Eric Richardson [Flickr]

A pedestrian walks down newly reopened sidewalk on Flower street north of 9th.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The removal of construction equipment from Flower street next to 705 W. 9th is good news for pedestrians, but not so much for drivers who are still forced to squeeze around lane closures next to the Concerto project.

A crew this afternoon removed the barricades that had blocked off the sidewalk and one lane of Flower street next to the largely-complete residential tower. During the initial bits of construction, the stretch had a pedestrian walkway, but that was removed once construction on Market Lofts was completed across the street.

Potentially most excited about the reopening is the O Hotel, which has had its entrance partially obscured by construction debris.

The removal of the barricades won't mean anything for drivers, who are still forced to merge left to get around closures lingering on Flower next to the Concerto project. Despite a lack of any construction activity, it doesn't appear the blocked lane's reopening is expected soon: crews today painted the merge pattern onto the street after cleaning up.