The Rediscovery of a City River

Deep in its concrete bed, the Los Angeles River trickles south through downtown and toward Long Beach almost unnoticed, bordered by graffiti-scarred walls and vacant lots.

Without a scenic waterfront, the river is rarely seen by residents, much less considered a recreation spot like the rivers that run through such cities as Portland, Ore., and Chicago.

But that could change today when the county Board of Supervisors considers a $4.16-million proposal to build parks and landscaped gateways along the river’s concrete walls, one of the first significant efforts to make the waterway green.

Six sites along the banks between Lincoln Heights and South Gate would be scheduled for new parks and enhanced bike trails, projects the county may help build with funds from a 1992 county parks proposition.

Supporters hope the parks eventually will form a connected greenway along the water, changing the relationship between Angelenos and their neglected riverfront.

“It’s the first step in rediscovering the river,” said Lewis MacAdams, a Friends of the Los Angeles River board member. “And if the river became a place for people to meet from the Eastside and Westside, it would be a way to unite the city.”

Instead of chain-link fences at the water’s edge, river advocates envision lush green parks and open spaces where children could play soccer and families could have picnics. Bicyclists could zoom by on freshly paved bike trails, following the curving river through miles of landscaped parks.

“We’re trying to make the river more than a concrete block,” said Miguel Santana, an aide to Supervisor Gloria Molina. “We want to make it so living next to the river is a benefit, not just a nuisance you have to deal with.”

All of the proposed parks and greenways fall in Molina’s 1st District, some of the poorest and most densely populated communities in the county. A landscaped bike and pedestrian trail framed by river rocks would allow residents to walk from park to park.

Officials in Bell Gardens--where a third of the population is younger than 11--want to turn an abandoned yard next to a river channel into a park and add a bike trail that would connect cyclists to the Los Angeles River and Rio Hondo. In South Gate, landscaping would be used to spruce up the bike paths leading to the river.

The largest portion of the money is earmarked for an old industrial site in Maywood now bordered by barbed wire and littered with trash. The county is considering granting the city $1.8 million for the project to help Maywood buy some vacant industrial buildings nearby and transform the gritty area into a six-acre park.

Officials hope the park will eventually have a soccer field and a roller-skating path, and attract restaurants and bike rental shops.

“This is a great thing for our community,” said Mayor Tomas Martin. “We need more open spaces, and we don’t have the money to do it ourselves.”

Until now, many neighbors have thought of the river as a hazard and eyesore, not a place to take kids.

“The river? Why would anyone want to go down there?” asked Gabby Pelayo, 25, who lives a few blocks from the concrete-lined waterway.

Her neighbor Miriam Chacon, 23, added: “It’s been pretty dangerous in the past, with a lot of homeless people sleeping down there and trucks zooming by.

“But a park would be great,” she said. “Right now, the kids play in the street because they have nowhere to go.”

On Monday, a few joggers and cyclists made their way down the nearby river bike trail, boxed in by high wire fences.

“Some people do use it because it’s the only place to go,” said Councilman Thomas Martin, the mayor’s son. “We’re not near the lakes or oceans, so people think of this as their waterway, even though it is pretty dirty.”

The Los Angeles River usually surfaces in the news when officials and environmentalists argue about its function. Environmentalists were angry last year when county officials approved a $312-million project to raise the river walls for flood protection. This year, the county drew more criticism when it cleared miles of the river-bottom growth to prepare for El Nino rains.

“We have to understand that its primary purpose is a flood control channel,” Molina said. “We need to work that in concert with its recreational uses.” But environmentalists hope the river parks change the perception that the waterway’s only role is to carry floodwaters to the ocean.

They are pushing for a 51-mile greening of the river, a connected system of parks and open spaces that will both draw people to the water and provide a natural flood basin.

“Our desire is to create a greenway that addresses recreational and flood control needs,” said Cynthia D’Agosta, river division chief for the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a parks agency working on several river projects.

It will be some time before the river’s face-lift takes hold. Even if the county approves the funds today, most of the cities have to find more money to complete the projects.

But officials said the county funding will help persuade state and federal agencies to take the recreational plan seriously. And an additional $12 million from the 1996 parks proposition will be available for river projects next year.

Ultimately, supporters say, the smallest greening of the river makes a noticeable difference.

A tiny pocket park in Elysian Valley that opened at the edge of the river in 1995 has become a popular spot in the mixed industrial and residential area. Instead of walking down the street, many neighbors duck down into the park to walk along the river.

“It’s become a real gathering place,” MacAdams said. “The lady next door waters the plants and the guys who work at the factory help with the cleanup. It’s a really good start for restoring the river.”

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Blueprint for Greening of the Los Angeles River

The county Board of Supervisors will vote today on $4.16 million to help build riverfront parks and improve bike trails along parts of the Los Angeles River.

1) Los Angeles: Build a park at Avenue 35 in Lincoln Heights that would border the Arroyo Seco Channel. Estimated cost: $560,000

2) Maywood: Turn an old industrial site at 5920 Alamo Ave. into a neighborhood park. Estimated cost: $1.8 million

3) Bell: Create entrances to the river at Gage Avenue, Florence Avenue and Randolph Street with landscaping. Estimated cost: $350,000

4) Bell Gardens: A park at Jaboneria Road and Shull Street that would be linked to bike trails on the L.A. River and Rio Hondo. Estimated cost: $500,000

5) South Gate: Add a greenway to existing bike trails and new park at Atlantic Avenue that would be linked to the trails. Estimated cost: $400,000

6) L.A. County: Repave and landscape the bike trail between Imperial Highway and Atlantic Boulevard. Estimated cost: $550,000