News of the Arroyo
Title: | L.A. Celebrates its Historic Parkway |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-06-18 |
Summary: | June 18, 2003 - Preservation Online, the online magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, covers ArroyoFest. |
Author: | Margaret Foster |
Publication: | Preservation Online |
Content: | When part of a historic, sycamore-lined parkway in southern California closed to motor traffic for three hours on Sunday, about 5,000 people jammed the Arroyo Seco Parkway to slow down and enjoy its sharp twists and turns. \"We were thrilled with how it turned out,\" says Marcus Renner, steering committee member of the event, called ArroyoFest. \"Everyone wants us to do it again.\" The 22-mile parkway, otherwise known as the Pasadena (110) Freeway, which opened in 1940, is the site of the most traffic accidents in the Los Angeles area, according to a UCLA-Occidental College study. As a result, the parkway\'s roads, short exit ramps, wood guardrails, and mangled fences need rehabilitation. \"There\'s quite a bit to be done,\" Renner says. \"We hope that [ArroyoFest] draws the attention of elected officials to the arroyo.\" A National Engineering Landmark, the parkway was named a National Scenic Byway last year, making it eligible for federally funded repairs. The Arroyo Seco Foundation hopes that ArroyoFest, sponsored by a coalition of groups, will help publicize some of its goals: to update the parkway, remove the concrete from its streambeds, revive the watershed, and create a commuter bike path. \"Today, it is hard to imagine the 63-year-old Pasadena Freeway as anything innovative,\" said Dan Marriott, director of the Trust\'s Rural Heritage program in a speech at ArroyoFest on June 15. \"But it is possible to envision the return of the elegant parkway with its lush native plantings, elegant street lights, and beautifully restored bridges embracing the communities and parks of the Arroyo.\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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