Is there any future for the San Fernando Valley?

[klamedia]

It is a very strange concept......suburbs are urban areas and urban areas sometimes feel suburban. By the traditional concept BH, SM and WH are all suburbs and w/ the first 2 they literally were in the first half of last century but these 3 cities/suburbs are as urban an area as you would find almost anywhere w/ density to match. Now in the case of 'hoods like Porter Ranch, Sylmar and even Reseda they feel really suburban in nature but are within the city limits. Question: To further complicate matters do you think cities/suburbs like Weho, Santa Monica, Culver City and Pasadena will continue to densify and urbanize w/ the coming access to rail lines that will only bring more massive TOD's?

[klamedia]

Rode my bike from the Red Line Noho station south down Lankershim last night and was floored!! What has happened in the matter of a couple of years? The new grocery store is open w/ adjacent shops, all of the TOD's seem to be opened as well, tons of people on the train and getting off at the station w/ me and the street was partially closed off for a street fair. Almost all the way down to the 134 their were people out on the sidewalks and the Noho Theatre District is not funny anymore.....it's a real scene now!

[Fern~Fern*]

Originally Posted by klamedia

Rode my bike from the Red Line Noho station south down Lankershim last night and was floored!! What has happened in the matter of a couple of years? The new grocery store is open w/ adjacent shops, all of the TOD's seem to be opened as well, tons of people on the train and getting off at the station w/ me and the street was partially closed off for a street fair. Almost all the way down to the 134 their were people out on the sidewalks and the Noho Theatre District is not funny anymore.....it's a real scene now!

^ We've been trying to tell you but your too busy bashing the Valley!!!!

Good thing you've worked those legs....

[losangelino]

Taken from my front porch (literally). Can anyone tell me what skyline that is out there?



And from my backyard, what is this?



Another from the front porch:



and back:



It is beautiful out here. Why anyone would bash it is beyond me. Oh well!!

[Fern~Fern*]

Pix 1: Burbank Skyline (Riverside Drive) Toluca Lake Adj.

Pix 2: Pioneer Cementary

Am I right?

[godblessbotox]

image 1, woodland hills?

[Fern~Fern*]

Originally Posted by godblessbotox

image 1, woodland hills?

^ Woodland Hills mini-skyline is north of Ventura Blvd and way on Victory/Canoga area (Not too far from Yankee Doodles) I must say. This pix is taken southbound looking into the hills towards the L.A. basin. The only mini-skyline that are close to the MT would be Sherman Oaks/Burbank.

This pix is taken from the front of the Foothill Mt (210) it's clearly either Sylmar/Lake View Terrace/maybe even Tujunga buts a long stretch....

[losangelino]

image 1 = Woodland Hills

image 2 = Poor Clair Mission

I am told that the now convent was a mansion built for Bugsy Siegel who sold it to Al Capone who later donated it to the church to atone for his sins. Nuns live there year round now.

As I mentioned before. I live in Sylmar.

[losangelino]

I cheated a bit on the Mission photo. Here is a better perspective.

[godblessbotox]

Originally Posted by losangelino

image 1 = Woodland Hills

image 2 = Poor Clair Mission

I am told that the now convent was a mansion built for Bugsy Siegel who sold it to Al Capone who later donated it to the church to atone for his sins. Nuns live there year round now.

As I mentioned before. I live in Sylmar.

wooo! in yo face ferny in yo face!

[Fern~Fern*]

Originally Posted by godblessbotox

wooo! in yo face ferny in yo face!

Alrighty dude!

keep in your pants and were good. So I made a tinny winnie mistake, shot me already!

I was hoping you would forget about this thread and let it slide into the archives*

[klamedia]

I rode the bike lane/trail that runs alongside the Orange Line from the Red Line station terminus to the Balboa Station last night and I'm am highly impressed! Few cities can boast a 14 mile mostly grade seperated bike lane that runs completely alongside some sort of "rapid transit" corridor. I am hoping that this will now be the absolute trend whenever surface LRT or BRT is built. In fact in the renderings for the Expo I have seen bike lanes running alongside it. Also the area directly adjacent to the Red Line NOHO station has really turned a page. Blocks of new apt buildings some still u/c w/ no setbacks, 4-6 stories tall, retail and a Hows grocer directly within walking distance and small 2 lane streets. Even the parking requirements don't bother me......it's so obvious that you should be on foot. If anyone lives around there snap some pics when you have a chance.....this is a very good model for the rest of the TOD's being built around LA.

[volsung]

The sad thing about NoHo is that all the development has acutally hurt the artist community. Many of the small eccentric shops such as The Black Broom and Ragtime have closed down due to rising rents and trendy boutiques taking their place. Also the many artists that lived there now can't afford it anymore. The old Bank of America building used to have a used bookstore but now is home to "Bank Heist" a themed cafe and the land around it could have been a sculpture garden but is now a parking lot for the cafe. Also no one has bothered to fix up the historic trolley depot; it just sits in ruin behind a chain link fence.

[Fern~Fern*]

Also the Citibank building on Lankershim will be demolished to make room for some new expensive apartment/condo units. Not sure how many floors but hoping for atleast 10. Also Citibank is actually constructing a brand new facility right next door on an empty parcel they purchased. So in a way is good that No Ho not so great image in changing for the better. I wouldn't want it to return to it's crime riding, graffity out, prostitutes haven anymore. We need to continue forward with all the positive changes...

[LANative]

Have you been driving down Laurel Canyon in North Hollywood lately? I swear everytime I drive through there, the LAPD always have someone pulled over for speeding or for a stolen car. Its good the LAPD is cracking down on crime in that area.

[Fern~Fern*]

No I usually see the parking enforcement people ticketing cars parked after 4 right before their towed away. After 4pm last thing you want to do is park your car on major boulevards throughout the city. That's no joke!!!

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by volsung

Also no one has bothered to fix up the historic trolley depot; it just sits in ruin behind a chain link fence.

To be redone with the coming billion dollar TOD planned for the Noho station.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by mikey001

I agree. The way I see it, LA has relatively few suburbs that function the same way as other suburbs in American cities. In most cities, you have a core, central business district where the greatest proportion of jobs are and then radiating out from there are the city neighborhoods. Beyond the borders of the city, you have the suburbs, which do not fall under the city government, yet depend on the city for the jobs. In many of these metro areas, the suburbs have a larger population than the city itself.

there is a fundamental difference between LA and other cities in the nation not onlhy to its suburbs but to many sections of the city itself.

first of all, many parts of LA, city and suburban, developed with little reference to LA and at a time when LA wasn't even that major of a city. Basically, LA did not spawn much of its own hinterland; where it grew, it acquired it.

The initial major growth that took place in the basin and other areas was not LA-generated to a large extent. One of the main contributors to the growth was incredibly cheap late 19th century ticket prices for SP which openned up so many areas to people who sought a delightful year-round climate and the beauty and romance of California. LA wasn't being sold: southern California was.

and the growth these communities generated, as noted was not from center to periphery, but the kind of growth that saw each of the separate towns (again either inside of outside current LA city limits) spreading out so that they would join other spreading towns.

I don't think you could find another US city that would come close to paralleling Los Angeles in this unique form of development.

[MisterMarkInCalif]

Originally Posted by losangelino

Nope. Sylmar. Along the northern wall of the Valley..

Thanks for posting your pics, losangelino. I had no idea that area was so scenic. With housing prices coming down, I'll have to consider your area for a home purchase.

[losangelino]

Originally Posted by MisterMarkInCalif

Thanks for posting your pics, losangelino. I had no idea that area was so scenic. With housing prices coming down, I'll have to consider your area for a home purchase.

Yeah, most people don't have a clue yet we're right here in the city limits of LA. After the most recent wildfires, you should give it some careful thought but here are a couple more:

Old growth trees in El Cariso Park


Wildfires? Yikes!


More from the backyard


Can we say fire trap:


A couple steps outside our front gate


Off my front porch in the other direction (looking away from the Woodland Hills view):