An interesting look at Sherman Oaks

A lot of people seem to find me as an elected Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council rep through this blog and e-mail me at my Non-NC address.

Brother Zach:

I live in SO with my wife and soon to be baby. Hey, what's up with all the street peddlers man? People selling Spider-Man blow up dolls, corn on the cob from hand-pushed carts, flowers, teddy bears, etc.

I know you are on the SONC and I emailed them about this matter too. Give people an inch and, next thing you know, SO will look like a refugee camp. Sincerity and hard work for an honest buck aside, we gotz laws man! If I wanted to live in Van Nuys, I'd move a few streets over! You want SO to look like Van Nuys?

Time to bring down the hammer of justice.

-[name redacted]

I feel like I live in a different Sherman Oaks than this resident (unless this is all specifically about Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park). So I shall hunt down more details.

Westfield Expansion

Debate is going strong on the Westfield Mall expansion. It is inevitable as time changes that upgrades will be needed. If Westfield does not change their ways, the future could hold an abandoned space that will call for change anyway.

What I see missing from all the newspaper articles and what I have read so far about from the critics are mitigations for non-motorized transit. The LA River Plan calls for a Fashion Square Park and a bicycle/recreational trails.

Westfield and the residents should also consider LA River mitigations in addition to roadway/traffic ones.

Bicycle Sidewalk Parking Count: 33

How many sidewalk bicycle racks are there in Sherman Oaks? 33*. These are the LADOT Inverted U bike racks (see picture) that you see on the street that are part of the LADOT Sidewalk Parking Program. The 33 does not include racks at the Library, parks or off the sidewalk at businesses.

Bike Rack Count by Council District:

• CD2: 3 Racks along Woodman at Moorpark, Riverside & Burbank (that is 6.5% of all bike racks [total, 46] in Wendy Greuel's district)
  
• CD5: 30 racks, all along Ventura (that is 17.5% of all bike racks (total, 130) in Jack Weiss' district)
  

So where are the deficiencies? Are there any? Why are there only 3 racks in CD2 for Sherman Oaks? There must be a need for racks along Van Nuys Blvd and Sepulveda Blvd. And why are there no racks in CD5's "flag" (where CD5 juts out north of Ventura between Fulton and Coldwater)?

These are just initial questions -- a starting of a conversation to make Sherman Oaks more bike friendly.

*Data comes from LADOT Sidewalk Bicycle Parking program.

Sherman Oaks NC on Flickr

At the neighborhood council, we take so many pictures, but never get to share them with the public. Part of that is that we are all volunteers and updating a website with photos mixed with different technical web skills of members, Flickr was an obvious choice. It is also an easy way to be part of a large online community.

Not many pictures up yet, but over time there will be a lot of good stuff.

http://flickr.com/photos/shermanoaksnc/