Have you been paying attention to a wonderful new proposal out of Eagle Rock? When Metro began its work on redesigning the streets in Eagle Rock, they proposed to get rid of the bike line and only have modest, not-so-high quality investments. But rather than accept this, the people of Eagle Rock got together and proposed something new. Known as the Beautiful Boulevard initiative, this proposal was designed to create a “green, safe, and vibrant street” in Eagle Rock. The proposal works by keeping the bike lane, adding a new bus lane, and increasing the amount of trees and tree shade across Colorado Boulevard. Ultimately, it was a proposal that was focused less on adding more cars on the road and more on boosting active and public transportation in a greener way.
Zone 1: Broadway to Eagle Rock
Credit: Eagle Rock Community Members
Zone 2: Eagle Rock to Dahlia
Credit: Eagle Rock Community Members
Zone 3: Dahlia Drive to 134 Freeway
Credit: Eagle Rock Community Members
Climate Resolve has been a supporter of Beautiful Boulevard since the beginning. Besides being a coalition member, we also lent them our Action Alert system so that over 800 local residents were able to share their support of this proposal to Metro and Councilmember Kevin de León. By doing so, they were able to get Metro to change their original plan and create one that incorporated most of the Beautiful Boulevard proposal.
Still, the work is not yet done. Even now Councilmember Kevin de León has come out against the plan and is delaying its implementation. Thus, reach out to your local elected officials and push them to support the Beautiful Boulevard proposal. It is a great plan that truly reshapes how streets are designed in LA for the better. Plus, if this proposal goes through, it could have the ripple effect of inspiring Metro planners to produce more multi-modal, high quality transit plans from the get-go.
