Things to read from the past week:
- Do We Need Police To Curb LA's Traffic Violence? Some Cities Are Saving Lives Without Them: "This summer, a group of L.A. City Council members filed a motion calling on the city's Department of Transportation and legislative officials to work with community members and report back on alternative methods of traffic enforcement, collision investigations and other traffic safety duties currently handled by the Los Angeles Police Department." (LAist)
- Downtown L.A. Aliso Street Bus-Only Lane Opens Next Week: Short bus-only lane opens on Aliso Street (Streetsblog LA)
- Short survey on Metro proposal to eliminate bus and rail fares: "The deadline for taking the survey is 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12." (The Source)
- Report: Three Million People Could Lose Transit Access Soon: "Without immediate federal cash, more than three million households and 1.4 million workplaces will lose their access to life-sustaining public transportation, a new study finds – and Black, brown and low-income city residents will bear the brunt." (Streetsblog USA)
- LA County to reopen breweries, wineries and cardrooms outdoors next week (Daily News)
- LA during the pandemic: Who’s moving in, who’s moving out, and why: "The pandemic has forced creativity in the way businesses are run. You could be on a Zoom meeting thousands of miles away from corporate headquarters, or you could broadcast a radio show from the corner of your living room. What does that freedom mean to the job market or housing market? Who’s leaving LA because they can live more affordably elsewhere while doing the same job? Who’s coming to LA because they can now live and work here?" (KCRW)
- Streetsblog Endorsements for the November 2020 Election – Statewide Propositions and Local Measures (Streetsblog California)
- L.A.’s poorest patients endure long delays to see medical specialists. Some die waiting: "The average wait to see a specialist was 89 days, according to a Times data analysis of more than 860,000 requests for specialty care at the L.A. County Department of Health Services, a sprawling safety-net system that serves more than 2 million, primarily the region’s poorest and most vulnerable residents." (LA Times)
- Why NYC and SF Tech Workers are Moving to LA; 'If It Weren't for COVID, We Would Still Be in New York': "To be sure, more people are leaving Los Angeles than arriving during the pandemic, accelerating a yearslong trend of migration to cheaper cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Sacramento. But for those coming from New York or San Francisco who are wealthy enough to afford million dollar-plus mortgages, L.A. still offers a relative bargain. According to Zillow, the median home value in San Francisco is $1,447,191 and the median rental price in San Francisco is $4,500 compared to $752,508 for homes in Los Angeles and $3,500 for rentals." (dot LA)
- Trading Apartments for Houses, LA Tech Workers Move to Cheaper Cities: "Real Estate service Redfin estimates 12,405 departed in July alone and, according to an unscientific survey of hundreds of tech workers conducted this month by the employment service Blind, 35% have moved from L.A, a much higher percentage than New York or San Francisco." (dot LA)
- Workers are quietly trickling back to Los Angeles offices: "Building operators are gearing up for a phased return as some companies — especially those in creative fields such as entertainment — ease back into offices that are being prepped to provide more elbow room for rotating teams of workers, as COVID-19 remains a persistent health threat." (LA Times)
- New Gerald Desmond Bridge bicycle-pedestrian path may not open until next year: "...officials now say they are weighing their options on whether to first construct a new connector bridge that would allow cyclists and pedestrians to access the path from Ocean Boulevard and the city’s trail network. That could take anywhere from 18 months to two years to complete, according to a bridge project spokesperson." (Long Beach Post)
- $18.6 million project will clean up Lincoln Park Lake and green up nearby streets: "The project is estimated to take nearly five years to complete, including more than two years of planning, pre-design, design, and procurement, before construction even begins. The proposal does not make clear how long the lake would remain drained." (Eastsider)
- Aerial Rapid Transit project to Dodgers Stadium enters public comment period, will hold Oct. 22 virtual scoping meeting (The Source)