News of the Arroyo
Title: | Larry Wilson: Pay parking's price in the Arroyo Seco |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2012-02-03 |
Summary: | <b>February 3, 2012</b> - The Urban Land Institute has some very interesting ideas for the Central Arroyo. Their main suggestion is a new Central Arroyo Conservancy, akin to the Central Park Conservancy in New York. Here Larry Wilson cogitates on a proposal for parking fees. |
Author: | Larry Wilson |
Publication: | Pasadena Star-News |
Content: | Pay to park in the Arroyo Seco recreational loop so many people just call \"the Rose Bowl\"? As in, \"I just ran around the Rose Bowl. That\'s a 5K. 3.1 miles. Nice workout.\" Actually, running around the stadium would be something less than a 1K. But some people fixate on it instead of the fantastic canyon that bisects west Pasadena, and the oval of roads and trails around part of the two golf courses of Brookside. And I can\'t change some people. Paying to park was just one of many matters discussed this week by an Urban Land Institute study of ways to, as is said, monetize the place. The nonprofit Washington, D.C. group sent to Pasadena \"planning, landscape architecture and development experts to study how Pasadena could enhance revenue from the Central Arroyo by creating more amenities and services for existing users without `creating negative impacts.\' Such revenue could be used to support the Rose Bowl and `enhance the park experience\' in the Central Arroyo.\" In a meeting Thursday morning in the Brookside clubhouse attended by local planning, activist, Rose Bowl and Brookside types, there were other recommendations made than pay parking. But that\'s the one that\'s going to get some headlines. Me, I\'ve got mixed feelings. I won\'t pay to park in the Angeles National Forest, for instance, by buying the supposedly required Adventure Pass. We already pay for the rangers in the mountains in our federal taxes. But I also understand that no parking is \"free,\" same as with lunch. Someone has paid for that parking place. And tens of thousands of runners, cyclists and dog walkers, most of them, I would wager, not Pasadena taxpayers, drive to the Central Arroyo every week for a workout. If they were exercising at the beach, they\'d feed quarters into a meter. But not in town. Compared to joining a gym or other expensive alternatives, prices being suggested are a bargain. Say, a $10 annual pass for residents, $75 for non-residents. If it happens, there would certainly be alternatives to that. I stood in front of an area map with the Arroyo Seco Foundation\'s Tim Brick and city Planning Director and Deputy Director Vince Bertoni and Stephanie DeWolfe. \"Get the ARTS buses to run down here!\" said Tim. An excellent idea to help keep cars out of the Arroyo, where they don\'t really belong. We talked about running and biking, which we all do in the Big Ditch. \"Let\'s lower the street down by Brookside Park, let it flood every 10 years or so, no big deal,\" said Tim. \"Mmmhmmm,\" Vince said. \"Let\'s naturalize it.\" \"More corporate events in the Rose Bowl, and tours of the stadium,\" said its general manager, Darryl Dunn. \"Cover over the flood-control drain west of the bowl to create more usable space,\" said former RBOC board member Ross Selvidge. There always have been plenty of Arroyo ideas. So many I think it\'s going to take a nonprofit conservancy like the one that runs New York\'s Central Park to honcho all of them. Best idea: No cars in the Arroyo at all two days a week. Crazy? Hey, they\'ve done it in Manhattan. Twitter: @PublicEditor Read more: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_19883331#ixzz1lMRgOJoQ |
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