SGV Connect 65: Water Plans and Beg Buttons

This week, SGV Connect goes macro and micro. First, we take look at the just-opened public process around Los Angeles County's water plan. Then we study why Pasadena is resisting the call to eliminate pedestrian crossing buttons used to get a walk signal.

Kris spoke with Matt Frary, Acting Principal Engineer at Los Angeles County Public Works, about the County Water Plan. The board of supervisors decided at last week’s meeting to hire a consultant to develop the plan by 2021.

This plan would take a regional approach to water resource management. The idea is to create a practical policy document that would help articulate a shared vision with the more than 200 water agencies in the County, Frary said.

Folks in the SGV who want to get involved with the development of the County Water Plan, or with actions taken as part of the Safe Clean Water Program, can apply to participate in one of three separate Steering Committees. Each committee will have seventeen members, five of whom are community stakeholders. Each watershed will also have at least one coordinator to help facilitate additional involvement. The three committees are:

1. Upper San Gabriel River Watershed Area Steering Committee
2. Lower San Gabriel Watershed Area Steering Committee
3. Rio Hondo Watershed Area Steering Committee

Second, Damien spoke with Misch Anderson, an advocate for safer transportation options in Pasadena. Anderson has been vocal about the city's response to COVID-19, criticizing the city in Colorado Boulevard (not once, but twice) for not turning off the "Beg Buttons" that need pressing before one crosses the street.

Damien and Misch discuss Pasadena's foot-dragging refusal to follow the example of Los Angeles and other peer cities, and make a case for turning off the buttons for good.

Last, we have a programming note on the expanded SGV Connect we announced in last week's podcast. Future podcasts and articles that are written as part of our agreement with Foothill Transit will have a place to sign up for the new SGV Connect Newsletter. We're going to launch the newsletter in two weeks, May 22, and we hope to have hundreds of you joining us.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.