Could it ever really happen? The L.A. Times has details on the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, a $2 billion makeover that will be unveiled today.
There's a catch, of course: The $2 billion has yet to be raised. And such a massive project could take as long as 25 to 50 years to complete.
But it's nice to dream of a time when the river is more than just a large, concrete-lined storm drain. From the story:
Channeled decades ago to protect the city against periodic flooding, the river has provided an ugly contrast in a city known for the natural beauty of its setting. The waterway in recent years has attracted new interest from those who would like to blast away its walls and replace them with a semblance of a natural river.
Up to now, however, visions for doing so have been vague or piecemeal. The master plan offers the first comprehensive — and as yet unfunded — proposal for a restoration.
It consists of 239 projects, most of them small. Some, however, would be immense. In two places — Chinatown and Canoga Park — residential and office villages would rise along the river's newly greened banks, replacing factories and warehouses. The plan also envisions widening the river channel in some places to preserve its flood-control capacity while creating more riparian habitat.
Advocates say that the plan offers the possibility of constructing the kind of grand public gathering places that have been in short supply in Los Angeles. The restoration's new parks would appear in many parts of the city, rich and poor, including downtown, which is undergoing a revival.
The plan focuses specifically on five areas: The river's headwaters in Canoga Park; the confluence of the river and the Verdugo Wash near Griffith Park; the new Taylor Yard State Park next to Cypress Park; Chinatown; and the river between the Santa Ana and Santa Monica freeways.
No comments:
Post a Comment