The Los Angeles City Council is capping off the Year of the LA River with a big idea: duck boat tours. Councilmembers Tom LaBonge and Mitch O'Farrell have proposed a motion (pdf) asking that the relevant groups look into "the development of a duck tour using an amphibious vehicle to conduct tours of the Los Angeles River, its beautiful historic bridges and surrounding neighborhoods." The river was just opened to guided kayak tours for the first time a couple years ago and to self-guided boaters/fishers/walkers this summer; it officially became a navigable waterway (rather than a flood channel) on January 1, and the US Army Corps of Engineers is right now working on a massive restoration plan. There's also talk that it'll be the centerpiece of LA's 2024 Olympics bid. The duck boat proposal will involve the LA Department of Transportation, the Friends of the Los Angeles River, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, and it's still only in the very early stages--the motion just asks that those groups report on the matter to the relevant City Council committees (the Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee signed off on that request today; it's also been referred to Arts, Parks, Health, Aging, and River, which is only one committee). The motion notes that Long Beach has duck boat tours, but the company's website says they've gone out of business.
· Council File: 13-1216 [LA City Clerk]
· LA River Rising [Curbed LA]
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