Riverside Drive: Closed For Repaving This Weekend

Map from Dept of Public Works.  

I got a confusing Media Advisory from the Dept of Public Works this week re: repaving and road closure of Riverside Drive.  Their map and the text of the advisory did not match up.  

Hector Vega in CD13 contacted me to clarify: they're repaving Riverside Drive between Newell and Birkdale.  Birkdale is just north of Dorris Place Elementary in the southern part of Elysian Valley.  

Vega said Public Works will be working north to south, Saturday and south to north, Sunday.  They will be scraping then paving 6 AM to 6PM.

Neighbors who live on Riverside Drive, Riverside Terrace, Riverside Place, Silver Lake Ave and India Street who only have vehicle access via Riverside Drive, as well as Corralitas Drive residents should plan extra time into your driving this weekend.   Residents will be able to take Riverside Drive, but plan ahead.  

Do NOT use the Red Car Property as a short cut.  Brush clearance has NOT been done yet.  Please do NOT cut through residential streets in Elysian Valley.

The Dodgers are NOT at home this weekend.  The project was postponed once due to Dodgers' schedule.

Red Car Property North: Still Needs Brush Clearance

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017. The grass is dry and mostly mashed down but not cleared between the construction fence and Fletcher on the Red Car Property.  Protected native Black Walnuts are repopulating the slope.  A number of trees died after five years of drought.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017.  The Red Car Property is between Riverside Drive and Fletcher and Adelbert Ave.  Adelbert is a substandard Hillside Street with a number of hairpin turns to reach Lake View Ave.  It has only one means of access.  We don't know why Adelbert is not a Red Flag No Parking street.

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017.  A year ago, the construction site on Riverside Drive, directly below the Red Car Property, took a lot of the Red Car Property with their construction fence, in addition to clear cutting trees on the Red Car Property.  This is the pedestrian path they left us.  Last year, their agreement with the property owner was to do the brush clearance on both sides of their fence.

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017.  The construction site appears to have done brush clearance on the portion of the Red Car Property behind their fence.  It also looks like a few native trees are returning and recovering to the flat portion of the Red Car Property above the construction site.

Neighbors have expressed concerns that the native saplings and recovering native trees should be preserved as the brush clearance contractors are not known for their care with young trees.  

As with other parts of the Red Car Property, neighbors want to know why the property owner is allowed to get away with not doing brush clearance by May 1, every year?

Click here for all our brush clearance posts.

Red Car Property Neighborhood: There's Nothing Scarier On The 4th Of July Than Hipsters With Fireworks*

*Post originally published July 2, 2014.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 4, 2013.  That giant airborne explosion is not a professional fireworks show, but illegal fireworks shot off by some idiot on the south (Silver Lake & Elysian Heights) side of the 5 Freeway, close to Corralitas Drive.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

It seems every year we see more people shooting off illegal fireworks in the hills.  You can hear the gunpowder raining down on your roof, patios & trees - as I witnessed on Corralitas a couple years ago.  That same year, another neighbor was dumbstruck when he saw drunken hipsters shooting off similar fireworks way up on top of Micheltorena.  

ALL FIREWORKS ARE ILLEGAL IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, UNLESS THEY ARE IN A PROFESSIONAL FIREWORKS SHOW.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 27, 2014.  The dying Eucalyptus tree is still hanging above Red Car Canyon today.  (APN 5440-030-033)  

In fact, only 2 of the dozen or so dead and dying Eucalyptus we highlighted in May trees were significantly trimmed back.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 27, 2014.  The dead weeds are taller than the allowed 3" within 100' of homes. 

Links: LAFD Brush Clearance Unit
All our brush clearance posts

LAPD and LAFD are telling people, if you see someone shooting off fireworks, call 1-877-ASK-LAPD. If you see smoke, safely investigate.  If you see fire (not a BBQ) call 911.

Red Car Property: Native Black Walnut Trees Blooming Big Time

Photo: S. Bartron, March 22, 2017.  The large protected native Black Walnut Tree, atop the historic landmark viaduct footings, is blooming big time.  

Corralitas Drive: Fog or Armageddon?

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, December 10, 2016.  Don't horror movies start this way?  Fog swallowed everything east of the 5 Freeway this morning.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: Killing Native Habitat

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 6, 2002.  The former most beautiful California Black Walnut Tree on the Red Car Property, that we've followed for 16 years, is first big tree behind the encroached chain link fence, on the left side of the photo.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 9, 2012. This shot is wider and shot from further away.  The same tree is behind the fence on the left.  In 2012, the leaves of the protected native Black Walnuts were just starting to turn yellow before dropping their leaves for winter.  Yet the big healthy beautiful tree we've followed for so long, was still a deep dark green.  It was always one of the to last drop its leaves.  

The photo above shows an environment with lots of Black Walnut Trees of varying ages from saplings to mature trees.  The closest Black Walnut on the left (the young tree in the foreground) was already over 6 feet tall.  There were also Coast Live Oaks of varying ages, Coffeeberries,  Blue Elderberries as well as non native species.  It was a rich and varied ecosystem. 

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, November 6, 2016.  The now dead looking tree on the left is the former most beautiful Black Walnut on the Red Car Property.  The developer of the Riverside Drive 14-lot development below the Red Car Property butchered all the fresh growth on the tree in September. He also claimed to be watering the trees.  (However the water lines appear to be for dust control.)  

The same developer erected the fence across the Red Car Property that's become a magnet for graffiti vandals.  Thanks for making our neighborhood a better place to live.

Related: Why Trees Matter

Riverside Drive: Grading Project Leaves 1 Black Walnut Tree On Adjacent Red Car Property

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 18, 2016.   The developer for the 8 (or 13) Riverside Drive lots below the Red Car Property left one protected Black Walnut Tree on the Red Car Property when they were grading well beyond the property line, right up to and around the large protected Coast Live Oak Tree.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 6, 2016.  Earlier this summer, neither the Red Car Property nor the Riverside Drive lot owner had done brush clearance by May 1, like responsible hillside property owners.  Little did we know, every tree in this shot, despite their protected status, would be gone by mid-August.

Worth noting in the second photo, according to the Riverside Drive developer's property line stakes that had been in the ground and updated several times in the past few years, the dead Eucalyptus is on the Red Car Property.  The Coast Live Oak is the dark green tree in the upper right corner, is also on the Red Car Property.  Almost all the other bright green trees are California Black Walnuts that had grown back after earlier removals without permits. 

As I've said before, the City's Protected Native Tree Ordinance is a joke.  The point of protecting specific native species is because they are integral to the hillside habitat.  Razing and entire ecosystem, building on almost every inch of available hillside lot and planting a couple of 15 gallon trees in a graded slope, hoping they'll grow really isn't responsible urban forest management. 

Riverside Drive: Neighbors Question Grading Project As It Crosses Onto Red Car Property

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 17, 2016.  Saturday morning, neighbors let me know the developer of the Riverside Drive lots (between Gilroy and Clearwater) was moving earth perilously close to the Protected Coast Live Oak Tree. The Coast Live Oak is on the Red Car Property. Checking the Building & Safety website, I saw no grading permits issued for either of the two adjacent Red Car Property lots.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The Red Car Property line is about 20 to 30 feet downslope from the flat part of the Red Car Property as well as the oak tree.  In the photo above, the backhoe is working on the edge of the flat part. So the Riverside Drive developer was definitely moving earth around the Red Car Property.

The ancient concrete post property line markers, in place since at least the dawn of the Big Red Car Trolleys, marked the rear property line of the Riverside Drive Lots where they back into the Red Car Property. They're about 3' tall and 4" square.  Whenever these lots have been surveyed, the new property line markers line up with the concrete property marker posts.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 27, 2016.  Last month, neighbors were alarmed when a developer began clear cutting trees on 13 vacant lots on Riverside Drive adjacent to the Red Car Property.  

The most consistent comment I'm hearing from neighbors about the Riverside Drive/Gilroy development is, "How is it possible they didn't need approval from the City [Planning] for this?"  I'd like to know that too.  It appears that by submitting applications for building permits for each of 8 lots separately, they seem to have snuck in under the radar for hillside grading and retaining walls.  (There seems to be a question of lot ties and parcel map cases because there are actually 13 legal substandard lots they're using for 14 units, but they only submitted 8 or 9 lots, and I'm not seeing lot ties.)

If you've ever lived near a construction site - you know there are environmental impacts like the constant vibration during grading.  I wonder how much damage the hundred year old homes next door will incur on this not so stable slope.

With no discretionary actions by City Planning (i.e., size of retaining walls, height, setback, parking, yard variances) there was no public review.  Thus, the protected native tree removal permits were issued in August this year, prior to granting grading and retaining wall permits. (It's not clear if grading permits have been issued on all the lots yet.)  

In practice, granting protected tree removal permits prior to issuing grading and retaining wall permits is just poor urban forest management.  Grading is the single most important decision that dictates how things are designed and built on hillside lots.  So often, we see lots sit denuded of trees for decades, before someone comes along willing to throw enough money at it to build it.  Even then, it doesn't always get built.  That is one reason the City's Protected Native Tree Ordinance was favored by environmental and neighborhood groups.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 24, 2016. Earlier this year, neighbors were happy seeing many of the protected California Black Walnut Trees growing back after the last tree carnage in 2014.  When you live so close to a freeway, EVERY TREE MATTERS.

It appears the City, in its rush to streamline the building permitting process, is ignoring the fact that Hillside development is not always urban infill (redevelopment).  This is greenfield development (lots in a natural state supporting wildlife) that actually attach to a known wildlife corridor (the Red Car Property).  There was a thriving protected native tree habitat on the 13 lots before the developer began cutting down trees without permits (apparently without much of a penalty) 2 years ago.

Clearly this 8/13 lot project is one project, involving a lot of grading between the already built lots on Riverside Drive. 

Related: Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Wants To Clean Up Riverside Drive (Yes, you should always ask "Why and who is sponsoring it?")

Riverside Drive: Grading Project Endangers Coast Live Oak On Red Car Property

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor September 17, 2016.  A backhoe was digging and pushing earth around, right up against the huge and healthy protected Coast Live Oak Tree on the Red Car Property this morning. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor September 17, 2016.Within minutes of sending photos to the Red Car Property owner's rep, he responded saying they called the developer who said "they didn't touch the tree."  A Red Car Property rep was en route to the scene.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 17, 2016.  The property line is about 20 to 30' downslope from the Coast Live Oak Tree.  The oak tree is on the Red Car Property.  It is one of the few protected native trees left on this portion of the  Red Car Property.  The Riverside Drive developer cut down the protected black walnuts on the Red Car Property without permits. 

He had permits to cut down protected native trees on Riverside Drive lots, not on Red Car Property lots.

Rosebud Ave: 2016 Match To 1961 Photo

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, May 3, 2016.  This is currently the best match to the 1961 photo.  If you look really closely you can catch a glimpse of Rosebud Ave going straight up the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' hill, across the 2 Freeway from Corralitas Drive.  Neighbors are grateful for any trees to block the oceans of concrete poured for the 2 and 5 Freeway construction 1960 - 1962. 

Photo: Smith, 1961.  Shot from a little higher on the hill than today's photo.  There were no houses on this location in 1961.  

Click here for our Smith Family photo archive.  

Rosebud Ave: Moved For Freeway Construction, 1961

Photo: Smith, 1961.  Prior to freeway construction, Rosebud Ave used to go straight across from Corralitas Drive, cross Allesandro and up the Semi Tropic Spiritualists Tract.  They created a dogleg (to ease the steep rise in Rosebud) from Allesandro to Rosebud and Sunflower on the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract side of the 2 Freeway. 

On the Corralitas side (this vantage point), Rosebud was moved a couple hundred feet south (to the right), where Rosebud presently crosses under the 2 Freeway, ending at the Corralitas Public Staircase.

It's difficult to match this shot today because of the trees on the 2 Freeway (foreground) and homes on Corralitas Drive. The 5 Freeway (on the left) is also under construction on the left side of this photo.  

Click here for all the 2 Freeway History related posts.

Red Car Property: WIND!

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 14, 2015.  Today's story is the wind.  I've never actually seen the battered old flag on the rear fence of a house on Riverside Drive actually blowing in the wind.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)  

It's possible that all the huge Eucalyptus that died and have since been removed on the northern most portion of the property shielded the flag from the strong winds.

Red Car Property: Devastating Thunderstroms, Scenic View

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, October 15, 2015*.  Yesterday's exceptional thunderstorms caused massive mudslides closing all lanes of the 5 Freeway through the Grapevine, yet gave us a beautiful sunset from the Red Car Property.

The Red Car Property is not a park, nor is it a public road. 

*This photo was originally identified as shot on October 16, 2015, which was incorrect.  We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Red Car Property: Park Bench

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 9, 2015.  Maybe it's more of a modernist chair, but it's got a great view of the 5 Freeway and the protected California Black Walnut Trees that managed to grow back after last year's illegal clear cutting on the lots below the Red Car Property.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Random notes: The Red Car Property actually extends about 20-30' downslope from the flat portion here. 

The dead Eucalyptus was showing signs of life at the base of the trunk in July.  I'm not seeing signs of life, but I'm not a tree expert.  It does appear to be the species that's dying off quickly throughout the neighborhood.  It is on the Red Car Property.  

The California Black Walnuts that were not looking so good on either side of the Red Car Property boundary, are all showing new growth at their trunks.  These protected native trees have very deep root systems and are drought tolerant.  They evolved with our wacky drought/El Nino conditions.  Native trees will help hold hillsides together in the rain.
 

Red Car Property: North End Is Red-Shouldered Hawk Territory

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 5, 2015.  I admit, when I shot this photo, I could not see what species of hawk it was, but suspected it was a Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus).  Indeed, It was. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Red-Shouldered Hawks are forest dwelling hawks that also like to hang out near water.  So the north end of the Red Car Property and the hills above it, with its proximity to the LA River,  are ideal territory.  I have only occasionally seen them elsewhere in the neighborhood.  I've shot all but one photo of Red-Shouldered Hawks in the stretch of the Red Car Property adjacent to Adelbert Ave. In our neighborhood, it is their preferred urban forest territory.
 
I had stopped to take photos of some wildflowers on Adelbert when a hawk flew through the dense trees overhead, calling the whole time, landing in one of the huge native Black Walnut Trees just below the Red Car Property, off Riverside Drive. I managed to catch a few frames before it took off in the direction of Riverside & Fletcher.  

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 5, 2015.  The tree in the center is the California Black Walnut the Red Shouldered Hawk perched briefly, and took off before I could get a wide shot.  (Maybe it was because I was juggling the dog, a phone and a camera at the same time.)

Unfortunately, even the north end of the Red Car Property has been hit hard by the megadrought.  More than a dozen large Eucalyptus were removed last year after they died (due to extreme fire danger & their proximity to homes).  It dramatically changed the the ecosystem on this end of the property.  Not only is there a lot less shade, it's now hotter and drier.  Even the native trees are not doing as well as they usually do during the summer months on the north end of the property. 

Click here for all our Red-Shouldered Hawk posts.

2 & 5 Freeway Interchange: Big Parade LA Will Walk Around It Saturday

Photo: Smith, 1961. The scale of the 2 & 5 Freeway Interchange is deceptive when you're standing on Riverside Drive.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Big Parade LA starts the 2 day, 32 mile, 86 public staircase, epic urban hike, Downtown, Saturday May 2, 2015.  Echo Park Lake, Elysian Park, LA River, Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract and all the quirky routes in between are featured in Day 1.  The day is split into multiple trail loops.  Maps, timetables and everything you want to know: http://bigparadela.tumblr.com/

Photo: Smith, 1961.  When seen from the lot next to Paul Landacre's cabin in the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists' Tract, you get a better idea of the impact the freeways and their construction had on the neighborhoods of Elysian Valley, Echo Park and Silver Lake.  The freeways physically and psychologically divided the 3 communities.  This photo also shows the phenomenal volume of earth moved grading for the freeways. Prior to the freeways, there was a valley between Corralitas and the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. 

Note the huge scarp on the slope  2/3s of the way up the hill on Corralitas where CalTrans cut into the hill moving Corralitas Drive making room for the 2 Freeway.   

We are proud to support Big Parade LA, as we have every year since the first Big Parade in 2009. Click here for all our Big Parade posts.
 

Corralitas Drive: We've Been Through Grading Hell Before

Photo: Kleven, 1960.  Corralitas Drive used to have a secondary outlet to the south on Allesandro Street between Whitmore and Walcott, past modest homes with grassy front yards, where children played beneath large shade trees.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Kleven, 1961.  Within a year, homes were removed (some were moved to other parts of the neighborhood),  trees cut down and the State moved countless thousands of cubic yards of earth from the Red Car Property and other area vacant hillside lots to grade for the 2 & 5 Freeways. 

We've looked at the  photographic history of 2 Freeway through our neighborhood primarily through unique images contributed by long time neighbors of the Red Car Property.  Click here for all our 2 Freeway History posts.
 

2 Freeway: How Do The Homeless Get Medical Attention?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, April 5, 2015, 1:37 PM.  LAPD, LAFD and CHP responded to a call on the 2 Freeway median just north of the Rosebud Ave Underpass.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Around 1:15 PM, several neighbors were texting me with info as a LAPD helicopter circled very low over my house.  I had to go up to a neighbor's balcony for a clear shot.  

The neighbor reported what appeared to be a woman walking around on the median of the 2 Freeway between the north & southbound lanes waving her arms trying to get a car to stop.  The neighbor confirmed the person in between the firemen is the person who was doing the waving.  

LAPD helicopter left when the first CHP officer arrived.  The officer had the person sit down on the slope, so I could not see what was going on.  Over the next 10 minutes a bevy of CHP, LAPD, and LAFD joined the first officer.  There seemed to be no vehicles involved so I am speculating it was one of the many homeless who live on the 2 Freeway.  If the person was not homeless, what was he/she doing wandering around on the 2 Freeway? 

All of the officers appeared to treat the patient with respect.   The patient was able to slowly walk to the gurney with the aid of paramedics.

Looking at the time on my photos, the first CHP officer was on scene by 1:23 PM; LAFD & paramedics arrived at 1:34 PM.

Neighbors adjacent the 2 Freeway between the 5 Freeway and the Terminus have reported seeing more homeless than usual since CalTrans began work on soundwalls on the northbound lanes between Oak Glen & Rosebud.  Additionally, 3 bank-owned houses on the north end of the Red Car Property were cleared of squatters in February, so the theory is those folks have scattered looking for new homes.  

The freeways are no place for anyone to live.

SR-2 Freeway: Match To Yesterday's Photo

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 12, 2015.   Corralitas Drive looking south toward Rosebud Ave & the 2 Freeway Terminus. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Trees help block the view of oceans of concrete and help reduce the heat island effect of the 2 Freeway.
 
Note: There are no sound walls planned on the southbound side of the 2 Freeway between the 5 Freeway & the Terminus at Glendale Blvd.  The sound walls are only taking trees between Oak Glen & supposedly El Moran (more likely, Rosebud) on the Allesandro Street (northbound) side of the 2 Freeway. 

SR 2 Freeway: Sound Wall Construction Starts Tonight

Photo: Smith Family Archive, November 1961.  The State Route 2 Freeway (SR 2) was built through our neighborhood between the 5 Freeway & the SR 2 Freeway Terminus in 1960 to 1962.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Expect a lot more northbound night time traffic on Allesandro Street.

After 6 PM yesterday, Peter Jones, from CalTrans, sent out a press release: 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SR-2 TERMINUS PROJECT Phase 1B

Soundwall Construction  – Oak Glen Place to El Moran Way

 

CITY OF LOS ANGELES - State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in conjunction with community councils, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) & Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) as part of Phase 1B will start construction on the soundwall.

Thursday, March 12, through Friday, March 13

Northbound SR-2

8 p.m. to 6 a.m.     – Up to two lanes between Glendale Blvd SR-2 & Golden State Freeway I-5

7 p.m. to 6 a.m.     – On and Off Ramps & Connector to I-5 CLOSED between Glendale Blvd SR-2 & Golden State Freeway I-5

Friday, March 13, through Saturday, March 14
Northbound SR-2

8 p.m. to 10 a.m.     – Up to two lanes between Glendale Blvd SR-2 & Golden State Freeway I-5

8 p.m. to 10 a.m.     – On and Off Ramps & Connector to I-5 CLOSED between Glendale Blvd SR-2 & Golden State Freeway I-5

Detours will be posted.  Peterson-Chase Construction is the contractor on this $8.6 million project which is expected to complete in early 2016.  

So all the years of wrangling over redesigning the SR 2 Freeway Terminus have come down to building sound walls on Allesandro Street between Oak Glen & El Moran (just south of  Rosebud) for about $8.6 million.  But if you live above the line of sight and/or more than 75 feet away from the 10-12' tall sound wall, it will do no good whatsoever. Thanks for the 25 hour notice on a project that will take a year to build - hopefully.

Click here for all our sound wall related posts.