Recent Streetsblog LA posts about Parks

Weekend Update: Lawsuit and Rally to Save Riverside-Figueroa Landbridge

By Joe Linton | Jun 1, 2014 | 10 Comments

Last Wednesday, proponents of preserving the historic Riverside-Figueroa Bridge lost an appeal before the L.A. City Public Works Commission. EnrichLA, RAC Design Build, and others, have pressed for converting the bridge into a “Landbridge” – an elevated park, similar to New York City’s Highline, accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. Last Thursday, the new parallel bridge […]

South L.A. Park Has Great Potential, but Lacks Sidewalks That Would Make it Accessible to All

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 30, 2014 | 2 Comments

When people talk about park access, they usually are referring to whether or not people have a park near their homes. In the case of the Jackie Tatum Harvard Recreation Center, you have a great park with some great new facilities in South L.A. — a traditionally park-poor area — but it isn’t that easy […]

Kickball to the Rescue!: How Active Programming in Parks Makes Communities Safer

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 6, 2014 | 1 Comment

When I first visited Ted Watkins Park at 103rd and Central shortly after my arrival in L.A. in 2001, I didn’t stay very long. In the mid-1990s, the park had been renamed to honor activist and organizer Ted Watkins following his death in 1993. But instead of mirroring Watkins’ spirit by uplifting the community, the […]

The Dept. of Parks and Rec Wants Your Input on What Parks Should Be

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 22, 2013 | 9 Comments

I’ve been watching the makeover that the Julian C. Dixon/48th St. Park on Hoover and 48th has been undergoing for the past couple of months with some interest. The small playground, cracked-up basketball court, and small (but well-used) fitness zone sat like disparate islands floating along the edges of a sea of poorly kept grass […]

Park[ing] Day Installation in South L.A. Highlights Residents’ Desperate Need for Peaceful Green Space. And Plants.

By Sahra Sulaiman | Sep 24, 2013 | No Comments

The young man looked nervous. Hands jammed in his pockets, unwilling to meet my gaze, he walked towards me, backed away, moved toward the potted plants sitting on the sidewalk, came back towards me, and finally mumbled something unintelligible. “I’m sorry?” I asked. His behavior was so unusual I thought he might be having some […]

Area Baby Rides Metro, Has Wonderful Day.

By Sahra Sulaiman | Sep 16, 2013 | 6 Comments

“Um, excuse me,” I stuck my head out the door and called out to the Metro employee who was chatting on her phone on the shady side of the elevator. “Someone just peed in here.” Indeed they had. The sizable puddle of light yellow liquid shimmered and sloshed along the back wall, filling the elevator […]

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