Join us for an Elysian Valley community walk, honoring the life and family of our neighbor Anthony Mora whose life was taken by gun violence last year. We will gather at Jardin del Rio Community Garden, walk to the LA River Greenway shared path, walk south along the river, then back into the neighborhood, to view the family’s mural on Shoredale Avenue. Painted by Baudelio “Bobby” Martinez and Ray Lopez, the mural depicts a joyful Anthony (Tony) surrounded by sunflowers.

Ready for some literary socializing? Join us on the next Street Librarians’ Ride, where cyclists come together and restock little libraries in the Silverlake and Echo Park area.

The ride meets at Stories Cafe for libations and book stamping at 12:30 pm before heading out to the first stop, where local author Eric Knutzen (Urban Homestead) will bring a load of books from Friends of the Silverlake Library.

The Librarians will donate books to the Little Free Library boxes along Sunset Ave in Echo Park and Silverlake. The Riders will stop to drop books off at the Street Library in front of Ecovillage before returning whence they came.

Selections will be read from donated books at each drop.

Bring a book or just your bike; there will be plenty to go around.

This is a family friendly ride, for all reading levels.

We hope to create an Elysian Valley version of this ride, so come on out then help us plan one along the LA River!

Let’s create a more peaceful, beautiful and efficient city by getting the Healthy Streets LA Initiative on the ballot! We will have a petition signing, pickup and small-group volunteer training on the LA River Greenway shared path next to Spoke Bicycle Cafe at Coolidge Ave in Elysian Valley this Sunday.

All are welcome! This is a one-stop-shop to get yourself a coffee, some exercise and take action for a healthier Los Angeles that works for ALL of us.

Questions, queries for this event write to us at larivercee@gmail.com

Can’t make it but want to help out another way? Join the good people working on this initiative by visiting the Healthy Streets LA website. See you on the path!

Gun violence touches every town in America. And last month, it hit our beloved Elysian Valley community.

Please join us for a vigil honoring the life of Anthony Mora, a long-time Elysian Valley resident, whose life was taken by gun violence last month. We will gather to remember Anthony, support his family, and stand together against gun violence in our community.  All are welcome to stay for a Novena (in Spanish) with the family or participate in a silent, candlelit procession, reclaiming our streets with love.

Gun violence is a uniquely American problem. Every day, more than 100 Americans are killed with guns and hundreds more are wounded. The US gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than that of other high-income countries. There are proven options to reduce gun violence on our streets - but for too long, change has been thwarted by the gun lobby and by leaders who refuse to take common-sense steps that will save lives.

And so we will take this step: we will gather together to celebrate the life of Anthony Mora, to let our neighbors know they are not alone, and to nurture the heart of Elysian Valley.

When: Sunday, August 22, 6:30pm

Where: Intersection of Crystal Street & Shoredale Avenue, in Elysian Valley (90031)

Schedule:

6:30pm – Remembering Anthony

7:00pm – Candlelit Walk or Novena

Candlelit Walk Route is approximately ½ mile, wheelchair accessible.

We had such a successful Community Clean Up of Riverside Drive, we are going to make it a regular thing to just get out into Elysian Valley and pick up the trash.

Saturday, November 14th, we will meet at Riverdale Ave. and the LA River Greenway shared path. Please wear comfortable shoes, bring your own water, gloves, and a few bags it you’ve got them.

RAIN IS PREDICTED! If we get rained out, we will regroup on the first Saturday in December!

Celebrate Clean Air Day by helping us take care of three bus stops on Riverside Drive!

Clean up volunteers, meet at Riverdale Ave. / Riverside Drive at 9:00am. Please bring work gloves if you have them, and any small tools you think would be useful! This is just a quick trash gathering session.

Elysian Valley is a small community in Northeast Los Angeles, that carries an undue air pollution burden from a triad of freeways (the 110, the 5, the 2), industrial sites, and the Metrolink Central Maintenance Facility.

It is also under-served in terms of public transit. This summer, Metro Next had proposed once again to terminate route 96, the only bus line in this community. These stops are also along a busy, 4-lane street, adjacent to the 5 Freeway, with speeds documented at up to 54 mph.

For Clean Air Day 2020, we are going to show some love to three 96 stops, that are greatly in need of pedestrian safety improvements: Birkdale, Riverdale and Elmgrove.

Participating is easy! Sign up for a clean-up action, come be photographed at one of these stops, and share on social media! Let our elected leaders know that small communities like ours deserve reliable transportation alternatives to driving.

Questions? Curiosities? Write to larivercee@gmail.com for more information.

The Burbank to Union Station High Speed Rail Draft EIR has been released, and comments may be made up until July 31, 2020. Please join us for a thoughtful conversation about the proposal, and help craft suggested comments.

The High Speed Rail line from Burbank to Union Station will involve infringement upon bike paths, parks, the eminent domain of businesses and will generate air pollution for the communities near the project. Providing feedback is particularly important for neighborhoods along the LA River already impacted by Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility and freight parking pollution, whose communities are on the path of the proposed line.

Please familiarize yourself with the project by visiting HSR.GOV and searching out articles such as this piece from the LA Times that looks at potential job losses and public health impacts.

Zoom Info will be provided upon RSVP.

Please be well as we continue sheltering in place, staying "Safer at Home”, donning face masks when leaving home for necessary exercise or groceries. May you be well. May you be safe. May you be healthy.

UPDATE TO THE PREVIOUS UPDATE! This collaborative event with FOLAR and CLOCKSHOP has been indefinitely postponed due to the current COVID-19 crisis. There are still some things you can do from the comfort and safety of home!

First: Visit FOLAR’s Casitas Campaign Page to learn more about this project, they can visit FoLAR’s Casitas Page and learn more about why this is the wrong development in the wrong spot.

THEN go to NRDC’s Action Portal where you can submit a comment letter digitally. This letter will be sent to LA City Planning Department and Council Member Gilbert Cedillo. We encourage folks to personalize their letters to ensure that their concerns are heard.

LARCEE is still working on a virtual Slow Ride to keep our communities connected emotionally, even while we sequester ourselves physically!

Pack your bike baskets - it’s time for Critical Cargo! Open to all, this ride is geared towards those riding with precious cargo…KIDS! We will gather at Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park in Elysian Valley, then ride to Griffith Park for a picnic lunch. The park has free parking, water, and facilities.

We will gather at La Colombe for some pre-ride coffee, then head north to the recently opened Red Car Bridge, tool across for a look around, river relaxation, then head back to La Colombe.

The language of blame and “no-fault” fatal collisions must change if our city is to see any progress. The challenge of this mindset is clear in a recent quote from the LAPD: "The key for hit-and-runs, for me, is this: it's an accident, don't make it a crime," said LAPD Chief Michael Moore. "Many times, when we see collisions involving pedestrians or other motorists that turn into a hit-and-run, the person who is actually at fault may not be the person who flees the scene. And yet that person fleeing the scene is now committing a felony."

Have you got your own safe streets story to share? Please send an email to LARiverCEE@gmail.com - we would love to include you in our action.

Welcome winter on the December Elysian Valley Winter Solstice Slow Ride. The LA River Greenway Shared Path is incredibly beautiful after some rainy weeks. We will meet up at La Colombe on Newell Street (the official detour point for the southern path closure) ride forth, and return. The Elysian Valley Slow Ride is a monthly, family-friendly gathering of pedestrians and cyclists, geared toward riders of all ages and skill levels. We set a leisurely pace to encourage safety for all who use the LA River Greenway Shared Path.

This month, we are honored to host Diana Sherwood who does K-12 education at the Theodore Payne Foundation. For the ride portion of the trip, we will gather at Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park and pedal north to see the nearly complete pedestrian bridge that will connect the LA River Greenway shared path to Atwater. We will then continue on to Sunnynook Park for a walk and talk on the plants and how vital they are to saving our planet!

Diana will lead us on a naturalist's walk and collection-for-identification journal of the Los Angeles River as we briefly explore the natural and cultural history of the river, observe its present, and consider its future. Participants will observe, consider, and make collections of the river's native and invasive plants for their own take-home naturalist identification journal.

WHAT TO BRING

Please bring water, snack, sunscreen and for this ride - a bike lock - as you may want to park and walk! Anyone who simply prefers to walk, can meet us at Sunnynook Park at 11:00am.

Join us for a special Slow Ride in October, when James Rojas and John Kamp of Place It! roll through Elysian Valley with us, and lead an interactive workshop on how to build a more bike-friendly Elysian Valley. Bike-friendly planning is human-oriented, community-sustaining planning that also improves pedestrian safety. Why would a neighborhood like Elysian Valley that has an actual bike and pedestrian path need to become more bike-friendly? The path itself is generally safe from vehicles, but getting to the path on foot or by bike means navigating the risky, high speed corridors of Riverside Drive or one of the main connecting arteries at Figueroa or Fletcher. According to this report, pedestrian death is the highest it’s been in nearly 30 years. Sadly, the speeds at which cars travel in our communities and the priority given to single-occupancy vehicles in terms of parking, make walking and biking extreme sports.

The ride will begin and end at Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park, followed by the workshop portion of the event.

Don’t miss this entertaining and interactive opportunity to figure out how we can make our community more livable by making it more bike-friendly. Find out more about our hosts, James Rojas and John Kamp here!

Please register so we can plan for you!

On Saturday, July 20th, LARCEE’s Slow Ride is extra family friendly! Come celebrate Latino Conservation Week with us and get some restorative time with urban nature at this free event. Kids are not just welcome they are encouraged! To prove it, this month’s ride will gather at the Griffith Park Rec Center Playground at 5:00pm.

The ride departs promptly at 5:30, and will feature a brief, safe but thrilling jaunt over the 5 Freeway pedestrian bridge!

From the bridge, we will pause briefly at Sunnynook River Park before riding on to Lewis Macadams Riverfront Park for Bats of the LA River campfire with Friends of the LA River and Community Nature Connection.

Please bring water, a blanket, something to eat and a bike lock so that we can park our bikes and meander for the bat-walk portion of the evening. And please remember to bring a BIKE LIGHT as the sun will go down before we wrap up!

 Please RSVP here, especially if you plan to ride so we don’t leave without you!

Lastly, here is a link to our route!

 Our route: Griffith Park Rec Center Playground area to Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park - 1.5 miles

Air pollution isn’t confined by zip codes or neighborhoods. No matter where you live in Los Angeles, it’s urgent that we support Clean Energy options and show our opposition to Glendale’s environmentally backwards plan to build a new gas power plant. LARCEE will lead a bike ride, departing from Spoke Bicycle Cafe at 5:00pm, arriving at Glendale City Hall at 5:30pm. If you plan to flex your sustainability muscle and take your zero-emissions vehicle (aka bike) to the event, please RSVP so we know to look for you! Wear a green shirt - or better yet - bring $20 bucks to buy a shirt and kick a few dollars to the Glendale Environmental Coalition.

Saturday, June 22nd, join L.A. River Communities for Environmental Equity (LARCEE) and Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR) for a leisurely ride along the LA River Greenway, followed by a Supper Picnic at Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park. The ride/walk will gather at Lewis MacAdams at 5pm, and return by 6pm for some live music by Old Time Machine, and a conversation with FOLAR about what kinds of trash we find when doing the Great LA River Clean Up. We see fewer plastic bags since the successful implementation of the Plastic Bag Ban, but what other kinds of plastic waste dominates our waterways? The Refillery L.A will be on hand to help you stop plastic pollution at the source by purchasing eco-friendly soaps & such single-use-plastic-free! Bring your empty glass bottles and stock up on body products & then some.

This promises to be a fun, relaxing and informative & FREE night, so pack your basket, a blanket and come along!

The Slow Ride is mixing it up with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) and Metro BEST to bring you a family-friendly mini-tour of Elysian Valley and sneak preview of the 19th Annual LACBC Los Angeles River Ride.

Presented by Metro Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program, we really recommend wheels for this river adventure, as we will be exploring the unique corners and parks of the Elysian Valley Community.

This ride is a slow-paced, beginner-friendly ride along the LA River Path, beginning and ending at the Lincoln/Cypress Gold Line Station. There will be several rest stops and regroup points along the route. LARCEE and the Elysian Valley Slow Riders will share knowledge about the plants and wildlife in the Elysian Valley Community at Gateway Park.

TIMELINE:

Date: Sunday, May 5th

● 9:30 AM - Meet @ Lincoln/Cypress Gold Line Station parking lot
● 10:00 AM - Ride departs
● 10:45 AM - Stop 1: Lewis McAdams Riverfront Park
● 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM - Stop 2: LARCEE Gathering at Elysian Valley Gateway Park
● 12:00 PM - Stop 3: Elysian Valley Community Garden
● 12:10 PM - Stop 4: Jardin Del Rio Garden
● 12:30 PM - Ride ends at Lincoln/Cypress Gold Line Station

START/END: Metro Gold Line - Lincoln/Cypress Station (370 W Ave 26, Los Angeles, CA 90031)

GETTING THERE:

We strongly recommend taking Metro to the ride start. If you plan to drive a car to the ride, we suggest parking near another Gold Line station and taking Metro to the starting location. Neighborhood parking is available but limited.

ROUTE: Mostly flat, approximately 7 miles. Route Map: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29284950

EXPERIENCE LEVEL: Beginner / Family-Friendly

WHAT TO BRING | PLEASE NOTE:

• A functional bicycle or wheeled device.

• A TAP card (if you plan to use Metro)

• A helmet is required for anyone under 18.

• Children 15 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

• Bikes with training wheels are not permitted, but children are welcome to attend if pulled in a trailer or on-bike child seat.

• In the event of a rain forecast, we will contact you 24 hours in advance to confirm or cancel the ride

Add River Run to your regular fitness routine! River Run is a tranquil and relaxing run along the Elysian Valley Stretch of the LA River, starting at Egret Park. Although quiet and secluded, River Run is just a fifteen-twenty minute run to restaurants, coffee shops, craft beer brewery, unique shops and art galleries. It is a mostly flat run with some hilly stretches. Come meet others in your community to run with. A variety of long and short distance run events are created monthly. All levels welcomed.