2 Freeway Terminus: Community Meeting Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 29, 2010. Southbound 2 Freeway is literally a few feet from Corralitas Walk, adjacent to the Red Car Property. Homes in the background are on Alvarado. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

I attended last night's meeting for the 2 Terminus "Improvement" Project. I was surprised to find CalTrans now ends the planned sound walls on the Silver Lake side of the freeway at Lake View and Allesandro Way. So Corralitas would not be losing trees and adding sound walls.

However, on a quick review of the 2010 Environmental Impact Report for Alternative F (for failure), my favorite line comes in their official response to my comments on the 2009 EIR.

"Cumulative effects in the area north of Oak Glen Place would be limited to potential traffic impacts and the noise and air quality impacts of future traffic volumes along SR-2."

Well yes, but they also say they don't have to mitigate for the additional traffic, noise and air pollution. God forbid they give us more trees to mitigate the effects of air and visual pollution.

Additionally, while CalTrans says they want a consensus of the adjacent neighbors before they decide where the sound walls will go, they failed to offer a plan for outreach. I'm guessing if the postcard mailed to the community from CalTrans and MTA had clearly stated sound walls of 8-16' were planned for our neighborhood, a lot more people would have shown up at last night's meeting.

2 Freeway Terminus Redesign: Sound Walls Part 5, Allesandro St.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. (Click on photos to enlarge.) Allesandro St. will lose all of the trees in exchange for a 12-16' sound wall between Glendale Blvd and Rosebud/Sunflower.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. Sound walls will also create a very dark street at night. Allesandro has very few street lights. Much of the light on Allesandro comes from the lights on the 2 Freeway. 12-16' sound walls will only block light from the freeway.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. Throughout the multi-year process I pointed to the lack of real sidewalks, let alone ADA accessible sidewalks on both sides of the 2 Freeway. Currently, there is a narrow strip of uneven asphalt contained in a curb on both sides of the 2 Freeway. There are bus stops and affordable housing for the disabled on Allesandro, yet the plan still does not include ADA accessible sidewalks. It seems CalTrans is ignoring the lawsuit settlement that requires them to build ADA accessible sidewalks adjacent to their improvement projects.

Community Meeting

State Route 2 Freeway Terminus "Improvement" Project

Tonight, November 30, 2010

6-8PM

Mayberry Elementary School

Multi-Purpose Room

2414 Mayberry St.

Los Angeles, CA 90026

See the environmental review on the CalTrans website.

2 Freeway Terminus Redesign: Sound Walls Part 4, Allesandro St.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. (Click on photos to enlarge.) Allesandro St. already sports a 6-8' high retaining wall from Riverside Drive to (almost) Whitmore. The Terminus Redesign calls for a 12-16' high sound wall on top of the existing wall. All the trees would be cut down for construction.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. All of the trees would be cut down to build the 12-16' high sound wall along Allesandro St. They only have to replace the trees that have 8" (or more) diameter trunks on a 1:1 basis, with trees of a 15 gallon size box. In other words, we won't see a nice wall of green like we have now for decades. Additionally, we will have the added benefit of a huge canvas for graffiti vandals along the entire length of Allesandro between Riverside Drive and Glendale Blvd.
Go to the community meeting TONIGHT.

2 Freeway Terminus Redesign: Sound Walls Part 3, South of Oak Glen

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 29, 2010. (Click on photos to enlarge.) From the Oak Glen overpass looking south toward Glendale Blvd. The Terminus currently has a lot of wasted space that would have been repurposed as park space with the community preferred alternative that the MTA and CalTrans threw out last November. The new Alternative F (for failure) involves switching exiting the north and southbound Glendale Blvd lanes from the southbound 2 Freeway to really confuse distracted commuters.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. The plan calls for a 14-16' sound wall atop this slope along the adjacent property lines. Those trees will go too.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. Looking north on the 2 Freeway from Oak Glen, the trees to the left of the southbound lanes would all be cut down to build an 8-10' high sound wall adjacent to Allesandro Way.

Go to the MTA community meeting, Tuesday, November 30, 2010.

Coming Tuesday: A look at the Echo Park side of the 2 Freeway.

2 Freeway Terminus Redesign: Sound Walls Part 2, Allesandro Way

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. Allesandro Way between Oak Glen and Lake View Ave will lose all the trees and shrubs on the 2 Freeway and get an 8-10' high sound wall. (Shot from Oak Glen looking toward Lake View.) (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. An 8-10' high sound wall is planned for the 2 Freeway on Alessandro Way. All of the trees and shrubs will be removed. They only have to replace the trees on a 1:1 basis, with trees nowhere near this size. Is this really an appropriate place for a graffiti canvas? The MTA says their plans have no significant effect on the nearby homes.

Go to the public meeting, Tuesday November 30, 2010.

2 Freeway Terminus Redesign: Sound Walls Part 1, Corralitas Drive*

Photo: Diane Edwardson, April 13, 2009. As if those 8 houses on Corralitas Drive weren't already in a hole next to the 2 Freeway, cutting down all the trees and building 8-10' sound walls will certainly enhance the effect. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. Corralitas Walk is the 9' wide, public right-of-way adjacent to the Red Car Property and the 2 Freeway. If you cut down the trees on the freeway and build an 8-10' high sound wall, this will become a dark alley besieged by graffiti vandals and not be a safe place to walk. At least now, light comes through the trees. Any trees planted on this side of a sound wall will not likely grow due to the lack of sunlight.

Sound walls are graffiti magnets. Since sound naturally rises, sound walls will do nothing to dampen the sound for homes up above the freeway. Considering the "canyon effect" of sound bouncing around the hills, it's possible it will increase the noise level in some places.

*Note: In the earlier EIR the sound walls extended vaguely down toward Rosebud. There was not a definitive answer to the sound wall question in 2009. In fact, in public meetings, the MTA denied the sound walls were in the plan, despite being on the plan drawings in the EIR. So you should go to the meeting.

UPDATE: According to Plan F, there are no sound walls planned adjacent to Corralitas Drive. See post: 12-1-10.

The MTA is hosting a community meeting Tuesday, November 30, 2010 regarding its 2 Freeway Terminus "improvement" project.

2 Freeway: Traffic Was Light This Morning

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 29, 2010, 9:05 AM. Southbound 2 Freeway Traffic was only backed up to the 5 Freeway today, shot from the Oak Glen Overpass. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

According to members of the Echo Park Community Action Committee, the 2 Terminus Redesign calls for 12' sound walls and ignores the LA City Bike Plan for Glendale Blvd.

Public Meeting

State Route 2 (SR2) Freeway Terminus "Improvement" Project

Tues., November 30, 2010

6-8PM

Mayberry Elementary School

Multi-Purpose Room

2414 Mayberry St.

Los Angeles (Silver Lake) CA 90026

Click here for additional information.

LA River: Elysian Valley Footprints

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 27, 2010. Heron, raccoon, skunk, cat, dog and human walked here. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LA River: Elysian Valley

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 27, 2010. Homes on the hillside to the left are on Silver Ridge Ave. in the Red Car Neighborhood. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

On a clear day you can see the Hollywood Sign. This must be why the CRA wants to declare Elysian Valley blighted. With a view like this, developers can tear down low-profile, affordable single family homes and build luxury condos.

LA River: Blue Heron

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Great Blue Heron and Egrets fish on the banks of the Glendale Narrows on the LA River, between Griffith & Elysian Parks. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LA River: Resting Birds

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Tiny black & white birds like to feed in the flat bottomed shallows around the Hyperion Bridge. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LA River: Odd Duck*

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. I'm not a bird person, but I do notice the unusual, like the odd duck with a red mask. The red appeared fleshy, not feathered. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. It was twice the size as the Mallard Ducks it was swimming around with, near the Hyperion Bridge. There was no animosity from the Mallards toward the big bird. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

If you can identify the odd duck or, perhaps it's a goose, send us an email: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

*UPDATE 11-29-10: Fellow Silver Lake blogger, Will Campbell thinks this is a Muscovy Duck, which, according to Wikipedia, is non-native and highly invasive. Thanks Will!

LA River: Walk Off That Thanksgiving Turkey

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Thank you for picking up after your dog, and for walking him on a leash. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LA River: Postcard

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Shopping cart, Egret, Arundo, plastic bag, concrete & storm drains. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LA River: Dueling Gaggles of Geese

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Two gaggles of geese were posturing and squawking at each other on the Atwater side of the LA River between the Sunnynook & Hyperion Bridges. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. A few minutes of squawking later, the geese settled down for a midday nap and the Cormorants went back to taking the sun, posing in the rocks. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LA River: Los Feliz Crossing

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Canadian Geese fly over Cormorants sunning themselves near Los Feliz on the LA River. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Atwater Creek: Log Man

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Guerrilla art carved into a fallen tree in Atwater Creek near the LA River. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LA River: Snowbirds

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. We saw several gaggles of Canadian Geese on the LA River between Atwater Creek and Fletcher. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. This gaggle was midway between Atwater Creek and Los Feliz. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Learn more about Canadian Geese on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website.

Red Car Property: Another Stolen Honda Joyriders Stuck In The Mud *updated

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. Pull up a chair and watch the stolen cars get stuck in the mud near the Adelbert trail cut-through to the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 22, 2010. I'm only guessing it's stolen from the condition and the stolen radio/cd player. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

*UPDATE 11-23-10: LAPD Senior Lead Officer Al Polehonki confirms this is a stolen car from the Rampart area in August. When the LAPD attempted to recover this stolen vehicle this morning, it was gone. So someone is still driving it around.

Red Car Canyon: Cat Entrails

Photos: Jonathan Vandiveer, November 21, 2010. Found yesterday on the Rose Scharlin end of Red Car Canyon. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Several neighbors sent me photos of this stomach with small intestine of what appears to have been a cat. I too came across it yesterday morning. It is still there today. A Riverside Place neighbor reported hearing what sounded like a coyote killing a cat around 8AM Sunday morning.

It is likely it was killed and eaten elsewhere as this was the only evidence in the trail. Chances are, a dog or another coyote found the parts in the bushes and dropped it on the trail.

Excerpt from photo above. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Coyotes have been very active and noisy in the neighborhood lately. Keep your dogs on a leash and your cats, indoors. See all our coyote posts.

2 Freeway Terminus: Public Meeting Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 24, 2009. As seen from Corralitas Drive, the 2 Freeway still backs up past the 5 Freeway several times a week. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It's that time of year when big and/or shady projects come up for public review. The holidays keep normal people from attending controversial project meetings and hearings.

The consultants did a last minute bait & switch with the 2 Terminus Redesign Project in November 2009. Two weeks ago, I received a letter from one of the consultants, saying the California Dept. of Transportation decided there was no significant impact as a result of their "hybrid alternative." Yeah right - I can't wait for more standstill traffic on the 2 Freeway when they signalize the Terminus.

PUBLIC MEETING

State Route 2 (SR-2) Terminus "Improvement" Project

Tues., November 30, 2010

6-8PM

Mayberry Elementary School

Multi-Purpose Room

2414 Mayberry St.

Los Angeles (Silver Lake) CA 90026

See the environmental review on the Cal Trans website.

Elysian Valley: Health Screening Fair Saturday, November 20, 2010

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 8, 2002. The LA River Bike Path has changed considerably since 2002. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Tomorrow, Elysian Valley Neighborhood Council, City Council District 13 and LA County Public Health will host a Health Screening Fair at Elysian Valley Rec Center.

Free health screening tests include blood sugar, cholesterol, anemia, blood pressure, vision and you can get a flu shot too. As added incentive, a bike will be raffled courtesy of the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition.

Free Health Screening Fair

Saturday November 20, 2010

9AM - 1PM

Elysian Valley Rec Center

1811 Ripple St.

Los Angeles, CA 90039

Info: CD 13 (323) 957-4500

Elysian Valley: Historic Red Car Viaduct

Photo: Clarence Inman Collection*, undated, but likely mid-1940s. The Red Car Viaduct as seen from the Waverly side of Fletcher & Riverside Drives. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

What caught my eye about this photo, was the clear view of the Art Deco gas station on the corner of Riverside & Fletcher Drives, where Rick's now stands. The same gas station appears in a 1937 photo of Melton's Market, shot from the middle of the viaduct.

On the near side of Riverside Drive (where HOME Restaurant is), the giant Currie's Ice Cream Cone sign is visible. (See another great shot of Currie's on the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society's website.)

Looking down Riverside Drive you can see billboard blight as Riverside was the main highway through the area, prior to the 5 Freeway. You can also see the tree-lined streets with single family homes in Elysian Valley.

*Bob Inman, son of Clarence Inman, discovered this 10x14" print in his father's files. Neither Bob nor I had seen this print before, so we believe this is a Clarence Inman original. We'd both seen similar photos, but not this one. If you know otherwise, or can help pin down a date on this photo, or have historic Red Car Neighborhood photos of your own, send us an email: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

Red Car Canyon: Hawks

Video: Todd H. November 16, 2010. Two hawks call to each other and fly across Red Car Canyon between Lake View Ave. & Corralitas Drive. (Click here for full size video.)

These are most likely Red Tailed Hawks as they are more talkative and much larger than the camera-shy Cooper's Hawks.

If you have video or photos of birds of prey or other wildlife in the Corralitas Red Car Property Neighborhood, share them with us: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

See all our hawk posts.

Corralitas Drive: Dumped

Photo: November 11, 2010. Thanks to a Corralitas neighbor for sending this photo of tires dumped on the sidewalk at the Red Car Property on Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Canyon: Non-Native Wildlife

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 10, 2010. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: DWP Tree Contractors

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 8, 2010. This week, the DWP has landscape contractors trimming trees around power lines in the area, including the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Elysian Valley: CRA Open House Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 20, 2010. Maybe a few more monopalms will brighten up the blight in Elysian Valley. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA) wants to declare all of Elysian Valley (bounded by Riverside Drive, Fletcher, the LA River and the Confluence) as blighted so they can make it a redevelopment zone. Read: gentrification, taller condos, less parking and more traffic on neighborhood streets that are seriously narrow and contain an uneasy mix of industrial uses and single family homes.

The proposed area also includes Atwater and Glassell Park. Controversy and the CRA go hand in hand. Read more:

The Eastsider

Atwater Village News

CRA/LA

Attend the CRA Open House:

Wed., Nov. 10, 2010

6 - 8PM

Dickerson Employee Benefits

1918 Riverside Drive

(between Allesandro & Stadium Way)

Los Angeles, CA 90039

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract Still Attracting Campers

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 5, 2010. Someone has been camping at El Moran and Alvarado for months. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Campers are again reliving the past on the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. The tract was cut in 1905, leaving the large center lot to provide campgrounds (among other things) for the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' members.

Corralitas Pits Of Doom Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 25, 2010. I don't think that little piece of plastic is going to hold back the dirt adjacent to the Corralitas Public Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Corralitas Pits of Doom were finally filled in last month. However, they failed to bridge the gap with anything more than a plastic tarp between the ancient brick retaining wall adjacent to the public staircase and the newly finished retaining wall for 2467 Corralitas Drive.

Corralitas Public Staircase: Still Listing

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 25, 2010. Corralitas Pits of Doom were filled in last month, but no repairs are in the future for the Corralitas Public Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: Taking Property

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 2, 2010. Why not take 50' land from the Red Car Property? Everyone else is already encroaching. The property line is actually a few feet from the door and fence. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: Look Behind Your Fence

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 17, 2010. Graffiti Vandals hit the rear fence of this Riverside Place house and the neighborhood watch sign, quite some time ago. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

If you rear fence backs into the Red Car Property, be a good neighbor and inspect it once in a while for graffiti. Neighbors get tired of looking at your neglect.

Corralitas Drive: Hillside Home Repairs, Not For The Faint of Heart

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 5, 2010. How do you get steel beams to the other side of a log cabin that has a 100' drop to the street below? (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 5, 2010. Luckily this part of Corralitas Drive is relatively wide and the neighbors, cooperative. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Baby Snake

Photo: Cliff Watson, October 26, 2010. A neighbor found what appears to be a foot-long, baby Gopher Snake on his driveway last week. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Unfortunately, this Gopher Snake probably didn't make it for long, once the neighbor released it into a nearby vacant lot. It had some small, cat-sized puncture wounds near its head.

Judging by the plethora of gopher holes in the hillsides this year, the Gopher Snakes must have had a breeding frenzy. We had way more sightings than usual this year.

Red Car Property: Isn't This Fire Season?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 25, 2010. Leaves haven't even fallen from the Black Walnuts yet. (click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: Wasn't It Cold & Damp About A Week Ago?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 25, 2010. Indeed it was, as mushrooms were sprouting on a log where the canyon opens into the meadow. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Dawn of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 30, 2010. I don't have a good Dia de los Muertos photo, so a trendy zombie reference will have to suffice. (Click on photo to enlarge.)