LA River Recreational Zone (& River Channel Dog Ban) Back On City Council Agenda Today

Photo: Diane Edwardson. Under the proposed rules people will be allowed in the river channel but even on-leash dogs will be banned.  On-leash dogs will only be allowed on the bike path. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The LA City Council Ad-Hoc River Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed rules and parameters for the LA River Recreational Zone pilot program this afternoon in City Hall.  

According to Lupe Vela, senior staff for City Councilmember Ed Reyes, the recreational zone itself has been scaled back due to construction on the pedestrian/bike/equestrian bridge at Atwater Creek; retrofitting of the historic bridge on Fletcher Drive; construction of the new Riverside Drive Bridge crossing the river near the Confluence.  However, the recreational zone seems to be moving forward quickly nonetheless. 

PUBLIC HEARING TODAY

LA CIty Council Ad-Hoc River Committee

Monday February 25, 2013

3PM

LA City Hall

200 N. Spring St, Room 1060

Los Angeles, CA 90012

 

City Council File: 11-1403 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2010.  Horses are considered livestock so they would not be included in the ban. Currently horses have a place they can cross in the river near Atwater Creek, near the site of this photo.  It often looks as if the horses are walking on the water, as it is just a concrete berm just under the water. 

 

Related: Dog Ban January 27, 2013

LA River: Recreational Zone Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 9, 2013.  Under the proposed recreational zone between North Atwater Park and the Confluence, even on-leash dogs would be banned from walking in the river channel.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

 

The LA City Council Ad Hoc LA River Committee continued discussion on the proposed recreational zone for non-motorized boating on our section of the LA River until February 28, 2013.  City Council File: 11-1403 

 

Neighbors in Atwater and Elysian Valley are very worried by the rush to open the recreation zone by this summer.  They have legitimate concern their neighborhoods will be overrun by urban kayakers looking for parking on neighborhood streets.  Kayakers won't just stick to the assigned parking lots.   

 

A whole lot of changes are coming to the LA River.  If you're concerned you should probably hear what the CD13 City Council Candidates have to say:

Atwater Chamber of Commerce

City Council CD13 Candidate Forum

TONIGHT

January 30, 2013

6-9PM

Atwater Ave Elementary School Auditorium

3271 Silver Lake Blvd

Atwater 90039

 



LA River: Proposed Recreation Zone Will Ban Even On-Leash Dogs From River "Channel"

Photo: D. Hibbs..  Walking in the riverbed near Sunnynook Bridge.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

 

All dogs will be banned from the LA River channel as a part of the LA River Recreational Zone Pilot Program set for a public hearing Monday.  The LA City Council Ad Hoc River Committee is looking to open the Glendale Narrows to recreational, non-motorized boating this summer. 

 

Buried deep in the rules that will be posted in the river channel (year round) is the ban on dogs, even on-leash dogs.  People will be allowed in the channel (no swimming, skateboarding or biking in the channel), but not dogs or other pets.  The LA River channel is defined as the slopes below the bike path, going down to the river, the flat part in the riverbed and the river itself. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson. Near Atwater Creek aka North Atwater Park.

 

North of Fletcher, there is ample room to walk down in the riverbed.  It's quieter to walk in the riverbed because you're below the freeway noise.  It's also a lot more interesting.  It offers a view on wildlife that most people never realized is in their backyard. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson.  Near Newell Street, Elysian Valley, don't try this in the rain.

 

While the flat parts of the channel in Elysian Valley are not as wide, there are places to explore too. Require a maximum 6' leash (no expandable 20' leashes - to protect wildlife) and require picking up after your dogs.  (I've encountered more human feces piles in the river than dog feces piles.  The homeless still use the river storm drain outlets as a bathrooms.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson. The bike path in Elysian Valley is very narrow and soon will be your only option when you take your dog to the river.

 

Under the proposed soon-to-be-posted rules, on-leash dogs will only be allowed on the bike path between North Atwater Park and The Confluence. The bike path is not easy to walk with a dog.  You're constantly looking over your shoulder because you can't hear bikes coming up from behind due to the noise of the 2 & 5 Freeways and the idling trains at the Metrolink Maintenance Yard.  (If you think it's loud, imagine how loud it is for dogs - their hearing is way more sensitive than ours.)  It's stressful for all parties involved. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson.  North of the Hyperion Bridge.

 

Walking the slopes in the river channel on a dry day provides a good core workout and a bike-free place to walk with a dog.  You don't have to worry about getting tangled up with a passing bicyclist. 

 

I've often seen women walking the river alone with their dogs. Dogs give them a sense of safety they would not have if they left their dogs at home.

 

With two pedestrian/bike bridges planned (North Atwater & Taylor Yard) pedestrians with on-leash dogs won't even be able to escape the bikes on the east side of the river.  Our only choice is walking in the river channel if we want to enjoy the LA River with our dogs.  Yet the City is failing to consider this option in their rush to make the summer boating program happen by this summer.

Photo: Diane Edwardson.  Hyperion Bridge. 

 

We support the Recreational Boating Program in the Glendale Narrows portion of the LA River between North Atwater Park and The Confluence.  However we urge the City to reconsider the rule to ban dogs in the LA River channel in the policies & regulations set forth by the MRCA.  The policy should be to restrict dogs to on-leash only and owners must pick up and properly dispose of dog waste.

 

The recreation zone report is expected to be voted on by LA City Council Ad-Hoc River Committee, Monday January 28, 2013.

 

Links: City Council File 11-1403 

Draft River Access Report

Kayaking Glendale Narrows: The Patch

The Patch 1-28-13

The Eastsider 1-28-13



LA River: Boating Coming This Summer To Elysian Valley & Atwater? Community Meeting Thursday, January 24, 2013

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 27, 2010.  Elysian Valley is one of the most scenic stretches of the LA River and it's walking distance from the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

 

The summer boating program is coming to the Glendale Narrows section of the LA River -this summer - only this time it's free if you bring your own boat.   However, the big issue in both Atwater and Elysian Valley will be parking. 

 

In my head, I keep hearing the voice of my old friend Rey Dominguez (rest in peace), "Where are you going park all those cars?  On narrow neighborhood streets where families live and children play?  People aren't going to walk to the river with their kayaks!"

 

GO TO THE COMMUNITY MEETING:

 

Thursday, January 24, 2013

5 - 6:30 PM

 

LA River Center

570 W. Ave 26

Los Angeles, CA 90065

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 28, 2010.  LA River at Atwater Creek.

 

They also want to ban dogs from the riverbed. Again, I have not had a chance to review the report - so go to the meeting. The only place I can escape the bikes whizzing by at high speed on the narrow & crowded path, is to walk in the riverbed with my dog on a leash. But then, I also pick up after my dog. 

 

Read the full story: Silver Lake Echo Park Patch

 

You can also read the "Draft River Access Report" pdf on the Patch.  I could not pull it up on the City's LA River Committee website.

LA River: "North Atwater Crossing (also known as the North Atwater Multi-Modal Bridge over the Los Angeles River)" *Corrected Stuff We Totally Missed This Year

 

All images from the City of LA Bureau of Engineering Initial Study posted online for public review for the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) on the North Atwater Crossing of the LA River.  (Click on images to enlarge.) 

 

The tall off-center mast is 220.5' high will be 123.5' above the current grade of the bike path.  Does it really need to be that tall just to carry horses, bicyclists and pedestrians?  The Sunnynook Bridge is less obtrusive and surprisingly sturdy.

This bridge won't be Downtown, it's going next to Griffith Park, north of Los Feliz, near the horse stables in Atwater. I don't even think there are any 2 story homes in that neighborhood. It seems to me, the spire with suspension cables might cause trouble for the raptors and migratory birds on the LA River. 

Admittedly, I knew about this MND. It came out for public review right after Thanksgiving and the close of public comments was yesterday. No I haven't read it; you have to pick your battles.  But I'm sorry I didn't look at it sooner, as I had no idea it called for a 220.5'  120.5' tall tower with suspension cables - and will be lit up at night.  People will bitch once it's built.  (People bitch at a 45' tall building - they have no idea how tall 220' 120' really is!) 

 

Will the City be selling it to the highest bidder for a cell phone tower too?  Wonder if that's in the MND.

 

The really interesting aspect of this project is that is being funded privately.  In fact, a year ago this year they attempted to quietly sneak it through the public process. 

 

Related Reading:

The Eastsider: October 21, 2011, March 6, 2012

City of Los Angeles CEQA Initial Study for North Atwater Crossing, November 2012

Dept. of Engineering MND notice, information

 

*Correction 12-30-12: Thanks to our loyal reader and outstanding contributor Jonathan Vandiveer for pointing out the mistake I made in a quick read of the plans.  The plans had the height of the tower listed as "220.5' elevation" not the actual height of the tower.  Thus the risks of writing when you're not fully researched on a topic.  I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.  However, a 120.5' tower is still huge and deserves more scrutiny.  Lighting up something that large in an area with nesting birds and other wildlife will have effects on them.   

 

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.)