Campaign for a Car-Free Lincoln Park, July 2010 Update

An awesome new feature at the Lincoln Park Wild Adventure Park - a dirt pit! Thanks Parks and Rec!

Since posting up a Youtube video about the screwed up parking issue around the Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Park last week, I've gotten some more information about the situation that I thought others out there in internet land would like to know.

First, the office of the councilman for the area, Ed Reyes, let me know that cars parking inside Lincoln Park (on the lawn, on the walkways, everywhere and anywhere they like, really) is "legal" because ... the City is leasing the right to park a car in the park to the Plaza de la Raza! I don't know what makes me more pissed off now, the cars revving their engines behind me when I walk or ride through the park or the complete abdication of leadership that would end up with a lease to park automobiles in the middle of this beautiful, much needed, park.

This is what Lincoln Park looked like in November of 2008, when parking wasn't "leased" to Plaza de la Raza". Tire tracks and dead lawn. Who was at the bargaining table for that lease? "Yeah, we want more of this!"

Second, there are plans on the table (somewhere) and money already allocated (for lighting) to construct a 1+ acre parking lot beside the Plaza de la Raza. So, the tyranny of the Plaza's car-driving patrons in Lincoln Park is complete: you will now subtract an acre or more of land from a historic park to park your cars. There are already several acres of publicly owned parking stalls ACROSS THE BLOODY STREET. There are already dozens of parking spaces "removed" during peak rush hour on Mission that can be re-instated with a phone call from LADOT's operations division to remove peak hour signs. There are private parking lots two blocks away that sit vacant all day long. Instead of using these resources, instead of doing some actual work with the neighborhood, and protecting our interests, instead of all that we're simply being sold out to help a pet-project of our elected leaders.

Finally, the solutions I propose are not expensive. The solutions I propose are not hard. Here they are:

1. Work with the DMV to allow Plaza de la Raza patrons to park in the adjacent DMV lot in the early evenings and night time (there is already a private guard on duty at the Plaza de la Raza who can likely handle this work).
2. Get the LADOT to remove the peak hour parking restrictions on Mission adjacent Lincoln Park.
3. Install a first-rate bus shelter at the intersection of Lincoln Park and Mission.
4. Install curb cuts at all crosswalk locations around Lincoln Park (i.e. at the corner of Lincoln Park and Mission).
5. Repair the severely damaged portions of sidewalk around the park on Mission and Sichel use black top to match the existing sidewalk if you must).
6. Develop a long-term capital improvement plan for the park AND the area around the park. Work with USC Medical Center's long range planning team (which is planning a massive residential development across Valley Blvd from the park) to make the area include calmer traffic, double the number of signalized pedestrian crossing points, bike paths or bike lanes through or around the park, wider sidewalks, and improved bus shelters.
7. CLEAN THE PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT WEEKLY (or I will personally show up at the maintenance shed with an airhorn and wake the sleeping Parks and Rec workers up every hour on the hour). The public has to be fingerprinted and supervised by a Park and Rec staffer (I've been told) to so much as wet-wipe a hand rail in a park.

Whew. Again, I expect nothing but a shrug of the shoulders from the powers that be. The problem is only that I am "passionate" or that I am "upset". No, the problem is that you incompetent cowards have taken it upon yourselves to destroy a local park that we desperately need.