the quality of storm water entering the channel through natural filtration and retention. Finally, the plan aims to stimulate investment in communities along the river. By the end of the planning process, the consulting team will hand the city a 20-year management and development blueprint.
The team, along with the city’s Department of Public Works, has held seven public meetings since October to discuss developments and hone design ideas. Based on community input the team has identified five 1⁄4 mile “nodes,” which will receive more focused efforts. The next meetings, to present the node concepts, are scheduled for June 2006.
Response from local officials and residents has been positive. But, once completed, the master plan’s fate will be determined by the city, which will need to secure funding from state, federal, and private sources.
“We hope that the city will be bold and jump-start this process with public investment,” says Mark Johnson, an urban planner with Civitas. Deborah Weintraub, AIA, the chief architect and deputy city engineer on the project, notes that besides design ideas, the master plan must also develop a framework for governance, zoning, and financing.
The designers have high hopes but are aware of huge challenges. Weintraub points out that existing infrastructure near the river, like highways and rail lines, may have to be moved. Mia Lehrer of Mia Lehrer + Associates points to the ways a revitalized river might act as a symbolic conduit, connecting L.A.’s diverse communities with shared spaces and a series of foot and bike paths. “This is a chance to bring the city together,” she says. “It’s also an alternative way to commute. Can you imagine people being able to ride to work along the river?”
May 2006 |
