Bicycle Boulevard: Not Just Access But Connecting Communities

photo: LA Times

Pasadena recently unveiled Bicycle Boulevard, a small stretch of Marengo Avenue, between Orange Grove Boulevard and Washington Boulevard.  According to officials, this is the first of many new bicycle-friendly additions to the community.

This is a good start, albeit one that should have happened long ago.  Planners on city, county and regional levels should prioritize improved and exclusive bicycle and pedestrian access on all projects whether they be new developments or improvements to existing infrastructure.

This is more than a safe bikeway access issue.  The flip side of the coin is that the city and, specifically, neighborhoods, benefit from this.  We all know that northwest Pasadena has it's share of problems.  Poverty, crime, neglect and a host of other issues have plagued this area of Pasadena for many years.  However, many people have also seen the potential this area holds.  There are wonderful neighborhoods with proactive individuals and associations in this section of Pasadena.  Real estate prices are still reasonable and a growing number of young professionals and families are starting to recognize the value of this area.  Take a closer look at this particular bikeway on Marengo on a map and you will see this particular bikeway serves almost as a barrier-breaker between the surrounding neighborhoods and it's more prosperous neighborhoods and businesses to the south.  Bikeways such as this is a net positive improvement.  With proximity to the Gold Line biking becomes more of an attractive transportation alternative and encourages more people to explore this part of the city and consider it as a place to live in.  When you connect neighborhoods you connect people.

• Riders Give Bicycle Boulevard a Spin [Pasadena Sun]
• Bicycle Boulevard Opens [City of Pasadena]

Better Bike Routes

The bike cooperative over at Caltech is petitioning the city of Pasadena to dedicate bike lanes to a couple of east/west routes, namely Cordova Ave, Union St. and Green St., all west of Lake.  They seem to especially fear the current conditions on Cordova.  I have to disagree as I've seen many more speeders and reckless drivers on Union, despite the fact that it has significantly less traffic than Colorado.

All in all, I think what they are proposing benefits all of Pasadena.  Los Angeles has taken great strides the last couple of years in promoting biking and street-sharing.  With the success of Ciclavia and the creation of bike lanes in downtown, among many other initiatives, they are promoting alternative forms of transportation and cross-promoting that with the existing mass transit system.  It's time for Pasadena to also get serious with this issue as well.  Let's get the ball rolling on calling Pasadena a "bike-friendly city"

• City of Pasadena, CA: Improve East-West Bike Routes [change.org]

Hollywood Development Fracas - We Can Learn From This

There's a fight brewing between developers and residents in Hollywood over the community plan that would allow for new buildings and increased density, creating a framework to house thousands of future residents.  Sure, Hollywood is not Pasadena.  District to city, apples to oranges, right?  But take a closer look at the two and you can see that we might learn a lot from what Hollywood is going through right now and what happens in the next couple of years.  It's only a matter of time when a standoff between developers and residents here in Pasadena could reach a boiling point if this city maintains its status quo course with regards to city planning.

I'm not a fan of high-rises.  I'm also not a fan of urban density.  But we can be smart about how we plan potential growth.  I look around at condo and apartment developments for the last five or so years in the Old Pasadena and South Lake areas and I actually like what I see.  And I think there are many houses in areas north of the 210 that are ripe for remodels.  What Highland Park is going through right now I can see happening in the northern part of Pasadena.  But let's hear what residents of Pasadena has to say about the subject of development now, or if not right now then soon.  Don't wait until it's too late.

We have a lot of problems that need attention right now before we can go through the motions to justify future large-scale development.  That goes without saying.  But it's not something that can be put on the back-burner indefinitely.  One wild card: the recent sale of the huge Parsons campus at the northwest corner of Old Pasadena and the potential for more housing (apartments or condos) and thousands of square feet of additional retail (it looks like Parsons will still be a tenant so it will still provide significant commercial space).  This future development could change everything.  Factor in the possible extension of the 710 freeway right next to it and now you're opening up a whole different set of positive and negative implications for not just Pasadena but also the surrounding area and the San Gabriel Valley as a whole.

So, let's see how the Hollywood situation plays out.  I believe we can learn from it.

• Hollywood at Odds Over Development Plan [LA Times]

Over Budget and Overdue

$35 million.  That's the amount OVER budget so far to date on the Rose Bowl renovation.  From the very beginning there was no argument that major renovations and expansion was needed on the vaunted stadium and multi-purpose venue.  And, there was a general consensus that the work would be good for the stadium, future events and for the city of Pasadena.  Now, it's gonna cost us.  According to the LA Times, the funding from the bond issue to cover the renovation had already come in $12 million less than expected.  Well, that gap and then some is starting to haunt us.

"The challenges that we have in renovating our historic stadium are significant,” Rose Bowl CEO and General Manager Darryl Dunn said. “We’re going to be working with our partners and the (Rose Bowl Operating Co.) board of directors and City Council to determine how best to proceed from here.”  -Rose Bowl CEO and General Manager Darryl Dunn to The Pasadena Star

Originally, this project was suppose to wrap up at the end of this year or the beginning of 2013.  Now it looks like things won't be done until 2014.  Really?  How did the cost overruns and delays get to this stage?  Several sources tag the bulk of the budget increases on electrical systems, asbestos remediation and structural difficulties.  Really?  I'm not an architect or engineer, but weren't these serious considerations during the inspection, discovery and bidding process?  I mean, it was no secret that this stadium is old, very old.  Even though records on the Rose Bowl construction (and subsequent fixes, reno's, etc.) were spotty, missing or downright inaccurate there is no excuse for not taking those issues into consideration.  The time is now to put the heat on both city officials and contractors.  Where is the accountability?  Don't stick it to the taxpayers.

Funny how the status report on the Rose Bowl renovation website hasn't been updated for several months.  C'mon, guys!  Be upfront with us!

• Rose Bowl Renovation

Pension Reform: Does Pasadena Need One?

San Jose and San Diego voters approved measures this past election Tuesday, cutting pensions costs and reducing benefits pretty much across the board for each city's employees. Major pension reforms should have occurred long ago, but now push has come to shove and the voters are speaking. But I'm curious to find out what Pasadena's pension obligations compare to not the larger cities, like San Diego and San Jose, but Santa Monica, Long Beach, Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Barbara. Maybe even against the smaller tech cities near the Bay Area cities such as Cupertino, Palo Alto and the like. Sure, it's going to be a long, drawn out fight with unions and reform-advocates now taking the battle to court. I'm not saying we should blindly go about screaming "reform, reform!". But let's look at where our cities stand.