Recent Streetsblog LA posts about South LA

In an effort to show how transportation, open space, planning and other issues impact the health and character of a community, Streetsblog and The California Endowment teamed to bring Streetsblog’s coverage to a hyper-local level in Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles. Sahra Sulaiman is the Communities Editor for Streetsblog Los Angeles and is leading our coverage efforts in these communities. This page serves as a place to read Sahra’s and all of Streetsblog’s coverage of issues in South L.A. Contact Sahra at sahra[at]streetsblog.org or on twitter: @sahrasulaiman.

Feasibility Study on Slauson Corridor Rail-to-River Project Takes Another Step Forward

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 5, 2014 | 6 Comments

How are you going to get community input? It was a question asked by one of the few community members who had shown up to Metro’s Rail to River meeting last week on the potential conversion of 8.3 miles of the rail right-of-way along Slauson Ave. into an active transportation corridor. He and a friend […]

Garbage Removal Makes Space for New Trash to Accumulate

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 27, 2014 | 6 Comments

I lost the last of three Turkish wool hats on Sunday. Silly as it may sound, it genuinely bummed me out. I had brought them back from Istanbul over a decade ago and they were wonderful reminders of where I had been, offered a link (of sorts) to my heritage, and, most importantly, were very […]

Blight Begets Blight: Vacant Lots are Popular Dumping Grounds in South L.A.

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 25, 2014 | 7 Comments

I was on my way home after taking photos of the pretty new parklet that had popped up along Vermont Ave. a month ago, when I stopped by this beauty of a vacant lot (above) at 41st and Main. Unusually, the gate to the lot was open and the remnants of a red sofa had […]

Metro Diary: Every Day He’s Hustlin’

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 19, 2014 | 7 Comments

The well-dressed and good-looking young man with enormous glasses walked toward where I was standing at the front of the packed Blue Line car, gave me a wink and a smile, then turned around and began delivering his sales pitch for headphones to the passengers. Watching him work the car, I was reminded of how […]

Partnerships Offer Chance for New Riders to Join Ride 4 Love in Watts

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 14, 2014 | 2 Comments

I won’t be able to be at the Ride4Love in Watts this weekend, and I am more than a little bummed out about it. The Ride4Love is the East Side Riders‘ (ESRBC) biggest event of the year. Timed to fall around Valentine’s Day, it is a special event that the ESRBC has long used to […]

Active Streets Participants Explore Vermont Square in South L.A.

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 7, 2014 | No Comments

“This is such a pretty neighborhood!” It was a comment I heard several times over the course of the Active Streets event held at Vermont Square park (48th and Budlong) last weekend. For people unfamiliar with South L.A., the neighborhood appeared to have defied expectations. It certainly defied stereotypes — the winter sky shimmered, the […]

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