Second Street Widening Discussion Gears for Round Two
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
Widening would remove this landscaped parkway and row of trees along Second street.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Update (Friday): The DLANC meeting on the widening is scheduled for Monday evening at Vibiana.
When removal signs showed up in June of 2006 on the line of trees separating Second street from the Caltrans building sidewalk, a flurry of messages on the newdowntown mailing list expressed disapproval of the city's plans. The discussion was capped by James Rojas' well-written appeal to keep the trees, which we posted on blogdowntown. The work was to be done as part of the Police Headquarters project, and included a 5-foot widening of Second between Spring and Los Angeles. In the following weeks DLANC's Planning Committee held a presentation on the subject, and the neighborhood council ended up passing a motion against the widening.
In spite of this, the widening got written into the project, was bid on and construction is scheduled to occur in February. The community gets one last chance to make its voice heard, as the Bureau of Engineering has asked DLANC to make a presentation before work commences.
So why should Downtowners care about this widening even if they don't live in the Higgins building?
Construction to connect Second street to Grand Avenue will soon commence. This first phase of the project opened a tree-lined sidewalk to a stairway for the Colburn School.
Second street has a bit of an identity crisis. On the one hand, it's often touted as Downtown's east-west pedestrian linkage, connecting Bunker Hill to the Historic Core and on to Little Tokyo. Some planning efforts reflect this focus. The new Colburn School addition includes a wide sidewalk on Second and stairs that access the interior plaza and Cafe. The new LAPD HQ will place its park space on Second and will include an 18-foot sidewalk with bicyle racks, benches and landscaping.
Next door at Caltrans, the current sidewalk runs from 17 to 25-feet wide, and features a double row of trees just now starting to mature and offer shade to pedestrians. Though the building itself offers the street only a blank concrete wall with some ivy, city officials and private developers have in the past worked together to conceive pedestrian uses for the space, including vending carts and dining space.
Yet despite its pedestrian qualities, Second also tends to get the short end of the stick when it comes to planning. The Grand Avenue Project's interface with the corner of 2nd and Olive is a sore point with the community and with lead architect Frank Gehry, who campaigned to add a stairway into the project from that corner.
Now, widening for the LAPD HQ would take away five feet of that Caltrans sidewalk, with it removing one row of trees and much of the span's shade. In return, Second would get a left hand turn lane onto Los Angeles. The block from Spring to Main would similarly get five feet wider, adding a left-turn lane from eastbound Second onto Main and a shorter one from westbound Second onto Spring.
In the time since the project was approved much has changed. New Urban Design Guidelines have been put forth by Planning, and Councilwoman Jan Perry has been successful in preventing street widening around the South Group's projects. It's time for Downtown to rally around its pedestrian identity and make clear to Councilwoman Perry and to the city that this sort of senseless destruction of sidewalk should not take place.
We will be forwarding comments from this story on to Councilwoman Perry's office and to the Bureau of Engineering's project manager for the LAPD HQ construction. Both have expressed a willingness to listen to what Downtown has to say. Additionally, there will hopefully be a presentation to DLANC, though an exact date for that has not been set.
James Rojas' 2006 letter still offers the best summation of why the prevention of this widening should be important to though who live Downtown.
The nexus between walking and land use is in the fine-grained urban design details of the built environment. Most of LA's downtown streets lack wide sidewalks, shade and landscaping that this section of 2nd Street has to offer. No matter how inconsequential the 8 street trees and landscape parkway seems, they are part of wider attempt to make LA pedestrian friendly and livable. Open space begins with our streets and sidewalks. We need to preserve this section of 2nd street to use as model for pedestrian friendly street design!
This parkway and line of trees would be removed as part of the 5-foot widening of Second street.
This shot taken by Ed Fuentes in 2006 shows how much the trees have matured to offer shade in the past year and a half.
skidrowdude on January 30, 2008, at 03:35PM – #1
Hey Eric,
Don't assume everyone in Higgins is FOR widening. I am totally against it, and I'll bet many dog owners like me in Higgins don't want to lose that great wide shady sidewalk with the 3' or so wide "planter" where pooches like to go.
Eric (skidrowdude)
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on January 30, 2008, at 03:36PM – #2
Oh, not at all Eric. I meant that Higgins people have a natural connection since the work would be right outside their door, whereas for the rest of us it's happening somewhere else.
Higgins people are actually quite good at leading the fight on these things.
skidrowdude on January 30, 2008, at 03:42PM – #3
Oops- I didn't see the "Read More". I'm getting sick of having work outside my door, and that is my main route to Little Tokyo where take my dog on at least one of her 4 walks.
Great story Eric, and great pics Ed...
Eric
Juanito on January 30, 2008, at 06:33PM – #4
Git rid of those gawd-awfull trees. Chop 'em down! What's needed is the London Plane, a species that has a more decided heirarchical structure, a much more fine and urbane aspect; one that is deciduous and thus, much more compatible with the annual solar cycle. Little Leaf Banyans are bad for concrete infrastructure due to their surface rooting. And they are bad for the pedestrian environment in winter months - deep dark shade. Plus, they require more maintenance in the way of trimming and shaping.
The recently introduced 'Electronimbus' variety of London Plane should be considered. The city of Paris has gone wild over this variety. Burls of this unique tree build up an electrostatic charge and the presence of ammonia anywhere near the trunk will cause a discharge. Hence, any pooch relieving itself gets zapped. Anyone who has visited Paris KNOWS this is very much to be desired. Word has it Toy Poodles and Chihuahuas are now highly paranoid of trees in the city of light.
brady westwater on January 30, 2008, at 10:40PM – #5
They are removing Podocarpus trees - not little leaf banyans. And while I don't hate London Planes - they just don't fit urban LA. We need more semi-decidious flowering trees.
Norbie 7 on January 30, 2008, at 11:19PM – #6
Yep, that would be Podocarpus goldwaterensis. If you're ever around one being cut up, beware. The stench can cause impotence, will def. do a number on your Cowboy. Gidyap pard'ner.
RobertA on January 31, 2008, at 11:40AM – #7
Podocarpus are not great street trees but I love London Plane....Aren't those London Plane in front of Ralph's on 9th? Beautiful trees and great shade trees. Perfect for LA and Paris!
whitman lam on January 31, 2008, at 03:06PM – #8
I want to see more Eucalyptus trees in Downtown. Maybe we can adopt a bunch of Koalas from Australia and bring them to Downtown LA. San Marino does that with peacocks and it gives their neighborhood more character.
Brigham Yen on January 31, 2008, at 03:39PM – #9
The issue here is not just what kind of trees should or shouldn't be on 2nd Street by the Caltrans building, but that the sidewalks are going to be WIDENED, and once again, the power of the automobile will be marginalizing the pedestrians of Downtown LA. I want to see Jan Perry stop "them" from ruining 2nd Street.
Pelly on January 31, 2008, at 03:57PM – #10
^ I think you mean the sidewalks will be NARROWED, the street will be WIDENED!
Metro Local on January 31, 2008, at 05:41PM – #11
This patch of Second Street would benefit from more street parking and hope that is part of the widening plan.
Marc Caldwell on February 01, 2008, at 03:27PM – #12
I'm sorry, feeling crass so PHUCK WIDENING 2nd STREET...whew, much better...ahem.
Shassy McFrassy on February 02, 2008, at 07:46AM – #13
I speak for the trees, the truffula trees! And I say no to widening the streets.
John Crandell on February 02, 2008, at 05:59PM – #14
If the street is NOT widened, I say rip out all of that sidewalk paving. Replace it with ever so slight mounds, a narrow undulating sidewalk and a planting scheme that would be adopted by area residents. Yes, an arboretum of sorts. Thom Mayne should be shackled to that vine covered wall and have to spend 24 hours chained thereat for his urbanicidal crime against Second and San Pedro streets.
Juanito on February 05, 2008, at 03:11AM – #15
edit: make that Los Angeles Street.