Transportation Solutions for a Safer, Cleaner, and More Welcoming LA Experience

By Virginia Wexman

Local and State leaders have recently enacted several initiatives that promise to make travel safer, cheaper, and cleaner for drivers, bikers, walkers, and transit riders.

Cars

Speeding. The LA City Council has approved a plan to lower speed limits on 177 miles of city streets.

Gas Rebate Includes Zero Emission Vehicles. Electric vehicles will be included in Governor Newsom’s $9 billion relief package for drivers burdened with high fuel prices. Drivers will be eligible for $400 per vehicle, up to two vehicles per person.

Public Transit

Transit Safety. Violent crimes on LA’s trains and buses jumped 36% last year. In response, Metro has enacted new measures to ensure safety. Emergency buttons are being added to buses and trains. Attendants are being posted at all elevators. Outreach services are being provided for homeless people who sleep on buses and trains. At the same time, some Public Transit

Transit Safety. Violent crimes on LA’s trains and buses jumped 36% last year. In response, Metro has enacted new measures to ensure safety. Emergency buttons are being added to buses and trains. Attendants are being posted at all elevators. Outreach services are being provided for homeless people who sleep on buses and trains. At the same time, some police on buses and trains are being replaced with unarmed transit ambassadors in the hope that this method will ensure safe travel in a less confrontational manner.

Metro Budget In what strikes some observers as a counterproductive move, Metro has issued a 2022-23 budget that includes a 30% increase in funds to expand freeways and a 9% decrease in funds dedicated to public transit.

Mask Mandates on Metro. Masks are still required.

Biking and Micro-transit

A protected bike lane has been added to 7th Street between San Pedro and Figueroa.

Amazing Artisan Cheeses and Local Refreshing Beers Pair Up At First SPNA Social Event on May 22

By Marty Goldberg

SPNA is proud to invite you to a unique neighborhood festival that brings the highly touted Vagabond Cheese together with South Park’s very own, freshly produced beers from HiDef Brewing.

Join us on May 22 from 2 – 4 pm at HiDef Brewing (1203 South Olive Street at the corner of Olive and 12th Streets).

What better way to meet and interact with your “rowdy” neighbors than in an informal setting, sampling, and enjoying an artisan cheese plate and a variety of delicious, ice-cold beers. We are fortunate that South Park resident and SPNA committee member Mike Ourieff was able to convince his son, Alex, who is known to be a turophile (as well as owning an artisan cheese company) in instigating an introduction to SPNA committee member and South Park business owner Cristina Ward of HiDef Brewing to pair their incredible flavors.

To reserve your spot click here.

California’s New Composting Law

By John Nilsson

All Californians – both individuals and businesses – are now required to separate food waste and “compostables” from their recyclables and garbage. The new regulation (AB 827) is being rolled out slowly, but by end of year 2024 the new law will have taken full effect. After that date, those violating the law will find themselves fined. Plan on adding a “compostables” container to your recyclable and garbage bins under your kitchen sink. Luma, at Hope and 11th, has already started a composting program. NASA, Luma’s refuse service, implemented this program to assist in compliance with California law. There is an additional cost for composting. Luma is starting with a 96-gallon container serviced once a week. As more residents compost the size of the containers, number of containers, and frequency of pickup will increase. Luma General Manager Francis Langlois said, “Back in 2008 Luma became the second building in all of LA to be LEED certified. Recycling is in our DNA and something that most of our residents feel strongly about. This is just another way we can all contribute to making our little corner of this beautiful planet slightly better.” What are “compostables”? Anything that grows in nature is compostable. See https://www.greenmatters.com/p/what-can-you-compost for a detailed description of what’s compostable and what’s not. Generally speaking, all foods and food products, coffee grounds, wood products, and paper products like toilet paper tubes, food packaging boxes, and used paper towels are “compostable.” 9 A New South Park Related Instagram Site is Up! The Dogs of South Park (#thedogsofsouthpark) Featuring and honoring our four legged residents. New Postings Daily! For now, don’t put any meat waste or meat products in your compost. It smells and attracts varmints. It’s a good idea to contact your refuse handling company to get specifics as each company has its own requirements. Check with your building manager to see what’s required for composting from here on. Every building must have a plan. What’s not “compostable”? Any animal products – no meat, fish, butter, yogurt, cheese, milk, or animal fat, oily or greasy items. Pet poop is not compostable (it introduces disease to compost). What are the benefits of composting? Anything that goes into the landfill emits methane gas which adds to our greenhouse gas problem. Composting minimizes methane emissions and reduces the need for chemical options. Composting captures up to 99.6 % of volatile organic compounds and provides a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer. With full enactment of the composting law, we expect to reduce compostables in the landfills by 75% - an action that will have a dramatic effect on California’s contribution to greenhouse gases.

Second Sunday Movie Club starts in June

by Virginia Wexman

The South Park Neighborhood Association’s Second Sundays Movie Club begins Sunday, June 12, at 7:30 pm and will meet on the second Sunday of each month thereafter to view and discuss one of the movies recently chosen as the best of its year, beginning in 1932.

The first movie will be Trouble in Paradise. Ernst Lubitsch directed this 1932 production, which stars Herbert Marshall and Miram Hopkins as two lowlifes who join forces to con the beautiful owner of a perfume company (Kay Francis).

Romantic entanglements ensue.

The Hollywood studios recruited many of Europe's top film directors during the years between the two World Wars. Ernst Lubitsch was one of the most illustrious of these European talents, and he enjoyed a successful career at Paramount, where he headed up the studio for a period during the 1930s. Known for light comedies, he became famous for "the Lubitsch touch," subtle allusions to racy material that went under the radar of the censors. Trouble in Paradise is one of Lubitsch's most celebrated productions, with a script by his favorite writer Samson Rafaelson.

The running time of Trouble in Paradise is 1 hour 23 minutes.

The Second Sundays Movie Club will meet in the Media Room at 1050 South Grand (corner of 11th and Grand).

Cost will be $10 each, payable in cash at the door.

To be put on the attendee list email vwexman@uic.edu, and you will be added to the Punchbowl invitation.

Attendance will be limited to 14 people, first come, first served.

Public Hearing Scheduled for April 26 fo 1130 South Hope Hotel Project

by Marty Goldberg

The Central Area Planning Commission’s scheduled Public Hearing for an appeal of November 17, 2021, for the 1130 South Hope Hotel Project will be April 26, at 4:30 pm. Join the April 26 Zoom meeting to show your support for the MOTIONS TO RECONSIDER. The date and time of the Public Hearing is April 26, 4:30 pm. Meeting instructions and agenda will be provided at least 72 hours prior to the meeting at planning4la.org/hearings. Participation by phone (213) 338-8477, when prompted enter message ID: 482260. Participation with PC, MAC, iPhone, iPad, or Android is log-in to https://planning-lacity-org.zoom.us/j/89182628980. Enter Meeting ID: 89182628980, Passcode 482260. The Case Number is DIR-2020-3656-SPR-1A. … to read the full article please sign up to receive our newsletter

New Transit Projects in the Works

By Virginia Wexman

On March 31 I attended a Webinar hosted by MoveLA that described new transportation projects currently in the works including: a Gondola from Union Station to Dodger Stadium, a people mover at LAX, and a downtown streetcar. All hope to be operational by the 2028 Olympics. Upcoming State Transit Legislation. These bills promise to make South Park safer, quieter, and less polluted. * Noisy mufflers. Two bills address this problem, which has grown increasingly troublesome since the pandemic. AB 2496, introduced by Orange County’s Cottie Petrie-Norris, proposes to add noise testing to the smog testing program. Another bill, SB 1079, sponsored by the San Fernando Valley’s Anthony Portantino, calls for cities to install noise-sensitive devices along roadways. Portantino’s bill promises to have greater impact because many drivers with noisy mufflers do not have drivers’ licenses and do not go through smog testing. * Speeding. Traffic fatalities increased during the pandemic because the worst drivers drove more and drove faster. According to David Yang, Executive Director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “many [high risk] drivers tended to engage in riskier … to read the full article please sign up to receive our newsletter