As viewed from the 110 freeway, this fifty foot span of city-owned dirt could connect the Lummis Home with Sycamore Grove Park.
In honor of the upcoming March 8, 2014 “Sycamore Grove Living Museum” event, I want to re-propose an idea I had several years ago during a brief stint on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council.
My idea is this: to connect the Lummis Home at Avenue 43 with an existing foot path that goes through Sycamore Grove Park and terminates at Avenue 52.
Sounds expensive, right? Wrong. There will be no elevated walkways in this plan. The best part about this proposal is that the City of Los Angeles already owns the land. The next best part is that this land is already a pocket park.
To skip a bunch of confusing text describing this “Missing Link”, I instead prepared this image:
So, what is needed here?
Let’s not get crazy with decorative elements and the like. Let’s focus on what will get this missing link connected.
The portion of the City-owned land that is cut off from the existing foot path is approximately 50′ long. How do I know this? I hastily measured it with a tape measure.
We should install a path that is at least 4′ wide.
What should the path be made up of? Well, the top 6″ should be decomposed granite in brown to match the foot path in the pocket park it will connect with. I assume 6″ of decomposed granite will do fine with an appropriate layer of (insert appropriate material here) underneath. The decomposed granite (about 4.70 tons) will cost about $1,000 by my estimates (50’x4’x6″ – plug in your numbers and don’t forget delivery charges).
Since the path will need to be extended about 2′ out from top of the slope, we’ll need some rail road ties (or similar material) supported with steel pipe hammered into the ground to keep the side of the path from eroding down hill. I used to do trail restoration with the Boy Scouts in high school and, scoff if you like, some wood board and old plumbing pipe can shore up paths quickly, cheaply, and effectively.
The existing fence posts can be re-used (they are 6′ tall). Chain link fence is conveniently sold in 50′ x 6′ rolls for less than $200 if we need to replace the fencing.
The biggest cost will be in time – I think a group of 5 to 10 people could knock this out in a day.
If the city gets involved, costs and time wasted will go way, way, up. City-approved or not, I think this link ought to be made. Lots of people jog on the existing path from Sycamore Grove Park to Avenue 52 and back. Extending the path to the pocket park adjacent the Lummis Home would really connect an existing walking path to this important cultural and historical asset.
I also think it would be a neat place to take visitors to see the path geology, human habitation, and massive infrastructure projects have taken in our odd ball little neighborhood in North East LA.
If you like this idea, please share it. If you hate it, let me know why in the comments below.
Any questions? info@flyingpigeon-la.com
More information about the March 8, 2014 Living Museum party is as follows:
