Broadway Workshop Invites Public Input Into Design Process
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A pair of projects set to shape the look of Broadway will be presented to the public on Wednesday evening at a workshop designed to get community input into the evolution of the street.
Though the two cover distinct issues, the differences between the Broadway Design Guide and the Streetscape Plan can be confusing. Simply put, the Design Guide covers the buildings along Broadway while the the Streetscape Plan deals with the street and sidewalks.
At the end of the day, though, most stakeholders don't care which plan is which, they simply want the street to look or function a certain way. That's why the Bringing Back Broadway project decided to put on the joint workshop, to be held on May 27 from 4:30 - 7:30pm at the Wurlitzer Building, 818 S. Broadway.
The Design Guide is a product of the city's Planning department, and is intended to be passed by City Council this summer. It will create new standards for the treatment of historic structures along Broadway, as well as for new construction that miht take place along the street.
The Streetscape Plan, produced by local landscape architecture firm Meléndrez, looks at the physical layout of the street and what amenities should be placed along the sidewalks.
Residents and merchants located near Broadway received mailers about the Wednesday workshop, but all stakeholders are invited.
David Kennedy on May 26, 2009, at 02:03PM – #1
This is all well and good as for as it goes. My concern is most of the people who use Broadway won't be aware of this event. Nor would they be inclined to participate. Some may argue if people don't show up their opinions are not worthy and can be overlooked. However, I believe this is foolish, arrogant and shortsighted.
Imagine if the improvements which are implemented are useless and a waste of money because the actual use of the street is not considered? What if the improvements end up driving off the people who actually use the street? Sometimes, I suspect this is the actual objective. So the street can be redeveloped by corporate interests to make it make more palatable to the affluent newcomers who now live downtown. Per se, I don't have a problem with redevelopment. My concerns are more about how it is done. Indeed, if the end result of improvement is simply to destroy a thriving economic cooridor which caters to the working poor, I'm not sure why that's considered progress. Well, I guess it is if you're one of those affluent newcomers who is embarassed by Broadway.
It is often stated that Broadway is in economic decline. It would be good if some empirical evidence (beyond the anecdotal) were presented. How about sales tax receipts for the past decade? My understanding is the businesses on the street pay quite hefy rents.
Two key questions which I have are:
1) How is the problem of Broadway defined? Obviously, it is run-down in parts and could use some improvements in that regard. Obviously, the upper floors of many of the buildings on the street could be activated. I worry the problem is defined as the businesses and people who patronize the street are undesirable.
2) Who is the community? I'm often astonished how the people who shop and work on Broadway are dimissed ("they don't live here") by the affluent residents. Hope and change, indeed.
Food for thought. Regardless, I look forward to the results.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on May 26, 2009, at 02:25PM – #2
David: I know you don't want anecdotes, but I can say that there are far more vacant storefronts for lease today than I've seen on Broadway in my five years Downtown. My wife's also told me that her students, almost all of whom are Latino and who live in Boyle Heights, say they don't ever come to Broadway to shop.
I know that the Bringing Back Broadway marketing committee was working on trying to find some of that tax data, but I haven't heard any results. It would be interesting to see, though tax data's also not likely to show a full story of the street.
BlueTenor on May 27, 2009, at 08:19AM – #3
David, I think your concerns about making sure the right people know about this are good, but i think they've done pretty well at it. The first time they did one of these, which I think was a general gathering of information before the design, they literally stood at bus stops with easels and photos and Spanish translators and talked to the people walking down the street about what they liked. I know because they had one in front of my building and I saw a good number of merchants and workers stopping there. For this time, I got two different notices in the mail and I saw flyers at the wings place down the street and at another shop, so I think in terms of outreach it's been good, I would conjecture far better than most city projects bother to do.
My friend owns a building on Broadway and cannot keep a tenant in the ground floor, and the upper floors are completely empty. They used to have a bridal shop there but the business is drying up and people are getting their stuff elsewhere, maybe from the internet or another place, he doesn't know, but they're not coming there anymore.
I don't need tax receipts to prove that Broadway is on the decline. I've lived around here long enough to have seen it firsthand, just count the fir rent signs and vacant stores. He's considering converting the building upstairs to either housing or some nicer office spaces and adding restaurant capability in the ground floor to attract a new kind of business. He's not doing this because the Broadway project is coming in, it's because the market is changing and if he wants to survive he has to think of something new.
I'm all for cleaning up Broadway by the way and hopefully if it looks less like a dumpy more businesses and shoppers will come back to Broadway. We still have a lot on some days but not nearly the numbers the street used to do or could do.
Rich Alossi on May 27, 2009, at 09:59AM – #4
I don't have the strength to jump into the Broadway argument at this time beyond the basics.
I also have nothing but anecdotes to share, but I have also noticed more vacant storefronts than I have ever seen before. It seems that foot traffic is down on Broadway.
Los Angeles Street seems to be getting busier and busier, and there's almost no vacancies. Parking is more abundant (and cheaper) on LA Street, so this may have some direct relationship to what is occurring, if this is a trend at all.
As far as Broadway goes, it's the committee's job to enhance the pedestrian streetscape, not kick out any businesses. I think we all agree that Broadway deserves some basic upgrades to infrastructure (sidewalks, crosswalks, signage, historic preservation guidelines and landscaping).
If property owners find they will make more money by leasing their retail spaces to current tenants, great. As long as some standards are put in place to protect the architecture and historic significance of the properties, I have no opinion on the retail.
David Kennedy on May 27, 2009, at 10:12AM – #5
Blue, that's encouraging to hear. That's exactly how the input process should be handled. I lived on Broadway for a decade and look forward to its revitalization.
Still it would be useful if some empirical data were compiled and shared about Broadway's demographics, retail activity, consumer behavior, etc. (Maybe it already exists on some bureaucrat's desk?) We all have our opinions and anecdotes and biases. Basic data like this would elevate the consversation and hopefully lead to better decisions.
Rich Alossi on May 27, 2009, at 06:01PM – #6
Just got back from the meeting. Big crowd, lots of input. I think the Broadway team has done a great job putting together the streetscape plan and also in envisioning plans for historic properties.
Meltdowntown on May 27, 2009, at 09:02PM – #7
I also attended this gathering. It was thoroughly enlightening to see the team vision of so many who agree that this street NEEDS to be restored to its former glory. It almost sounds too good to come true, but I intend to support the effort at every step. These old buildings are too good to be trashed and disrespected the way they have been for decades... they need all our love.
It's going to be a dream come true, and ideal for pedestrians and nightlife. I can't wait.
Beth Topping on May 29, 2009, at 12:49AM – #8
I, too attended the meeting last night -- I felt excited about the potential and thought the solutions were broad in their scope. There are a variety of revitalization projects of varying cost and difficulty, from simple banners defining the historic Broadway theater district (which can be implemented right away), to the return of the streetcar, sidewalk/pedestrian modifications and an overhaul of historic building facades (taking 2-10 years for implementation).
I understand that the knee-jerk reaction for revitalization plans can be fear... Fear of total gentrification and elimination of a neighborhood's character and multiculturalism. My impression from the meeting was that the goal was to honor the historic elements of Broadway that have been covered up by years of modifications, signage and abandonment. They don't want to turn Broadway into a "themey" or "Disneyfied" version of its former self. They simply want the district to speak for itself and help to define it more by restoring facades, regulating merchant signage, and creating elements that define the area (street signs and a "gateway" of sorts). They also want to make it more pedestrian friendly by adding traffic buffers to the sidewalks (like trees) and increasing the width of the sidewalks. In regards to the merchants and building owners, it's my understanding that the building changes would be voluntary, with financial motivations being provided by the city. Ultimately, my hope is to see the vacant upper levels of so many of the buildings filled with a variety of business and/or residents.
The planners asked for input on everything from the kind of materials to be used for the sidewalks to the type of transit shelters for the buses. It was fairly comprehensive.
I don't believe the meeting was organized in the spirit of shortsightedness, arrogance or foolishness as was previously implied. I LIVE on Broadway and am just as much a part of its fabric as the shoppers, merchants and employees who work here. I received the same bilingual mailer as everyone else on this block. I moved to this area BECAUSE I love the sense of history and culture here. I walk and/or ride my bike on Broadway on a daily basis -- I love soaking up its stories and beautiful architecture. It's very exciting to see the potential in its restoration. It's a gem in Los Angeles -- a city that is relatively transient and without much of an architectural history that pre-dates the mid-century. It is for those reasons that I am excited for the revitalization. Not because I want a homogenized streetscape where I can get a latte for $7.00 see nothing but people who look like me. (Yawn.)
I believe the next planning meeting is in June.