White Boy/White Dog Move To Skid Row

Certified Beach Dude Moves To Downtown Los Angeles

I know there is not a thing anyone can do about this particular closure, as it needs to happen for the widening of 2nd St. But I really did not see it coming- I thought they were taking 1 lane away from 2nd St, westbound between Los Angeles St and Main St- no big deal as 2nd becomes 1 lane now at Main St. anyways.

Then yesterday the truth hit home- they are taking away SIDEWALKS too! This 1 block stretch to the south of Caltrans building is DOGGIE BATHROOM to dozens of dogs, many from Higgins building. I personally don’t walk White Dog on that side of the street at it is almost guaranteed that she will run into another dog and cause a scene barking. But now all those displaced dogs will have to walk on “my” side of the street, where there is not 3′ of dirt and shrubs for them to “get busy”.

Here’s the letter that was sent to the Higgins Lofts property manager by someone from the Department of Public Works- notice it says August 30th is completion date- that date is on my calendar- any bets on how long before the construction is completed?:

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From: Tonya Durrell [mailto:Tonya.Durrell@lacity.org]
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:27 AM
To: Robert Hazelton
Subject: Police Administration Bldg. Construction

Please be aware of upcoming construction activity related to the Police
Administration Building project. The contractor, Tutor-Saliba is
beginning Phase 2 of the 2nd Street Widening Improvements. This will
involve removing a traffic lane on 2nd Street between Main Street and
Los Angeles Street adjacent to the CalTrans Headquarters.

Currently, there are two 10-foot lanes that travel westbound. The
contractor will place a fence 8-feet from the existing curb and
re-stripe to create one 12-foot wide westbound lane. The closure is in
effect Saturday, July 12th through August 30th.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Tonya Durrell
(213) 978-0328
Public Information Officer
Dept. Public Works Public Affairs Office
200 N. Spring Street, LA 90012
M-165
(213) 978-0328
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And to really piss me off, they closed the crosswalk from the south side of 2nd to the north side of 2nd, at the west side of Los Angeles St.- meaning I have to endure 2 more signial changes just to get to where Isis like to play (in front of City Hall South - north side of 1st St between Los Angeles and Main St).

We’ve had talks about jay-walking / breaking the crosswalk laws before, and I was always against it as I would hate to get a costly ticket for just being impatient. But now I am pretty much forced to bend/break the rules. I will be crossing where I should not, not against the lights, mind you, but where the crosswalk is closed.

In the 16 months since I’ve lived here, sidewalks keep getting closed, but none have re-opened yet. This is crazy- the “powers that be” obviously do not walk around downtown very much. Every sidewalk bordering the new LAPD HQ building is closed, and this makes for a lot of waiting for walk signals. The new city building (I still don’t know what it really is- DMV HQ?) at Temple St and Los Angeles St has been blocking sidewalks since I’ve lived here, and the construction is painfully SLOW. In 16 months, it’s barely had 5 floors constructed, while the new LAPD HQ building went from 3 floors underground to 11 stories above ground and looks like a finished building (albeit the sidewalks are still closed).

I think it is my act of civil disobediance to start crossing and walking where I am told not to. How long can these projects continue to create a mess for pedestrians and motorists alike, taking lanes and sidewalks away and not keeping to a schedule to replace them?