News of the Arroyo
Title: | Arroyo Dreams |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-06-17 |
Summary: | June 17, 2003 - KCET Life and Times features ArroyoFest and Arroyo restoration efforts. |
Author: | Life and Times |
Publication: | KCET |
Content: | VAL ZAVALA>> TONIGHT ON LIFE AND TIMES -- HOW MANY TIMES DO PEDESTRIANS GET TO TAKE OVER A LOS ANGELES FREEWAY? IT HAPPENED THIS SUNDAY ON THE 110. MARY NICHOLS>> WE HAVE OUT HERE TODAY SO MANY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY SAYING WE WANT TO SEE THIS \"FREEWAY\" BACK WHAT IT ONCE WAS, WHICH IS A SCENIC PARKWAY, AND WE WANT TO BE PART OF HELPING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. VAL>> AND THEN WE LOOK AT THE ART COLLECTION OF BILLIONAIRE PHILANTHROPIST, ELI BROAD. HE\'S JUST MADE A RECORD DONATION TO THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART TO BUILD THE BROAD CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM AT LACMA. PLUS, WE\'LL TALK WITH LOS ANGELES MAYOR, JAMES HAHN. HE\'S MENDED FENCES WITH THE CITY COUNCIL. NOW HE\'S TAKING ON THE GOVERNOR. IT\'S ALL STRAIGHT AHEAD ON TONIGHT\'S LIFE AND TIMES. LIFE AND TIMES IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FOLLOWING FOUNDATIONS: THE L.K. WHITTIER FOUNDATION DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE BY SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE ENDEAVORS IN THE FIELDS OF MEDICINE, HEALTH, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION. AND THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT THE STATE\'S LARGEST HEALTH FOUNDATION SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS THAT DIRECTLY IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF CALIFORNIA\'S DIVERSE COMMUNITIES. THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT, A PARTNER FOR HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES. VAL>> TONIGHT ON LIFE AND TIMES -- IT\'S HARD TO IMAGINE IN LOS ANGELES, BUT IT HAPPENED. A FREEWAY SHUT DOWN AND TAKEN OVER BY BIKERS AND PEDESTRIANS. FROM 7:00 A.M. TO 10:00 A.M. LAST SUNDAY MORNING, A STRETCH OF THE PASADENA FREEWAY WAS CLOSED TO CARS AND OPENED TO WALKERS AND CYCLISTS. THE FREEWAY GOES THROUGH A SCENIC AND SENSITIVE AREA CALLED THE ARROYO SECO. ORGANIZERS HAVE BIG PLANS FOR THE ARROYO AND, AS TONI GUINYARD TELLS US, THOSE PLANS ARE BEST APPRECIATED WHEN PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE THE ARROYO UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. >> THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED FIRST TIME EVENT. WE\'VE NEVER HAD A FREEWAY, AN OPERATIONAL FREEWAY, CLOSED DOWN SO THAT YOU COULD RIDE YOUR BIKES ON IT. TONI GUINYARD>> MOST MORNINGS, DRIVERS LINE UP TO GET ON THE PASADENA FREEWAY AND FIGHT THEIR WAY TO WORK IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, BUT THIS FOGGY MORNING IS DIFFERENT. ARROYOFEST IS GIVING BIKERS A CHANCE TO TURN THE FREEWAY INTO ONE HUGE BIKE LANE. >> THIS IS A FIRST, ISN\'T IT? CLOSING A FREEWAY? IT\'S ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE. >> I ALWAYS WANTED TO RIDE ON THE FREEWAY. IT\'S GOING TO BE A COOL EXPERIENCE. TONI GUINYARD>> WHEN THE PASADENA FREEWAY OPENED BACK IN 1940, IT WAS CALLED THE ARROYO SECO PARKWAY AND NOW A COALITION OF COMMUNITY GROUPS IS LOOKING TO RECAPTURE THAT PAST. ROBERT GOTTLIEB>> IT WAS DESIGNED VERY DIFFERENTLY THAN ITS PRACTICE TODAY. IT WAS DESIGNED TO FIT INTO THE LANDSCAPE, TO BE PART OF THE SENSE OF PASSING THROUGH AND CONNECTING TO COMMUNITIES. IT WAS CALLED A PLEASURE RIDE. YOU HAD KIND OF GRACEFUL CURVES AND YOU HAD A SENSE THAT THE EXPERIENCE WAS PART OF BEING IN A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. TODAY, OF COURSE, IT\'S THE MOST ACCIDENT-PRONE FREEWAY FROM FORTY-FIVES MILES PER HOUR. PEOPLE GO MUCH FASTER, OBVIOUSLY. YOU HAVE ENTRANCES AND EXITS THAT WERE DESIGNED VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM HOW THEY\'RE USED TODAY. TONI GUINYARD>> URBAN POLICY EXPERT, ROBERT GOTTLIEB, HAS BEEN WORKING ON ARROYOFEST FOR TWO YEARS. THE EVENT ALSO GAVE PEDESTRIANS A CHANCE TO STROLL THE ROADWAY. OSCAR GARCIA>> OH, I THINK IT\'S A GREAT DAY WHEN WE GET TO SHUT DOWN THE FREEWAYS WHICH ARE CRISS-CROSSING THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND KEEP THEM QUIET AND WE GET A LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENT AGAIN. MARY NICHOLS>> WE HAVE OUT HERE TODAY SO MANY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY SAYING WE WANT TO SEE THIS \"FREEWAY\" BACK WHAT IT ONCE WAS, WHICH IS A SCENIC PARKWAY, AND WE WANT TO BE PART OF HELPING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. TONI GUINYARD>> STATE RESOURCES SECRETARY, MARY NICHOLS, THINKS RESTORING THE PARKWAY IS FEASIBLE. MARY NICHOLS>> IT NEEDS TO BE SAFER. IT NEEDS TO BE MORE MULTI-PURPOSE FOR PEOPLE TO DO WHAT THEY WERE DOING TODAY, BICYCLE AND EVEN WALK. NOW THAT\'S A DREAM. IT\'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT OVER THE LONG TERM, THAT\'S THE VISION THAT WE\'RE TRYING TO RECREATE. TONI GUINYARD>> OVER THE YEARS, CALTRANS HAS WANTED TO WIDEN THE PASADENA FREEWAY AND ADD MORE LANES, BUT CALTRANS DISTRICT DIRECTOR, DOUG FAILING, SAYS THE STATE AGENCY IS NOW OPEN TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHANGE. DOUG FAILING>> WE HAVE EVOLVED. CALTRANS IS DIFFERENT THAN WE WERE TEN YEARS AGO, FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. TONI GUINYARD>> BUT THE ISSUES ADDRESSED AT ARROYOFEST GO BEYOND THE FREEWAY. ORGANIZERS SAY IT\'S TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE CONCRETE LINE TO ARROYO SECO WHICH BORDERS THE FREEWAY. ROBERT GOTTLIEB>> THERE IS STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT TO SAY WE WANT A LIVING STREAM AGAIN. TONI GUINYARD>> CLAIRE ROBINSON IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NORTHEAST TREES, A GROUP DEVOTED TO WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AND PARKS. CLAIRE ROBINSON>> THIS PARK IS IN NATURAL ADJACENCY TO THE FLOOD CHANNEL, SO IF THE FLOOD CHANNEL WERE REMOVED AT SOME POINT, THIS AREA WOULD TAKE ANY FLOOD. SO THE IDEA IS THAT WE\'RE MAKING A BUFFER ALONG THE RIVER AND THAT WE WOULDN\'T ENDANGER REAL ESTATE, BUT THAT WE WOULD SIMPLY, LIKE WASHINGTON, D.C. OR MANY OTHER GREAT CITIES IN OUR COUNTRY, MAKE SOME SORT OF A PARKWAY THAT BUFFERS THE OCCASIONAL FLOOD. TONI GUINYARD>> THIS PHOTO FROM THE EARLY 1900\'S SHOWS WHAT CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT FLOOD CONTROL CHANNELS, BUT ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY THERE ARE NOW BETTER WAYS TO CONTROL FLOOD WATERS WITHOUT DESTROYING NATURE. MARY NICHOLS>> ONCE IN A WHILE, THERE ARE GOING TO BE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WATER MOVING DOWN THAT CHANNEL AND WE\'VE GOT TO BE PREPARED FOR IT, BUT THERE ARE WAYS TO DO IT THAT WE KNOW TODAY OTHER THAN JUST LINING EVERYTHING WITH CONCRETE AND BUILDING THE WALLS UP HIGHER. WE KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW TO HELP CAPTURE THE WATER, HOW TO REUSE IT ON SITE AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE USED INSTEAD OF JUST TRYING TO RUSH IT ALL OUT TO THE OCEAN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW ATTITUDE ON THE PART OF OUR FLOOD CONTROL ENGINEERS. NOW WHAT USED TO BE THE FLOOD MANAGEMENT DIVISION IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY IS CALLED THE WATERSHED DIVISION BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WATER IS TOO PRECIOUS TO WASTE. TONI GUINYARD>> LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCILMAN, ED REYES, IS AMONG THOSE PUSHING TO RESTORE THE AREA\'S RIVERS, STREAMS AND TRIBUTARIES. HE SAYS THIS COMMUNITY NEAR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES NEEDS A TOUCH OF TRANQUILITY THAT WAS HERE IN EARLIER YEARS. ED REYES>> HOW DO WE CREATE DAYLIGHT? HOW WOULD WE GIVE WATER A CHANCE TO BREATH? LET THE SUN DO SOME OF THE WORK. BRING BACK THE NATURAL ELEMENTS, THE NATURAL HABITATS AND, IN THE SAME TIME, REVITALIZE THESE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE ESSENTIALLY JUST PAVED OVER. TONI GUINYARD>> MARY NICHOLS ADMITS THAT IT WON\'T BE EASY TO RESTORE THE ARROYO AND THE PARKWAY. MARY NICHOLS>> IT\'S THE USUAL IT\'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE, WE CAN\'T DO IT, IT\'S TOO EXPENSIVE, PEOPLE WON\'T GO FOR IT. YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE INERTIA KINDS OF EXCUSES. TONI GUINYARD>> BUT MOST ARROYOFEST PARTICIPANTS BELIEVE THEY CAN MAKE IT WORK. ROBERT GOTTLIEB>> IT\'S A NEW KIND OF DIALOGUE THAT\'S DEVELOPING. ONE OF THE KIND OF THEMES OF ARROYOFEST IS THIS IDEA OF WHAT I WOULD CALL POWER TO THE IMAGINATION, THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN IN FACT BEGIN TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT WHAT THESE ISSUES REPRESENT. THAT\'S, I THINK, INFUSED NOT ONLY IN COMMUNITY SETTINGS, BUT IT\'S INFUSED IN TERMS OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AS WELL. VAL>> IF YOU\'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MASTER PLAN FOR THE ARROYO SECO, YOU CAN GO TO THE FOUNDATION\'S WEBSITE AT ARROYOSECO.ORG. |
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