Downtown, in general, needs a lot of attention in terms of improving roads and sidewalks.

I live in Little Tokyo and would love to see better roads and sidewalks along Alameda where the Goldline station is being constructed (There is work being done on that intersection but the rest of Alameda is pretty bad!)… Creating green spaces, bike-friendly roads, and pedestrian-oriented sidewalks will make it a true destination and entryway into downtown LA.

Paul Yeh
Getfit Little Tokyo- a coalition to build healthier community

Live the Dream!

A few other Facebook responses:

Suzanne T at 3:16pm April 8
Public works projects which include employment of “at risk youth” on public art projects. In addition to murals, the Poetry Walls on Venice Beach need repairs and there is space on adjacent walls to add more poetry.

Mike A at 7:33pm April 8
Hire a ton of people to help pull invasive plant species from the waterways where they clog systems, pollute beaches, and gobble up too much of our native supply of water. Its a great work project that requires lots of hand labor (can’t do it with machines), doesn’t require much training (anyone can do it), and it helps us out in the long run. http://www.weedwatch,org, http://www.cal-ipc.org

Mike A at 7:34pm April 8
And, supporting teachers and tutors for our students is a good one too.

Most people have to drive to a rail stop to take a train into downtown. The lack of adequate, free parking at the rail stops make it impossible to park and ride–defeating the purpose of commuter rail. Every other stop on the outer fringe of every line should have double the car parking capacity they currently have. Parking lots in Norwalk and all along the Long Beach area are completely full by 6 am–people have little choice but to drive their cars to work at that point.

lThere’s a doubling of investment return as well for the areas around some of the rail stops are populated by dilapidated strip malls, CALTRANS land, or underutilized industrial areas. Buying the land helps the existing owners trade a non-performing asset for cash they can invest as well.

Mike S.

Freeway Cap park (Hollywood Central Park), would fit all of the above criteria. Include an Edible Garden headed up by Alice Water’s Chez Panisse Foundation for teaching children about better health and nutrition. Include after school enrichment programs as part of the parks program which will keep our youth off the streets and teach them skills.

Build medians in your district xeriscaped with with drought tolerant trees and shrubs to help cleanse our air, beautify our city and create pride.

-Tammy
(ps – thanks for putting up with me, Eric. I know i’m a pill…)

Johnny F. at 9:12am April 8 via Facebook Mobile
stop the dropouts!our kids and our future is failing

Lianne J.-G. at 9:21am April 8
Work with our teens in foster care- they need our support!

Melissa L. at 9:34am April 8
Save my daughter’s first grade teacher’s job at Ivanhoe!! Too many great teachers are pink slipped/ terminated in Los Angeles Unified. Please do something about it.

Lanette P. at 9:38am April 8
education and health care

Joel C. at 9:52am April 8
How will local money help healthcare?

Eddie S. at 9:53am April 8
Stop the violence in L.A.! Stop the Drug Wars! Spend more on Real Education, and Yes, We Need a Much Better Health Care System! – other countries have it. Why don’t we ? Ahh, CONGRATULATIONS on trying to make the the Public Transportation work in Los Angeles. Best Regards !

Darrell T. at 9:58am April 8
Subsidize non-profit eployee salaries so organizations this city needs can stop laying off staff.

Victoria M. at 10:18am April 8
Don’t fire city employees!

Melissa D. at 10:20am April 8
PLEASE get some help completing the unprocessed rape kits!!!

Wanda R. at 10:38am April 8
Left-turn arrows – reduce idling pollution/save fuel while waiting to make a left turns…and, enhance flow of traffic.

Jason P. at 11:24am April 8
BIKE LANES / SHARED LANES

Reza A. at 12:06pm April 8
Finish the Expo Line all the way to Santa Monica please.

Tom C. at 12:12pm April 8
Eric obviously LA has vast needs. First priority must be to help out those who are struggling during and before the “recession”. Other stuff that probably would help everyone is reducing our dependence on the automobile and beefing up our mass tranportation. Let’s create more parks and nice places for families to hang out. Do something with the… Read More river. Lot of our communities have such dense population and so many cars, yet no place to have affordable parking. So those who can least afford it are getting tickets left and right including in the middle of the night. Just off the top.

Steve K. at 1:15pm April 8
I don’t understand how it’s a stimulus if the state is taking money ONLY to reverse its budget deficit, or if the city uses it to preserve jobs instead of creating them

Nicole K. at 1:21pm April 8
Subsidize more affordable housing.

Adolfo V. N. at 2:19pm April 8
How about developing a youth arts emplyment program to save LA’s murals? SPARC has a great proposal to do just that. I will aks them to send it to your website. al

I think that one of the long term strategies that would greatly benefit Los Angeles would be “complete streets.” GOOD Magazine recently did a clear and simple explanation (http://www.good.is/post/the-street-of-the-future-is-a-livable-street/) of how design of our street infrastructure can benefit the public on many levels: from faster public transportation and increased biking, to safer intersections and a more lively pedestrian-friendly community. Car alternatives will reduce pollution within the city. Safer intersections will save lives and reduce the burden from traffic accidents on our emergency services. This is a great long term investment in a more livable city.

I would also like to point out that in order for the economic stimulus to both ease individual economic hardship and benefit more a more sustainable city, it is important that the economic stimulus work to employ a broad spectrum of the population. This is one of the strategies that helped make FDR’s New Deal so successful: that when infrastructure projects such as the Hoover Dam were considered, they included not only structural and civil engineers, but architects and artists alike to create new public works. These projects not only employed a diverse group of those affected by the depression, but because of the foresight and inclusiveness of their planning became great achievement that speak to the American spirit. I hope to see a similar multidisciplinary effort will be made with Los Angeles’ economic stimulus.

Kind regards,
Michael MacDonald, LEED AP
West Adams, Los Angeles