The morning that we installed this air sensor courtesy of the Coalition for Clean Air, we were stunned by the rumble and roar from Metrolink's Central Maintenance Facility (CMF). This is just one step toward gathering data about how our air quality is negatively impacted by the CMF. Anyone got a lead on some decibel readers to complement the particle measurement?
Los Angeles – Join us by bike or on foot, Saturday, October 14th, 2017 and the second Saturday of each month to meet your neighbors and enjoy the gritty wonders of the Los Angeles River while advocating for safe speeds and healthy air for all who use this shared path. Riders and walkers will depart from Riverdale Ave. entrance to the Los Angeles River Path, ride south to Egret Park, head north to Fletcher, then loop back to Elysian Valley Gateway Park. Pack a picnic or grab a sandwich from Wax Paper and join us in conversation with park advocate and Elysian Valley resident Tracy Stone who has operated her business, Tracy A. Stone Architect, out of a re-purposed textile factory in Elysian Valley since 2003. She is the founding President of the Elysian Valley Arts Collective, a local non-profit that periodically offers free art classes to the neighborhood and manages the biennial Frogtown Artwalk.
Tracy’s office is located across the street from the Elysian Valley Gateway Park (owned and operated by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority - MRCA). In 2003, the park was a green oasis with two picnic tables shaded by trees. At that time, the park was well-used by local families for parties, picnics and events. Over the years, the picnic tables were destroyed, the watering system has failed, a number of the trees dried up and died. Tracy and her partner Allen have repeatedly contacted the MRCA to discuss options for upgrading the park, including opening it to the river, adding new benches and trees, and maintaining the vegetation. In 2014, Tracy’s office submitted an entry to the NELA Riverfront Collaborative Placemaking Design Competition suggesting designs for new ceramic tile mosaic benches and a new fence along Knox that would comply with the MRCA’s MOU with the Army Corps (see attached). To date, the park continues to decline and it stands in stark contrast to the beautifully maintained Marsh Park 1 and 2.”
What can we do as a community to bring this park back to life? Share your ideas with Tracy Stone and our CD-13 Field Representative, Hector Vega. Together, we can make our park vibrant once again.
Join us by bike or on foot, Saturday, August 12th, 2017 and the second Saturday of each month to meet your neighbors and enjoy the gritty wonders of the Los Angeles River while promoting safe speeds for all users on the shared path. Riders and walkers will depart from Riverdale Ave. entrance to the Los Angeles River Path, then head to south to Osos, loop north to Fletcher, then head to Gilroy & Ripple for coffee and conversation at the Cafecito Organico. This month’s topic: Understanding Air Quality. Elysian Valley’s stretch of the Los Angeles River shared path is critically impacted by freeways and the persistent problem of noise and air pollution from Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility on San Fernando Blvd in Cypress Park. We celebrate the opportunity to bring awareness to dangerous pollution from diesel particulate matter -- making “the invisible visible” –- by connecting our communities to the California Coalition for Clean Air’s monitoring system . This is the next step to effectively fighting Metrolink’s negative impact on our neighborhoods.
