Recent Streetsblog LA posts about Downtown LA

It Never Would Have Taken This Long…If Villaraigosa Were Still in Charge

By Damien Newton | Oct 2, 2013 | 11 Comments

By the time I hit Spring Street, I was in a bad mood. My plan for the afternoon was to ride Metro and my bike up to Colorado Blvd. to take pictures of the new buffered bike lanes before heading downtown to ride the repainted Spring Street Green Buffered Bike Lane and then visit the […]

Eyes on the Street: the Ongoing Humiliation of the Spring Street Bike Lanes

By Damien Newton | Sep 23, 2013 | 9 Comments

As we reported last week, the dangerousification of Spring Street is in full swing these days. With the City Council mandated water blasting of the Green Buffered Bike Lane completed, advocates wait for the city to install its completely untested, but less expensive, new paint design. But while we wait for the city to make […]

Spring Street: A Park(ing) Day Success Story.

By Damien Newton | Sep 20, 2013 | 1 Comment

“Over the past few years, the community along Spring Street has become much more tightly woven. The ‘bump’ factor happens all the time now. If not daily, then at least several times a week, I will happen across not only people that I know but that occasional person that I forgot I even once knew! […]

Utility Relocation Costs Not a Death Sentence for Downtown LA Circulator

By Juan Matute | Sep 12, 2013 | 24 Comments

A funny thing happened on the way to a downtown Los Angeles streetcar. According to the Los Angeles Times, the initial cost estimate of $125M excluded the costs of utility relocation, which could total $166M in additional costs, and $295M in operating costs over 30 years. That’s quite a bit compared to the $62.5M voters […]

California Traffic Control Devices Committee Approves New Design for Spring Street Green Buffered Bike Lane

By Damien Newton | Jul 30, 2013 | 13 Comments

[poll id=”113″] Last week, the California Traffic Control Devices Committee approved the “compromise” design for the Spring Street Green Buffered Bike Lane. The CTCD was the last body that needed to approve the design. As you may recall, the new design will maintain the buffer, change the shade of green from bright green to forest […]

Bringing Broadway Back? Council Backs Plan to Halve Car Lanes in Favor of Pedestrian Space

By Damien Newton | Jul 2, 2013 | No Comments

When Antonio Villaraigosa discussed his plans to revitalize Downtown Los Angeles in his 2005 campaign for mayor, he often used the term “Manhattanization” as short hand for his density and community building plans. Both Manhattan and Downtown Los Angeles underwent their share of positive changes in the past eight years, but it took until the mayor’s last […]

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