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]

Culver City or Bust

The Culver City terminus for the Expo Line officially opened today.  Who would have thought until recently that we could get from Pasadena to the Westside without use of car or even bus.  Next stop, Santa Monica!

Coming Not Soon Enough: Trattoria Neapolis

I'm not sure what's yummier, the delicious interior of this restaurant or what's going to come out of the gigantic wood oven at the center of the restaurant.  From what I hear, the drinks/wine list is going to be top-notch.  Soft opening begins July 10.  Score one for the South Lake area!

• Trattoria Neapolis, A Grand New Addition to Pasadena [Eater]

Imagining the Old Days...

Another charming feature of Old Town Pasadena.

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]