OpEd: The new Parking lot at Plummer Park ?

Today, June 11th there will be an ad-hoc subcommittee  ‘en-visioning’  or ‘re-vision the future of Plummer Park.    The first meeting will take place at 5pm, @Plummer Park, in rooms 5 & 6.    A second meeting is scheduled for July 12th, from 10am to 1pm @ Fiesta Hall dubbed a “Community Brainstorm Workshop”.

If you are old enough you might recall the 2011-14 visioning process for Plummer Park.   It was a giant battle to save the trees, save Great Hall, save Fiesta Hall, and the community won that battle.   It was a battle of preservation. 

This time around the dynamic’s of the city, city council and the eastside of West Hollywood have changed.   Last year the city council voted to reduce Fountain Ave. to one lane, expanding the sidewalks for disability access, and creating a neighborhood friendly, walkable, Fountain for the residents in and around the most dangerous stretch of WeHo for both cars, bikes, and pedestrians.   

As presented the Fountain Ave. Streetscape would remove over 200 parking spaces with those residents most affected having no-where to park.   

One of the changes sure to be proposed is a city owned parking garage to support the Eastside residents, and the growing needs at Plummer Park.    The garage could offer over night parking to those residents affected by the removal of parking along Fountain.    The multi-story city owned garage is a necessary step to meet the needs of a growing east side and its residents.   

The master plan will incorporate the Fountain Ave. parking garage into the Fountain Ave. Streetscape project and appears (to me at least) to have the approval of a majority of the city council.   We can have a visioning process and  ‘include the community’ but this idea has been years in the works and on the minds of many at city hall.    

Of course there is a need for a dog park on the east side, or a swimming pool too.   

Residents are welcome to attend both today’s subcommittee meeting, and the brainstorming workshop.  If your passionate about your community these are the best times to put your voice forward.