Damien Newton
Recent Posts
Ride Colorado and Celebrate
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The recent changes along Colorado Boulevard in Eagle have been documented. A buffered bike lane, zebra-striped crosswalks, 60 bike racks, modifying median striping, speed-feedback signs, and lighted crosswalks are some of the improvements that will make the street more community-oriented and safer for all road users. Join Councilmember Jose Huizar, Take Back the Boulevard, LADOT, the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, Safe […]
Ride Lankershim 2.0
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Many of you rode with us last December in an effort to get bike lanes on Lankershim. Since then, our Valley Bike Ambassadors have been advocating for a safer Lankershim – with their outreach efforts we have received support of almost 2,000 locals, and 30 Noho businesses. Now nearly a year later, Ride Lankershim is ready for another round of riding with a […]
Open Thread: So, How’d I Do?
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(Note: First, read this story in the Los Angeles Times interviewing me.) A couple of weeks ago, Carla Hall, an opinion writer at the Los Angeles Times asked if I would sit down with her for an interview. While Hall and I have gotten along pretty well, and I was gushing over the Times’ approach […]
Help Out Streetsblog Los Angeles, Enjoy Good Beer, Buy Unique Poster Art
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ARTCRANK 2012 | Time Lapse from ARTCRANK on Vimeo. If you were among the hundreds of people that joined us at Orange 20 for ARTCRANK last year, you should just skip right to the event details at the end of the post. You already know you’re coming back. It was that good of a time. […]
Insurrection at LADOT
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“The rank and file has lost confidence in our general manager,” thundered Mike Hunt, an LADOT engineer and “proud” SEIU Union Steward. “He doesn’t listen to us. He ridicules us every chance he gets. He puts the blame on us for doing our job, and implementing the policies he put forth for us.” Hunt was […]
Santa Monica Leads on Bike Share, But Is Willing to Let the Region Catch Up
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While researching the Streetsblog Los Angeles story concerning the new regional push for bike share, I had a chance to talk with Santa Monica Mayor Pam O’Connor about what role Santa Monica has in the regional effort. As Gary Kavanagh reported last month, Santa Monica leaped Long Beach and Los Angeles in the race to […]
Garcetti, Bonin, O’Connor, Zev, Knabe: It’s Time for Regional Bike Share
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In April of 2012, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stood toe to toe with city staff and executives with Bike Nation and announced a city wide bike share system would be coming to Los Angeles within the next year. The system would rival New York’s now wildly-succesfull CitiBike system. Many cheered, many fretted and a […]
Op/Ed – Before Garcetti Can Be the Hero, He Needs to Slay the Zombies
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Yesterday’s announcement that a planned pedestrian bridge for most of the corners of Lankershim Boulevard and Universal Hollywood Drive would cost $27 million, instead of the originally announced $19 million, was more bad news for those striving to make Los Angeles’ streets a better place. When Streetsblog last reported on this project, the cost was […]
Glendale Council Member Writes Garcetti: Slow Traffic on Hyperion Bridge
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A second elected official has come out against the proposed redesign of the Hyperion Viaduct over the Los Angeles River. This time, the writer is Glendale Council Member, and former mayor, Laura Friedman. Friedman, a regular bike commuter, worries both about the impact on the regional bike network of not striping bike lanes in the […]
People St: Garcetti and LADOT Declare Streets Are for People, Offer Help Re-Purposing Wasted Asphalt
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Last week’s media-friendly launch of the Great Streets Program overshadowed another announcement that could have a far greater impact on how Los Angeles thinks about streets and public space. The city also announced the launch of People St (as in People Street), a program that will allow residents, business owners and non-profits to ask for […]
The Week in Livable Streets Events
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Big week, let’s get right to it. Monday – End your Monday with a walk and architecture tour of Beverly Hills sponsored by L.A. Walks. The walk is a two mile loop of great architecture, public artworks and secret alleys in Beverly Hills led by Ellen Lutwak. The walks starts at 5:30. Get the rest of […]
Dodgers Have a Winning Season Promoting Transportation Options
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The irony was obvious. The only professional sports team named for a mode of transit also played in the most car-dependent stadium in the country. When the Brooklyn Grays changed their name to the Trolley Dodgers, it was a reference to the trolley lines surrounding Ebbets Field. When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, the […]