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Tripping Point: Valley Edition Recap

On Saturday, October 21st, Panorama High School was host to the second Tripping Point: the Valley Edition. With over 60 community members, five neighborhood councils, and our special year 0-5 crew joining, the day was filled with ways to gain skills in advocacy, local civic engagement, and how to access the basic city service of good, accessible sidewalks.

From childcare with First Steps Mobile and intrepretation with Antena, as well as a local street vendor for “frutas frescas” – the Tripping Point is committed to meeting community members where they are. The Valley is home to the Orange Line, one of the most effective bus rapid transit lines in the country. Because all bus riders are pedestrians, the Valley is also home to the most dangerous intersections in the state of California.

In the Valley, the need is great as well as the demand for accessible and safe sidewalks.

Sidewalks are multi-faceted and encompass more than safety and accessibility, but also urban greening and public health. Our steering committee included Koreatown Youth Community Center, Los Angeles Walks, LURN, Outfront/JCDecaux, AARP Los Angeles, American Heart Association, Empower LA, and the Southern California Resource Center for Independent Living.

Keynoting our day were Hector Ochoa, Los Angeles County Disability Commissioner, Luz Rivas, Board of Public Works Commissioner, Ted Bardacke, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Director of Infrastructure, and Councilmember Nury Martinez, Los Angeles City – District 6.

Hector, a steering committee member, shared his personal experience in addressing the shortcoming of the city’s ability to respond to ADA access requests.

As the City of Los Angeles works to be compliant with the Willits settlement, the backlog of ADA access requests is only the “tripping point”. Ever month, there are over 100 requests sent to the Sidewalk Repair Program. The City has averaged fixing 70-80 sidewalks a year. If you were to send a request in today – it is likely that you will be waiting for two years minimum.

Luz Rivas, a Valley native, shared that the City is extremely committed to addressing the needs.

Ted Bardacke, Director of General Infrastructure, noted that sidewalks are key to connecting our communities with every day resources.

The Sidewalk Repair Program is an opportunity for the City of Los Angeles to address its most basic quality-of-life infrastructure. Safe and comfortable sidewalks and crosswalks serve all travelers, improve local economy, and can create vibrant public gathering spaces.

Rather than treated as separate from streets and transit, planning and funding sidewalks should be considered part of a comprehensive transportation network . We look forward to a future where our city is connected by a robust sidewalk and crosswalk network with ample shade and amenities, access to transit with safe and dignified bus stops, patrons connected to commercial and cultural destinations, stormwater runoff treatments, and safe passage for travelers of all ages and abilities.

Community members were then able to choose from a variety of tools being offered:

Morning Session

  1. Sidewalks 101 – Investing in Place
  2. Trees in Your Neighborhood – Koreatown Youth Community Center
  3. Advocacy Made Easy: How to Get What You Want – Los Angeles Walks
  4. Neighborhood Councils 101 – Empower LA

Afternoon Session

  1. How to Communicate with Decisionmakers – LURN
  2. The City’s Plan to Make Sidewalks Safe and Accessible – Bureau of Engineering/Department of Disability
  3. People Street – Great Streets
  4. Hands-On Walk Audit Training – Los Angeles Walks

Consistently drawing larger crowds are Los Angeles Walks’ Advocacy Made Easy and LURN’s How to Communicate with Decisionmakers. Community members are the experts of their communities. They are seeking for the “how-to’s” to advocate for themselves and make their voices heard.

A longtime advocate people having a safe and walkable sidewalk is Councilmember Nury Martinez. On her turf, the Councilmember was fired up and proud to host the Tripping Point in her district. Stemming from her own experience watching her father take public transportation every day of his career, sidewalks are an extremely personal issue.

“It is my responsibility as your Councilmember – if Hollywood and Highland can get zero fatalities with a pedestrian scramble – what’s the difference between Hollywood and Panorama City?” Safety and pedestrian lives are a critical component to bringing transportation equity to the Valley.

Another factor the Valley is known for is its extreme heat during the summer. Molly Peterson, an environmental journalist, shared her urban heat mapping work with the community members just down the street in Pacoima. The group was able to contribute more data points and demonstrate which streets experience the most heat and are in need of bus shelters.

One of the key takeaways we had from our first Tripping Point in Boyle Heights was ensuring we had concrete next steps. Community members wanted their decisionmakers to know that they were ready to fight for their sidewalks. We were inspired to create postcards and send our concerns to our city representatives.

 

If you would like to join us in our campaign for #LAsidewalks, please join our work group ‘Completing Streets: Fixing City of LA Sidewalks’ or feel free to reach me at amanda@investinginplace.org.

 

Resources:

Program (English)

Programa (Spanish)

TP.Valley Powerpoint

Sidewalks FAQ

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Estolano Advisors

Richard France

Richard France assists clients with strategic planning, visioning, and community and economic development. He is a strategic planner at Estolano Advisors, where he has been involved in a variety of active transportation, transit-oriented development, climate change resiliency, and equitable economic development projects. His work in active transportation includes coordinating a study to improve bike and pedestrian access to transit oriented districts for the County of Los Angeles, and working with the Southern California Association of Governments to host tactical urbanism events throughout the region. Richard also serves as a technical assistance provider for a number of California Climate Investment programs, including the Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities, Transformative Climate Communities, and Low Carbon Transit Operations programs. He has also taught at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Richard received a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and his M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA.

Accelerator for America, Milken Institute

Matt Horton

Matt Horton is the director of state policy and initiatives for Accelerator for America. He collaborates with government officials, impact investors, and community leaders to shape infrastructure, job creation, and equitable community development efforts. With over fifteen years of experience, Matt has directed research-driven programs and initiatives focusing on housing production, infrastructure finance, access to capital, job creation, and economic development strategies. Previously, he served as the director of the California Center at the Milken Institute, where he produced research and events to support innovative economic policy solutions. Matt also has experience at the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), where he coordinated regional policy development and planning efforts. He holds an MA in political science from California State University, Fullerton, and a BA in history from Azusa Pacific University. Additionally, Matt serves as a Senior Advisor for the Milken Institute and is involved in various advisory boards, including Lift to Rise and WorkingNation.

UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

Madeline Brozen

Madeline is the Deputy Director of the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies at the Luskin School of Public Affairs. She oversees and supports students, staff, and faculty who work on planning and policy issues about how people live, move, and work in the Southern California region. When not supporting the work of the Lewis Center community, Madeline is doing research on the transportation patterns and travel needs of vulnerable populations in LA. Her recent work includes studies of low-income older adults in Westlake, public transit safety among university students, and uncovering the transportation needs of women, and girls in partnership with Los Angeles public agencies. Outside of UCLA, Madeline serves as the vice-chair of the Metro Westside Service Council and enjoys spending time seeing Los Angeles on the bus, on foot, and by bike.

Office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass

Luis Gutierrez

Luis Gutierrez, works in the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, as the Director of Energy & Water in the Office of Energy and Sustainability (MOES), Luis oversees issues related to LA’s transition to clean energy, water infrastructure, and serves as the primary liaison between the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Water and Power. Prior to joining MOES, Luis managed regulatory policy proceedings for Southern California Edison (SCE), focusing on issues related to equity and justice. Before joining SCE, Luis served as the Director of Policy and Research for Inclusive Action for the City, a community development organization dedicated to economic justice in Los Angeles. Luis holds a BA in Sociology and Spanish Literature from Wesleyan University, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Cal State LA.

kim@investinginplace.org

Communications Strategist

Kim Perez

Kim is a writer, researcher and communications strategist, focused on sustainability, urban resilience and safe streets. Her specialty is taking something complex and making it clear and compelling. Harvard-trained in sustainability, she won a prize for her original research related to urban resilience in heat waves—in which she proposed a method to help cities identify where pedestrians spend a dangerous amount of time in direct sun, so they can plan for more equitable access to shade across a city.

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For over almost two decades, Jessica has led efforts in Los Angeles to promote inclusive decision-making and equitable resource allocation in public works and transportation funding. Jessica’s current work at Investing in Place is grounded in the belief that transparent and strategic prioritization of public funds can transform Los Angeles into a city where inclusive, accessible public spaces enrich both livability and well-being. As a collaborator and convener, Jessica plays a role in facilitating public policy conversations and providing nuanced insights into the interplay of politics, power, and process on decision-making and fiscal allocations.