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An assessment of pedestrian access to park space for communities along the Los Angeles River.
Pedestrian Access
Pedestrian Access
Pedestrian access is essential for those walking and rolling to parks and open space from the surrounding community. Despite the prevalence of foot travel, parks often use gates and fences to funnel pedestrians in and out of certain portions of the park, in part to improve safety. However, these decisions have a significant impact on how the surrounding communities can access these parks and how comfortable people feel traveling to and from the parks. Parks with good pedestrian access tend to have multiple points of entry, limited visual impacts from fences and gates, and wayfinding to direct people in and out of the park.
Pedestrian Access and Walksheds
Pedestrian Access and Walksheds
This map shows the locations of access points for pedestrians to parks across Northeast LA. While some parks may appear quite large on the map, they are often enclosed by a fence and access can be restricted to one or two entry points. The limited points of pedestrian entry impacts the connectivity between the parks and the surrounding neighborhoods and overall makes these parks more difficult to access as a pedestrian.
The light green shaded areas show the parts of the neighborhood where residents can reach one of the park access points within a 10 minute walk. Overall, the a majority of residents in northeast LA River neighborhoods are within walking distance to a park. However, there are still some areas— particularly some of the low-lying neighborhoods along the River—that have limited access to greenspace in the hills. Theses areas could use additional park space or improved access to open space.
View of the greenspace of Mount Washington and other hills in the distance.
[On access to nature in Cypress Park]
[On access to nature in Cypress Park]
“I had to go to the wealthier people in the highlands, like I’d have to go up to Mount Washington, to get access to greenspace."
“I had to go to the wealthier people in the highlands, like I’d have to go up to Mount Washington, to get access to greenspace."
-Jonathan, former Cypress Park resident
-Jonathan, former Cypress Park resident
Good Pedestrian Access:
Good Pedestrian Access:
Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park
Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park
Smaller neighborhood parks like Lewis MacAdams Park, located next to the LA River, tend to have more entrances and a relatively open layout. These features make the park easier to access and encourages people to travel there by foot. Although these parks still often incorporate fences and gates into the design, the greater number of access points promotes connectivity to the park from neighborhoods in every direction. In this case, Lewis MacAdams Park also does a good job tying into the LA River Bike Path which serves the western half of the River and connects several parks and open spaces.
Pedestrian access gate to Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park.
Pedestrian access gate to both Lewis MacAdams and the LA River Bike Path from Gleneden Street. Multiple access points make it easier for residents to access parks in their neighborhood.
The parking lot for Lewis MacAdams has crosswalks and ADA compliant curb ramps connecting the sidewalk from the surrounding streets to the internal sidewalk in the park. Accessible infrastructure makes connections to the surrounding neighborhood easier.
Lewis MacAdams also has multiple connections between the park and the LA River Bike Path.
Limited Pedestrian Access:
Limited Pedestrian Access:
Rio de Los Angeles
Rio de Los Angeles
In contrast, larger regional parks like Rio de Los Angeles may only accessible via one or two points. Currently one of the two pedestrian entrances is closed due to construction, despite the fact that keeping this pedestrian gate open would not interfere with the construction. This kind of planning highlights the lack of thought given to those traveling to the park by any means other than by car. Additionally, the limited access points along San Fernando Road make approaching the park from every direction, especially from the river, a challenge, and creates longer routes with no direct connections to pedestrian and bicycle facilities along the River.
As open space and active transportation infrastructure continue to develop on the eastern side of the River, this lack of pedestrian connection to the western side of the park will make accessing the park increasingly difficult.
Northern pedestrian access gate at Rio de Los Angeles State Park
Pedestrians accessing the park must go through the parking lot, which has limited sidewalk and substandard crossings.
The southern pedestrian access is currently closed due to construction, despite the fact that this pedestrian sidewalk is outside of the construction zone.
The entire 40-acre park is surrounded by fencing which forces pedestrians to use two entrances of San Fernando Road, one of which is currently closed. This lack of connectivity can make visiting the park by foot challenging.
Despite its close proximity, pedestrians and bicyclists have no direct access to the park from the Taylor Yard Bridge or the LA River Bike Path and instead must travel all the way to San Fernando Road to access the park.
The fence for Rio de Los Angeles State Park is visible from the sidewalk to and from the Taylor Yard Bridge. This could be a convenient location for a future access point to the park.
Questions?
Questions?
Contact gderleth@usc.edu to get more information on the project or info@clockshop.org for more information on Clockshop's work.
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