It's never easy balancing greenery with necessity. Or in this case, balancing the new 16-acre Grand Avenue park with the need for parking near City Hall. Really, where are all the bureaucrats going to park once their precious parking spots are razed to make way for lush green spaces in the name of "public good"?
Monday, the Grand Avenue Authority approved funding, to the tune of $51 million, for contruction, landscaping and design of the new park between City Hall and the music center up the hill. Schematic designs will be presented on April 24th with an opportunity for public comment before actual construction begins. One of our favorite bloggers, LA Cowboy aka Brady Westwater raised some interesting questions regarding the elimination of parking in the area for the new park.
"Virtually every surface parking lot in the area is being replaced," Westwater said. "Suddenly, we are going to have a deficit of 4,000 to 5,000 spaces within a block of the park. Well, where are the people coming to the park going to park?" Details, details. C'mon Brady. Be happy we're getting a park.
· Downtown park gets go-ahead [Daily News]
· Grand Avenue Intervention: A 26-Acre Park? [Norman Lear Center]