L.A. Times Kayaks L.A. River, Great Article, Photos, and Vid

Of course that river is navigable. Photo from last week's kayaking expedition. Better photos at the L.A. Times site.

Once the EPA declared the L.A. River navigable, the Los Angeles Times’ Louis Sahagun decided to go kayaking.

Sahagun has written a great article and the times photographers and videographers have put it together as a great web extravaganza. The full article appears in the Sunday paper (which includes a big picture of me! – available Saturday) and online here. Here are two brief excerpts – but go to the Times and read the whole thing:

Wolfe’s party took advantage of that legal gray area, launching at dawn on a recent workday in one canoe and five brightly colored kayaks just south of Los Feliz Boulevard in Atwater Village — one of the few stretches of the Los Angeles River that has a soft bottom and still looks like a river.

It is a rambunctious urban patch of rumbling water, serene greenery and occasional homeless encampments, framed by slanting concrete walls rising to electrical power-line towers, set to an endless soundtrack of freeway traffic. Paddling on the murky water, the kayakers surprised hundreds of shorebirds and waterfowl. Huge carp darted past like bronze torpedoes.

Questions on Anti-Urban Biases in Environmentalist Thinking

Can urban density be good for urban rivers?

There’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a while, that I’ve recently run into from a few sources, so I figure I would explore the idea here at L.A. Creek Freak, though I don’t know all the answers yet. (Warning: long meandering post ahead) 

I’ve been thinking about cities and how our environmental movements value or don’t value nature in them, and how environmentalists’ anti-urban biases can impact overall movements toward sustainability. 

This week, I was reminded of these questions - during an interview with a graduate student. She asked me about the sort of folks who are interested in and supportive of the L.A. River, with a comment to the effect that folks who are environmentalists and birders would likely be the core support. I responded that the river is actually somewhat overlooked by more stereotypical environmentalists, meaning folks who do a lot of bird-watching, who join the Sierra Club, who drive Priuses. Those folks tend to have the means to get to the wilder parts of Southern California: more remote locations in the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains. 

Elysian Valley Bike Path Blues: Delays

NO ENTRY signs - on the Great Heron Gate at Fletcher Drive today

 

Over a year has passed since the June 29th 2009 groundbreaking for the city of Los Angeles’ L.A. River Bike Path through Elysian Valley. That day, speakers proudly announced that the 2.7-mile project would be completed in six to eight months – likely by December 2009, at the latest, maybe February 2010.   

L.A. Creek Freak is was pretty excited about the project. Before there was a creek freak blog, I was pushing for this project to be funded and to get built. Creek Freak wrote about the project’s tortured legal history and celebrated the city’s groundbreaking. We reported on closures, the new underpass and the new asphalt. Then it seems like the work kinda… slowed… down… and… maybe… stopped.    

Another Kayak Day on the L.A. River

 

Kayaking a calm pool stretch of the L.A. River’s Glendale Narrows

 

I had the pleasure of kayaking five miles of the Glendale Narrows today. It was another expedition lead by George Wolfe; this time was to get L.A. Times reporter Louis Sahagun (plus Times video and photo folks) out on the Los Angeles River, for more coverage related to the recent navigability announcement. I am going to just post a couple of photos and look forward to Louis’ always-excellent coverage. 

 

That’s the L.A. Times Louis Sahagun in the red kayak on the left – in the Glendale Narrows stretch of the L.A. River

 

Go here for my earlier L.A. River kayaking accounts or here to watch short videos about the expedition

“Stabilizing” San Ramon Canyon

View Larger Map

The Palos Verdes Peninsula is mostly developed – but canyons, with their wily waters and sediment movement – and landslides – remain – to the chagrin of whoever lives in their path downstream, or whoever carves a road through their eroding banks. Today that would be a senior citizen’s mobile home park in San Pedro, and Palos Verdes Drive East, respectively.

Tonight there will be a meeting to discuss, as the Daily Breeze puts it, “stabilization” of San Ramon Canyon.  I went out a few weeks ago to look at the offending canyon with a creekfreaky friend and what we noticed is that there are relatively small catch basins at Palos Verdes Drive, which can easily be blocked by the rocks coming down from the canyon. (We didn’t hike up to view the landslide area or potential impact to Palos Verdes Drive East, so no comment there. Photos in a Palos Verdes city powerpoint are illustrative of the problem-link below) But for the flooding part of the issue, as so often seems to be the case, it’s the catch basin that’s the problem, a hydraulic constriction interfering with the flow’s path. It was almost as if the road’s drainage system had been designed to flood.

It’ll be interesting to find out what their stabilization concept is, my hope is that the city’s experts know how to think creek.

Meeting:  Miraleste Intermediate School, 29323 Palos Verdes Drive East, 7PM

And click here for a link to the City of Palos Verdes’ information about the project, including a link to a powerpoint presentation.

Earlier Breeze coverage here.

Landscapes at work in Downey

I went on a parking lot tour today.  Gerry Greene, Water Resources Control Specialist for the city, had offered a tour to me and some folks from the Watershed Council. Having heard about Downey’s progress in the stormwater front from Shelley Luce of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, I was interested in seeing parking lots working to retain and infiltrate stormflows.

Over 2 1/2 hours, we went to small retail developments, shopping centers, gas stations,  a dentist’s office, fast food chains, a golf course, a school, building materials and industrial facilities – and each one of these places had a system in place to capture and treat runoff from a (mostly) 3/4″ storm – the infamous “first flush” storm that carries the largest amount of bacteria and other yuck that deteriorates water quality downstream.

Construction on the Lower Arroyo Seco

Construction on the Lower Arroyo Seco - below the Avenue 26 Bridge

Here are some photos of some construction (so far destruction?) underway on the lower Arroyo Seco. I first heard about this activity from Highland Park 90042, which asked the question What Are They Doing Down There? I have more-or-less the same question after seeing it myself.

News and Events – 16 July 2010

RECENT NEWS

> Hector Tobar has an excellent piece in today’s L.A. Times, mostly about how Heather Wylie spurred on George Wolfe to lead the 2008 L.A. River expedition. It’s entitled A gamble on the river pays off and here’s a short excerpt, featuring yours truly:

Without Wylie and that law-defying boat trip, it might not have happened.

As proof that the river is indeed navigable, the EPA cited in its official report the July 2008 Los Angeles River expedition organized by Wylie, George Wolfe and others.

“The federal government is saying this is a real river,” said Joe Linton, a writer and activist who was also on the expedition. “I say that every day. But it’s good to be backed up by officialdom. It gives the river a certain legitimacy.”

The Los Angeles River has always been a real river. The city was founded on its banks and today — in spite of its concrete walls — it’s still the natural object at the center of L.A.’s existence.

Read the full article here. Also read more L.A. Creek Freak background on the 2008 kayak expedition and Heather Wylie. Updated: Credit too to LAist, which is the site that ran Wylie photos that got her in trouble with her higher-ups at the Army Corps of Engineers.

> The Next American City covers river revival as performance art, focusing on the leading roles played by Lewis MacAdams, poet and founder of Friends of the Los Angeles River. Also read a selection from MacAdam’s recent poetry book here.

Rending of future wetlands restortation at the Piggyback Yards. Image from piggybackyard.org

> For more coverage of the Piggyback Yards proposals, in addition to Creek Freek’s post earlier today, check out Piya Sinha-Roy’s article and lots of material and images at the “PBy” site!

UPCOMING EVENTS

> Act quick to get in on this Sunday’s Hidden L.A. River tour. Details at our post earlier this week.

Piggybacking on good news

"Broadened River" and new development concept for the Piggyback Yards. Source: http://www.piggybackyard.org

"River Strand" concept with new development at the Piggyback Yards. Source: http://www.piggybackyard.org

Even while LA River advocates were busy fighting to protect the river in a controversy over its Clean Water Act status, some of the same defenders were actively pursuing a vision for the river as it can be, balancing flood protection, habitat and development. Yesterday, Friends of the Los Angeles River unfolded this vision, put together by talented urban designers, architects, and landscape architects, at a press conference on the roof of the Sheriff’s Department parking lot – the perfect venue to see the target of all this visioning: the Piggyback Yards along the Los Angeles River.

Two alternatives explore the possibilities for restoring a reach of the Los Angeles River, providing off-channel flood storage, open space, urban connectivity, and infill development. Big props to Lewis MacAdams and FOLAR for conceiving and shepherding the vision, bringing the designers together with rail experts, hydrologists and hydraulic engineers, planners and agency folks – and big props to the design teams of Perkins+Will, Mia Lehrer + Associates, Michael Maltzin Architects, and Chee Salette Architecture Office. And, personal thanks to Mia Lehrer for giving me an opportunity to also be part of the team looking at riparian restoration issues! It’s exciting to see restoration design become integrated with vision planning for Los Angeles.

Check out the vision in detail at this beautiful website by Jackie Kain and her crew on the Piggyback Yards.

News and Events – 13 July 2010

LAist photo of George Wolfe navigating the L.A. River. For more navigability stuff, watch the Rock the Boat movie and read lots of coverage - links and details below.

UPCOMING EVENTS

> From 3pm to 5pm this Thursday July 15th 2010 join the Village Gardeners and TreePeople to trim and mulch native vegetation on the L.A. River in Sherman Oaks. Event details here.

> Watch the film about the 2008 Kayak expedition that proved that the L.A. River is navigable today! Rock the Boat screens this Friday July 16th 2010 at the Audbon Center at Debs Park. That’s at 4700 Griffin Avenue in Highland Park, easy walk from the Southwest Museum Metro Gold Line Station. Birding walk at 6:45pm. At 8pm two films screen.  First: Paddle to the Sea - a short film based on the classic children’s book. Second: Rock the Boat. Admission is free – though donations for Rock the Boat will be accepted. More event information at Audubon and Facebook.

> From 8am to 3pm this Sunday July 17th, Jenny Price leads a Hidden L.A. car caravan tour of the Los Angeles River. Features tacos and cream puffs. More information and registration here.

> **UPDATED – POSTPONED SEE COMMENT BELOW The city of Los Angeles LID (Low Impact Development) ordinance will be heard at the 9am Tuesday July 20th 2010 meeting of the city council’s Energy and Environment Committee, which takes place room 1010 on the 10th floor at Los Angeles City Hall. Background on LID here and here. Committee agenda will be here, once posted (should be up Friday this week.) Follow the LID city council motion 09-1554 here, including RSS feed. 

RECENT NEWS

> Another excellent L.A. River documentary is now available online. Watch The River Under the City of Angels by Fred Kaplan (27 minutes, 2010.) It’s very personal and poignant, with lots of great footage from all up and down the Los Angeles River, plus interview footage with Lewis MacAdams, Ed Reyes, Carol Armstrong, Scott Wilson, Jenny Price and others. Well worth watching!

> There’s a lot of coverage of last week’s big Los Angeles River navigability announcement. The L.A. Times‘ Louis Sahagun has the best coverage. Yes, better than L.A. Creek Freak… though I think we got the news online slightly earlier and we also covered the actual source documents, and the planned park on Compton Creek. After creek freak’s really quick video of EPA’s Lisa Jackson’s announcement, County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’s folks posted much better quality edited video here.
Some worthwhile coverage:  KPCC radio has excellent audio. Other good reads at Chance of Rain, High Country News, Ballona Blog, Curbed L.A., LAist, River Network, Modern Hiker, and even Mayor Villaraigosa himself pens a piece at Huffington Post. For the sort of  ”Navigable? Are you kidding?” response, check ProfessorBainbridge and Legal Planet.

> The Pasadena City Council met last night to consider building soccer fields at Hahamongna nature park. We’re hoping to report more on this as we get more news (or to link to a full account), but the council voted 4-3 to proceed with fields at the site. Read Creek Freak background on the issue here and visit Save Hahamongna to get news and get involved. 

> Dredging Today “dedicated to dredging” reports that Dutra Dredging has been awarded a $1.3M contract for dredging the Los Angeles River estuary. Your federal stimulus funds at work.

> The White House and GOOD magazine like Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale. L.A. Creek Freak was there in April 2010!