Cedillo Schedules Street Safety Meetings for Marmion Way, Avenue 26, Fig4all Potluck

Gil Cedillo stuffed many of our dreams of a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly North Figueroa Street into the recycling bin earlier this year and he is desperate for good press in his mediocre (at best) first year in office.

North Figueroa is off the table for now, it seems.

However, Cedillo’s office has scheduled two three meetings on street safety for early December of 2014.

Figueroa For All has scheduled a potluck to eat, drink, and talk about what we’d like to say and see at Cedillo’s meetings. Here are the details for our potluck get together:

Figueroa For All’s “Eat, Drink, and Talk about Cedillo’s Street Safety Meetings”
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 at 6 p.m. at Flying Pigeon LA bike shop (located at 3404 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065). It’s a potluck and I’m going to fill a couple of growlers up at Eagle Rock Brewery before the meeting. Good times to be had.

There is a Facebook Event for this potluck.

Below are the details for Cedillo’s upcoming meetings. Keep in mind: these hit my inbox two days ago; there is no money set aside for any improvements on these streets; there are no active plans with LADOT (I checked); nor any active plans with LA Planning (yup, checked there too); and nothing in the LA City Council Files. We’re hoping that these two meetings are a turn towards a less antagonistic relationship between Cedillo’s office and the livable streets community – but we’ll see. They could very well be meetings and workshops in name only, being done to show a paper record to reporters in the future to say, “See I care about these issues! I held meetings!”

Rev. Fig4All looks to the heavens for hope after Gil Cedillo tossed safe street plans out for no good reason.

Avenue 26 (Gold Line to LA River Neighborhood) Public Safety Improvements
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 6 p.m. at the LA River Center (located at 57- W. Avenue 26, Los Angeles, CA 90065). This is Cedillo’s first street safety meeting. The advertising for the event states that, “Together we can help make Avenue 26 Safer for Walkers, Bicyclists & Transit Riders.”

We are asked, “Come share your ideas and suggestions to: [slow or calm] traffic; make connecting to transit safer; improve pedestrian and bicyclist access to community destinations.”

I’ve gone and set up a Facebook Event for this meeting.

North Figueroa Corridor Public Safety Improvements Community Workshop
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 6 p.m. at Monte Vista Elementary School (located at 5423 Monte Vista Street, Los Angeles, CA 90042). The advertising for this event ask us to: “Help us re-design Figueroa”. This re-design is supposed to: “make Figueroa safer for everyone; make Figueroa friendlier and walkable; slow/calm traffic; beautify Figueroa; re-energize historic Highland Park’s Route 66 downtown main street”.

That sounds pretty backhanded and incoherent to me given Cedillo’s history with this street, but don’t take my word for it! Come see it live and in-person on Wednesday night!

Yet another Facebook Event for another meeting.

Marmion Way Complete Streets Improvements Community Workshop
Monday, December 8, 2014 at 7 p.m. at the Carlin G. Smith Recreation Center (located at 511 W Ave 46, Los Angeles, CA 90065). The advertising for this event states, “Join your neighbors. Help us make Marmion Way safer for walkers, bicyclists & transit riders. Share your ideas and suggestions to: slow/calm traffic; make access to bus stops safer; improve pedestrian and bicyclist access to the Southwest Museum Station.”

Yup, I set up another Facebook Event and it’s for the Marmion Way meeting.

No matter what, I promise that our potluck and these two upcoming meetings will engage your senses! Food, drink, and exciting conversation. If Cedillo’s time-waster-in-chief, Sharon Lowe, shows up at any of these events, we’re going to have to have a contingency plan!

Okay you scruffy or not-so-scruffy livable streets advocates! Clear you calendar! See you on Wedensday, then the Tuesday night after that and the Monday night after that and be prepared to have some fun!