Robert Burns Park Ribbon-Cutting

Kimi and Dora Pak,(Clockwise from girl in pink) Katie and Oscar Trevino, Windsor Square Association President Mike Genewick and Councilmember LaBonge officially inaugurate the new play equipment at Robert Burns Park.

Councilmember LaBonge joined Windsor Square neighbors at the official re-opening of the Robert Burns Park play area on Monday. The upgrades to this popular pocket park on Beverly Boulevard included a new play structure, benches, security lighting and security cameras.
The Council Office worked with neighbors and parents of park-using children to identify new elements to best suit the community. After months of planning, a new play structure was installed that has swings, slides, climbing and swinging features that children love.
“Every time I drive by this park, it is full of playing children,” Councilmember LaBonge said. “The community has been pleased with the upgrades and the park looks terrific. I’m pleased.” The new features cost about $175,000 and were funded through Quimby funds, garnered through new condo development in the neighborhood.
More upgrades are planned: the shaded picnicking area is next on the agenda for replacement. "Kids love this park," said neighborhood mom Katie Trevino. "There something fun to do for kids of all ages."

Fifth and Final Ride in Tour LaBonge

Members of the Los Angeles Police Department's bike escort confer about the route for the fifth and final ride in Tour LaBonge

Councilmember Tom LaBonge completed his “Tour LaBonge” series of summer evening bike rides on Wednesday, August 20th, by leading about 40 cycling enthusiasts on a 10-mile tour of Hollywood, Larchmont and the Miracle Mile areas. The ride culminated with a cruise along a neon-lit Hollywood Boulevard just past dusk.
“We could solve so many of the challenges facing Los Angeles right now if more of us rode bikes,” the Councilmember said. “We could take a big chunk out of air pollution, traffic and our waistlines, too.”
The Hollywood Ride was the fifth and final ride in “Tour LaBonge,” a series of five Wednesday evening rides in Council District 4. The councilmember launched the bike series to promote good health, instill a sense of community and help people avoid the financial strain of high gas prices. In keeping with tradition, the Councilmember served ice cream cones to all riders at Fire Station 27 at the end of the 10-mile ride.
The Councilmember highlighted some of his favorite spots in the area, including the new BCAM, Broad Contemporary Art Museum on Wilshire Boulevard. Michelle Mowery, bicycling coordinator for the Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation, joined the ride. The City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation is updating its Bicycle Master Plan, a process that includes the gathering and analysis of data on improving the city’s bike route system. You can read more about the bicycle master plan by clicking here.

LaBonge Supports Subway Funding

Councilmember LaBonge compares traffic congestion to clogged ventricle arteries during a press conference today in support of a one-half-cent sales tax hike to fund subway extensions.

Councilmember LaBonge joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today in calling for a one-half cent sales tax increase to fund a subway expansion that would alleviate traffic woes county-wide. He and a group of city and county officials gathered on a subway platform downtown to pledge support for a State Assembly Bill (AB 2321) which clears statutory hurdles for the proposed tax hike.
"If a doctor looked at traffic circulation in Los Angeles, he'd say we're all clogged up," the councilmember said, opening his jacket and pointing to his heart. "One hundred years ago, they brought water to Los Angeles. Fifty years ago, they built the highway system. Now, we must invest in this important expansion of our weak transportation system."
The state bill is sponsored by Assemblymember Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, and outlines specific projects to be funded, including a subway extension along Wilshire Boulevard between Western and Fairfax avenues in Council District 4.
Residents and businesses along the Wilshire corridor have been expressed strong support for this subway extension.
The tax hike may appear on the ballot as early as November.

Tour LaBonge Bike Rides begin

Biking advocates Ingrid Peterson and Joe Linton join Councilmember LaBonge and his wife Brigid LaBonge on Fourth Street bike ride.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge launched “Tour LaBonge,” a series of summer evening bike rides, last night with about 50 bike enthusiasts. The six-mile bike ride followed the dedicated bicycle route on West Fourth Street in the Wilshire area. This ride, dubbed “Positively Fourth Street” for the 1967 Bob Dylan song, was the first of five rides the Councilmember will lead this summer to promote the many benefits of biking: easing traffic congestion on city streets, instilling good health and appreciating the cityscape.

“There is no better way to see and enjoy the city than from the seat of a bicycle,” said Councilmember LaBonge, a longtime bike enthusiast. “In European cities, you can ride a bicycle anywhere and appreciate the beauty of your surroundings. I want Angelenos to have the same experience here.”

The ride began at Shatto Park at 6:15 and followed the dedicated bike route west to Cochran. At that point, bikers turned north for a quick pit stop at Fire Station 61 on Third St. On the way back, the riders stopped at the Baskin Robbins on Larchmont Boulevard where the councilmember treated everyone to a free ice cream cone.

Among the riders were Michelle Mowery, bicycle program coordinator for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation; Jennifer Klausner, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, several other bike advocates and Los Angeles Police Senior Lead Officer Tim Kim who led a police escort. The Councilmember has scheduled bike rides each Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. in different parts of Council District Four between now and August 20th . The City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation is updating its Bicycle Master Plan, a process that includes the gathering and analysis of data on improving the city’s bike route system. More information on the master plan is available at labikeplan.org.

Miracle Mile Forum Pushes Subway to the Sea

Councilmember LaBonge joined Assemblymember Mike Feuer and transportation officials at the day-long, "Wilshire Corridor Forum III: Are We Ready for the Subway?"
About 75 business and community leaders from the Wilshire area said they're ready for the subway and want to see it funded. The councilmember said he supports a half-cent increase in the sales tax to fund the subway.
"It's going to be a long road to the subway down Wilshire, but we better get on it," the Councilmember said. "Hopefully people will see the need to make this half-cent investment. I'm going to vote for it and I hope everyone else does, too."
The sales tax initiative may be on the November ballot.

LaBonge: City parks can help fight obesity and diabetes

Two city parks are being outfitted with new outdoor exercise equipment thanks to Councilmember Tom LaBonge. To combat adolescent and adult obesity, the Councilmember directed the Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks to install the equipment where feasible and the first two fitness areas are scheduled to be installed at Glassell and Pan Pacific Parks by early 2009.
     In the past 30 years, the rate of adolescent obesity has doubled in Los Angeles. As a result, more children are suffering from diseases traditionally seen in adults, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. Nearly 23 percent of children ages 9-13 do not engage in any free-time physical activity during the school day and nearly 60 percent do not participate in any kind of organized sports or physical activity program outside of school.
     “Something is wrong that children aren’t running around and exercising outside,” said LaBonge, chair of the Council’s Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee. “We need to give children and adults alike the chance to come to our parks, exercise and have fun.”
     Councilmember LaBonge’s motion on outdoor fitness areas was approved by the full City Council in March. Since then, department officials have identified 63 parks that have three necessary criteria for fitness areas: available space for equipment; park users of all ages and available funding to purchase the equipment, according to Robert Oyakawa, a landscape architect with the department.
     The Glassell Park fitness area will be funded with Quimby fees, which are collected from the developers of nearby condominium projects. The Pan Pacific Park project is being financed through a private donation in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, a non-profit organization.

Reducing Power Outages in Hancock Park

Councilmember Tom LaBonge tours a new power distribution station in the Hancock Park area with DWP Superintendent Mark Ashford

Just in time for summer, Councilmember LaBonge and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP)dedicated a distribution center on Maplewood Avenue to provide more reliable power to residents of the Hancock Park/Koreatown area.

"The goal is to hear no more complaints about power outages from this neighborhood," the Councilmember said at a ceremony on June 12. "I've been working to get this distribution station open since I took office in 2001. I'm happy to be here today."

Cecilia Weldon, assistant general manager at the DWP recommended that residents still try to conserve energy during the hot summer months by:

• limiting the use of appliances during the day;
• replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluourescents;
• setting the thermostat to 78 degrees if you have air conditioning;
• planting trees around your home to shade it from the sun; and
• replace old appliances with new energy-efficient models.

City Council passes anti-mansionization ordinance

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on Tuesday that limits the building of over-sized McMansions on small lots throughout the city. This vote was a victory for Councilmember LaBonge, who championed this issue for more than a year. The result is a fundamental change in the city of Los Angeles zoning code.

“This ordinance is about preserving neighborhood character,” LaBonge said. “We wanted to make sure that neighborhoods that we know and love are protected by the proper zoning laws.”

Changes in land value, housing preferences and housing inventory have been contributing to a trend toward larger single family homes being constructed throughout Los Angeles. When larger homes replace bungalows built when Los Angeles was first developed, however, the larger structures are often incompatible with the established scale and character of older, single-family neighborhoods.

The Baseline Mansionization Ordinance grew out of a motion introduced by Councilmember LaBonge in June, 2006 and pertains to homes in flatlands only. A separate ordinance, which is now under consideration by the Los Angeles Planning Department, addresses the expansion of homes in hillside and coastal areas. As part of the discussion leading up to the vote on this measure, the City Council pledged to bring the hillside anti-mansionization ordinance for a vote within two years.

Under the new ordinance, which will be effective in 30 days, a bungalow on a typical 5,000-square-foot lot could be expanded to 3,000 square feet. Current zoning code allows more than twice that mass, with a 7,000-square-foot limit.

The ordinance will apply to 300,000 properties in single-family residential zones throughout Los Angeles.