DESTINATION: PICO

June20Pico1web






PEDESTRIAN "BEG BUTTONS" 
HAVE BEEN DISABLED

At every crosswalk on Pico in our neighborhood, you now don't have to touch the yellow button to get the walk sign before you cross the street. The walk sign is activated automatically with every green light. This temporary change means there's one less thing we have to touch in public. It also got us thinking that this change should be made permanent to make Pico even more walkable. What do you think?

TRAFFIC LIGHTS HAVE BEEN UNSYNCHRONIZED

You may have heard that speeding has increased around the city as car traffic has decreased. Speeding makes our streets more dangerous for pedestrians. To combat dangerous driving, the city has temporarily removed the synchronization from the timing of the traffic signals so that drivers are less likely to see several green lights in a row. This means drivers have to stop more often and have fewer chances to pick up speed over the course of a long stretch of street.

PICO IS GREAT FOR SOCIALLY DISTANCED WALKING

Tired of walking into the street when you pass your neighbors on the sidewalk? The sidewalks on Pico are 15 feet wide. Take a socially distanced walk on our Great Street! We'll see you out there.

MORE DETAILS ON THE BIG STREETSCAPE PROJECT

RE: the $1.9 million Destination: Pico streetscape project that we announced last month.

To recap: On the five blocks of Pico between Burnside and Curson, the sidewalks and curb ramps will be completely rebuilt from scratch to include landscaped parkways. The parkways will be planted with low-growing, drought-tolerant plants, watered with drip irrigation, and maintained with regular weeding and trash removal.

June20Pico2webSome of you have asked: why is this only happening on five blocks of Pico? We hear you - we also want to see the entire length of Pico in our neighborhood improved! The stretch between Burnside and Curson is the project area in the Great Streets Challenge grant that we won from the Mayor's Office back in 2017. At the time, the Mayor's Office asked us to limit the project area so that the funds available would have the highest impact. We have been focused on bringing the grant to fruition and making these five blocks the best they can be so they can serve as a prototype for the rest of Pico (and we can figure out what works and what doesn't). We'll have to identify more funding to expand the project - let us know if you're interested in helping!

PACKARD ST. AND SATURN ST. ARE BEING OPENED FOR PEOPLE

Two streets parallel to Pico in our neighborhood will officially become part of the Slow Streets LA program!

• Packard St. between Orange Grove Ave. and Dunsmuir

• Saturn St. between Orange Grove Ave. and Dunsmuir

These local streets will be opened for people to walk, run, exercise, and play. People in cars will be allowed to drive and park there to access homes and local businesses. Emergency vehicles, deliveries, garbage trucks, and other essential vehicles will still be allowed.

We asked the city to slow these streets so people in our neighborhood could have a safer way to get outside and maintain social distancing. Many of our neighbors live in homes that lack outdoor space, and the closest park is a mile away.

Please wear your mask on our slow streets, and practice safe social distancing. The street is for active uses, not gatherings. Think of it like the beach - you're allowed to move around, but don't put a blanket down and hang out.

TELL US HOW SLOW STREETS WORK FOR YOU

We want to know what you think about the slow streets in our neighborhood. How are you using them? What do you like about them? What do you dislike? What would you change? We'll be sending out a survey in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, please email us your feedback at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Established in August of 2008 by writerartist Dianne V. Lawrence, The Neighborhood News covers the events, people, history, politics and historic architecture of communities throughout the Mid-City and West Adams area in Los Angeles Council District 10.

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