Items

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  2021-07-30

  Santa Monicans Rediscover the Joy of Walking and Biking and Reclaim their Streets

  As an architect and planner with a strong interest in creating sustainable communities, I have worked for years on promoting safer and lively streets which encourage walking, bicycling, outdoor activity and social interaction. Too often our streets prioritize moving and parking cars over all other activity. One of the most positive aspects of the Covid pandemic was the number of residents I saw walking and bicycling with their families. The Ocean Avenue bike lanes now enable cyclists to enjoy the ocean view instead of fearing being crushed by a tourbus or foodtruck. Another exciting development is the expansion of outdoor restaurants into curbside parking, parking lots or even previous auto travel lanes. The result is a much more lively streetscape, a safe way to enjoy a restaurant meal, and a great way to enjoy our perfect climate. Let's continue this trend of reclaiming our streets for people to walk, bicycle, scoot, dine, shop and mingle, by reducing the space we sacrifice to moving and parking cars.
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  2020-04-02

  The City That Never Sleeps Until it Did

  One night in April, around 8 P.M, a few friends and I decided to go on a bike ride. We rented Citi Bikes and biked all the way from the East Village up to 5th Avenue, one of the most popular and famous streets in Manhattan. On a typical day, 5th Avenue would be overrun with people shopping, going to restaurants, leaving their office, or exploring the tourist sites in the area. The streets themselves would jammed with traffic as commuters and tourists alike try to get to other parts of the city via car, taxi, or bus. However, once New York City shutdown in March, the bustling city that we knew disappeared. Streets were empty all day, empty enough that I felt comfortable biking on one of the busiest roads of the city. I had never seen a New York like this, and am unlikely to see it like this again in my lifetime. What was once the epicenter of art, food, technology, culture, and tourism was now a desolate ghost town.
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  2020-04-03

  No Name

  During the closure of the city, all the residential areas can only have one entrance, and other entrances and exits must be blocked. Sharing bicycles has become an ideal material for roadblocks.