GETTING THERE FROM HERE-While it's both political naivete and political campaign fodder to decry Los Angeles as "the car capital", it's certain that alternatives to the automobile as a way to get around must be explored and made available to commuters and residents within the City of the Angels. So welcome to a fellow well met: Ashley Z. Hand (photo), who was just appointed by the mayor as the transportation technology strategist fellow at the LADOT.
Mayor Garcetti and other City leaders have sought to make the City more green, more mobile, and more technologically-advanced than other cities in the nation and world.
Unfortunately, saying that is much more difficult than actually doing that.
Ms. Hand is an architect by training and also a political problem solver--with a Masters in Architecture from the Pratt Institute in New York and a Political Science degree from McGill in Montreal, the ability of Ms. Hand to be both well-versed in theoretical and pragmatic endeavors is one well-suited to help transform LA into a 21st-century world leader.
Green technology, architectural innovation, data management and analysis--these are all issues that Ms. Hand brought to the table when she was selected by Kansas City Mayor James two years ago to be that city's first Chief Innovation Officer.
Ms. Hand's experience in both the private and public sector is one that will hopefully translate into an economic boom for the City that extends to all socioeconomic classes.
Neighborhood empowerment to both minimize urban blight and maximize quality of life is part of the answer, and it's hoped that Ms. Hand can confront the problems and encourage solutions that make sense to Angelenos.
Streamlining commercial corridor transit development, with accompanying densification that matches a neighborhood's character on those corridors while protecting single-family neighborhoods is one of the chief challenges for Ms. Hand. The lives of those living on the major corridors, as well as those living in the single-family zoned (R1) neighborhoods, need to be enhanced by mobility and economic opportunities.
Planning and transportation need to be treated with consideration for the other, in the same way that earning money and spending it must be tied together in a sustainable and balanced manner. Too often the Planning is rammed through under the aegis of "overriding considerations" at the expense of Transportation, and the result is a billion-dollar 405 widening project that, at best, can only keep up with unsustainable overdevelopment.
Yet not only do we have the problem with overdevelopment, but the location of said development. Will the Crenshaw and Eastside and Expo Lines have development that is consistent with a light rail system, and allow more people mobility via the Metro Rail network--and yet also provide sufficient access to the shopping, employment and entertainment needs of those living on/near those lines?
On a similar note, will "transit-oriented development" and "affordable housing" really be transit-oriented and/or affordable?
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What about the hordes of non-Angelenos who commute to/from LA every day? Both fast buses and trains, as well as ample parking to key train stations such as the Norwalk Green Line station and the Exposition/Sepulveda Expo Line station, are part of the answer.
And let's not forget about LAX--I'm pretty sure you've got a willing and able partner in City Councilmember Mike Bonin to figure out ways to both coordinate efficient traffic at LAX, while also figuring out innovative ways to get more non-LA County residents to choose Ontario, John Wayne or Long Beach airports. Furthermore, getting LA and Burbank airports to be connected to both Metrolink and Metro Rail is in order.
Tourism is going through the roof in the City of the Angels, and these tourists need ways to get around--and, like tourists often do, many eschew automobiles.
Money and jobs and opportunity, to say nothing of the need to rehouse Angelenos in brilliant and beautiful new modern homes, is in order.
And, of course, the dearth of available free space for kids and their parents to play is one that has tremendous transportation implications.
So welcome, Ms. Hand--I hope your mastery of the theoretical and pragmatic will be well-suited to Angelenos who feel trapped in their homes and their cars and their buses, and who want a vision that is both affordable and makes sense, and rewards innovation and fair business practices.
We're all looking forward to what ideas and innovations you have to offer, and we're all looking forward to a better future that promotes smiles, prosperity and a quality of life in the City of the Angels.
(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] He also does regular commentary on the Mark Isler Radio Show on AM 870, and co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 68
Pub: Aug 21, 2015
