[Damien]

Over a month ago I suggested that one way citywatch and others could help improve the “city aesthetics,” which he or she so passionately detests, while in the process make the city more walkable and breathable was to take advantage of the mayor's Million Trees LA (http://www.milliontreesla.org) initiative by going to community council meetings and helping coordinate mass plantings. I'm hoping these pictures of my community of Leimert Park (http://www.google.com/search?q=leimert+park&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official), which was planned by the famous Olmsted Brothers, will convince citywatch to reconsider.

Here are a few streets in the single-family home portion of Leimert Park with varying versions of landscaping. The size and architecture of the homes and the dimensions of the streets are very similar.

The only notable change is the trees that are planted:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/Olmsted.jpg
(Olmsted south of 39th)

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/SixthAveNorth.jpg
(6th Ave north of 39th)

Guess what, we even have streets with palm trees:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/Palms.jpg
(Not quite as beautiful is it palm tree lovers?)

And then we have streets with no trees:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/Norton.jpg
(Norton south of Coliseum)

If you were a pedestrian, which street would you rather walk down on a July afternoon? Which street would you want to live on and which looks more livable? Which looks more like a well-planned community than a concrete jungle?

Wouldn't even a financially challenged community benefit from having a street that featured tall pines like this:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/DegnanPines.jpg
(Degnan north of Martin Luther King Blvd)

Now here is the major east-west arterial in Leimert Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/KingParkwayeast.jpg
(King looking east)

Well...wait a minute.

What's that big brown thing?

Is it a....PHONE POLE?!!!! <woman screaming> :omg:

YES IT IS:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/KingParkwayphonepoles.jpg
(Above the King Parkway)

For some reason those leafy things that change colors during seasons don't make the phone poles seem so unbearable. Instead what people see when they're walking on the northern sidewalk is this:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/KingParkway.jpg
(King looking east)

And people don't even notice them like when crossing 39th on Sixth Ave:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/damienwg/SixthAveSouth.jpg

Now is Leimert Park perfect? Of course not. I'd like to see more pedestrian-friendly crossings for the residential streets across King Blvd, the parkway on the northside of the street extended across the middle school, the speed limit reduced and a couple of bike lanes. However, the point is the existing landscaping in Leimert Park (the "tree density" if you will), is a major reason the area is more liveable and visitors incorrectly assume it is an affluent community. The reality is less than 5-6 years ago most of the single-family homes were priced around $150K (yet today the median cost of a home is $450-500K). Then the median income was just $46K, and I don't imagine it's increased much since.

[SunMonTueWedThuFriSa]

Trees make a huge difference especially the ones that turn colors during autumn. They give that feeling of richness to a neighborhood you don't see in tree-less neighborhoods that resemble concret bunkers. Also I always felt it would help DTLA and other hoods if there were trees planted on the medians of wide streets like Figueroa for example. Fig st does kill that urban vibe just a bit because it does resemble of a freeway sometimes, but trees on a median would soften that and get rid of the freeway feel.

[BTinSF]

Wouldn't even a financially challenged community benefit from having a street that featured tall pines

That bit of your post makes me think you favor the pines. I'm a tree-hugger from way back, but for residential street trees I much prefer something deciduous. You almost always want the sun to penetrate in winter--the fact that there are so many kinds of trees whose leaves fall off and allow the sun to come through in winter is one of nature's little miracles.

[WesTheAngelino]

^ Dude......we live in Los Angeles. Winter might as well be spring. I'd prefer the pines in in our mild, wet mediterranean winters since they would better shield me from rain and thus save me from ever buying an umbrella

[solongfullerton]

I live in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica and the trees here cover all the power/phone lines. On many streets you cant even see the poles or wires. The trees also add to the aesthetic element of the neighborhood. Its a bit odd having no palm trees around, but its also refreshing at the same time. I really notice the difference when I head down the street to Venice, where the trees dissapear and the power lines remerge. I never really thought about this util just now, but now that I think about it, the difference is huge. Venice would be a great neighborhood to add a good chunk of those one million trees.

[WonderlandPark]

I hate pines in LA, personally. Decidious is much better and generally more economical in that they allow light in in winter, even if winter is mild here, they days are still short and that light is well appreciated.

[ferneynism2]

The trees give a neighborhood character....

[cookiejarvis]

double post

[cookiejarvis]

I prefer local variations of ironwood and cottonwood...

http://jkellydunn.com/images/Ironwood.jpg

http://www.lastgreatplaces.org/sanpedro/images/cottonwood.jpg

But anything from this list will do:

Coast Live Oak
Golden Currant
Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry
White Fir
Torrey Pine
Yellow Pine
Tecate Cypress
California Juniper
Western Juniper
Western Sycamore
Bigleaf Maple
Box Elder
California Black Walnut
Valley Oak
California Black Oak
White Alder
Quaking Aspen
Fremont Cottonwood
Arroyo Willow
California Buckeye
Mexican or Blue Elderberry
Califronia Ash
Desert Ironwood
Mountain Dogwood

...and telephone poles are neat too... :runaway:

[DJM19]

any shade tree will do for me in a low-density envrionment. But in a place like LA with buildings and facades closer to the sidewalk, I think you want trees that arent so tall, and arent so large in canopy that they block much of the views. Trees that are more manageable.

[BTinSF]

^ Dude......we live in Los Angeles. Winter might as well be spring. I'd prefer the pines in in our mild, wet mediterranean winters since they would better shield me from rain and thus save me from ever buying an umbrella

Dude, you live in SoCal. Me, I live in a town that takes sunlight seriously and does not want to see it blocked out except on the warmest days.

[WesTheAngelino]

^ Well this thread IS about Los Angeles, duuuude

[BTinSF]

^ Which is why in my original post on the subject I merely expressed my personal preference--which would still be my preference for your town as well as my own. I've walked under a lot of pine trees and I know they drip and do NOT spare the need for an umbrella, but I can understand how those in the parched southland may not realize that. Actually, I am surprised that you are familiar with umbrellas. Do they sell them at South Coast Plaza? ;)

[WesTheAngelino]

Wouldn't know. I don't frequent places like South Coast Plaza. Best to ask LABeauty about such grotesquely indulgent places ~_^ I for one prefer the atmosphere of Broadway or Alvarado

[Buckeye Native 001]

They sell umbrellas at the Nordstroms at South Coast Plaza. A "modestly-priced" umbrella goes for about $65.

[BTinSF]

^ Well, that will be convenient for O.C. folks who commute into town if LA goes with the pines, then. ;)

[Buckeye Native 001]

That's assuming people from Orange County actually want to go to L.A. ;)

[BTinSF]

That's assuming people from Orange County actually want to go to L.A. ;)

:previous: Er, I didn't think it was my place to get in the middle of that issue (seems kind of like a US between the Sunnis and Shiites kind of thing). ;)

[Buckeye Native 001]

It is, just without all the sectarian violence (I don't care, though. If I want to see a city, I make the trek 35 miles north)

So are we actually going to kidnap citywatch and make him/her plant trees, or was this poll just a suggestion? If its the latter, I'm sorely disappointed in all of you.