Recent Streetsblog LA posts about Mitch O’Farrell

Eyes On the Street: Scramble Crosswalks Debut At Hollywood And Highland

By Joe Linton | Nov 16, 2015 | 17 Comments

It may be one of those made-up statistics, but there is a repeated truism that millions of people visit Hollywood Boulevard every year, and they spend an average of about fifteen minutes there. Sure, there are the Walk of Fame, some beautiful historic theaters and other noble buildings, Metro Red Line subway stops, costumed performers, street […]

Scramble Crosswalks Ready for Their Star Turn in Hollywood

By Damien Newton | Aug 18, 2015 | 9 Comments

Responding to community concerns that the high volume of pedestrian traffic at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue was creating an unsafe crossing, City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell and the Department of Transportation recently announced that a “pedestrian scramble” will be installed by the end of the year. The pedestrian scramble, aka The Barnes Dance, […]

Public Works Board Approves Sidewalk Deficient Glendale-Hyperion Bridge

By Joe Linton | May 15, 2015 | 25 Comments

In a hearing at City Hall this morning, the mayor-appointed Board of Public Works unanimously approved proceeding with the city Bureau of Engineering’s (BOE) recommendation to eliminate one of two sidewalks on its Glendale-Hyperion Bridge retrofit project. The latest version, announced earlier this week, has not changed significantly since 2013 when BOE pushed a similar unsafe design, leading […]

A Tale of Two Future Bridges: New Bike/Ped Crossing on L.A. River, Fewer Sidewalks on Glendale-Hyperion

By Damien Newton | May 12, 2015 | 16 Comments

It was sort of a surreal moment. Even as Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell stood at the podium discussing the benefits of a planned new bicycle and pedestrian crossing over the L.A. River, the Bureau of Public Works released its recommendation (PDF) that the new Glendale-Hyperion Bridge would actually have fewer feet devoted to […]

Editorial: Four Ways To Encourage Transit-Friendly Affordable Housing

By Joe Linton | Dec 10, 2014 | 13 Comments

I’ve been thinking about Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s recent motion to help Metro partner on joint development of affordable housing near stations. Also, Garcetti-ally L.A. City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell expressed support for reducing parking requirements in new affordable housing developments along transit corridors, to “help lower construction costs and therefore rents.” A new report this […]

Editorial: Respect Your Advisory Committee, Build a Safer Hyperion Bridge

By Joe Linton | Aug 12, 2014 | 8 Comments

There has been quite a bit of proverbial water under the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. Under a great deal of community displeasure in 2013, the city of Los Angeles set aside an outdated bridge retrofit plan and formed an advisory committee to decide the future of the historic span. The 9-member Glendale-Hyperion Viaduct Improvement Project Community Advisory Committee […]

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