Another Fourth of July is here. If you’re planning to go down to the beach watch the fireworks tonight, forget it. We haven’t had fireworks there for years.
Some of you might remember, the evening July 4 fireworks display at Santa Monica Pier was canceled because of concerns about public safety. Then it was moved to the wee hours of the morning. “Dawn’s Early Light” also was terminated after a couple of unpleasantries made it clear that even an ungodly early hour wouldn’t halt violence and the potential for a tragic incident.
It’s a shame that fear of crime, violence, gang shootings and other mayhem keep people away from many popular events and places. Avoiding difficult, dangerous or challenging situations is something many of us now do consciously.
It’s become much more relaxing to just stay home with the TV and a DVD than to go out, fight traffic, parking, long lines and the crazed walking wounded vagrants who get in your face and spoil an evening. I observed recently a well-scrubbed, mid- American tourist family react in disgust as a couple of punker street kids simulated intercourse in the middle of the Third Street Promenade. Think they’ll ever come to Santa Monica, again? I think not.
Many of my friends, and myself, now stay away from downtown Santa Monica, not so much because of fear of being victimized by criminals, but for not wanting to be harassed by the mentally ill, drunks and vagrants. That’s in addition to avoiding the hassles of gridlocked traffic and impossible parking.
The City Council seems powerless to do anything meaningful about any of this. Take the some 1,100 vagrants and drunks on our streets daily. All City Hall can do is throw more money at them. They just approved $370,000 more in annual homeless spending, including $170,000 for staffing and another $200,000 to hire a regional “homeless czar.” This isn’t going to do bupkes to solve the problems on our streets.
Traffic is another good reason for not going out. Local traffic increases 2 to 3 percent annually. I constantly hear complaints such as “it took 30 minutes to drive Wilshire Boulevard from Berkeley Street to Third Street during rush hour and on weekends.” One evening last spring, it took me 45 frustrating minutes to drive from 14th Street and Montana Avenue to Gilbert’s El Indio restaurant at 26th Street and Pico Boulevard for dinner. Never again.
City Hall seems to be hell-bent on grid-locking everything it can. The City Council last week approved traffic “improvements” — or should I say “impediments” — for Colorado Avenue between 20th Street and Centinela Avenue. They were passed unanimously and virtually without discussion.
As usual, everything is done to benefit pedestrians but nothing to keep vehicular traffic moving. A mid-block crosswalk between the Water Gardens and Yahoo Center — formerly the MGM Plaza — is a classic example. Of course, no one suggested a pedestrian bridge, such as those on the strip in Las Vegas, across Colorado Avenue to connect the Water Gardens and Yahoo Center — and making those developments pay for it.
This City Council couldn’t move staff’s proposal — which also included narrowing Colorado Avenue east of 26th Street, curb extensions and flashing crosswalks at key intersections — fast enough. Brace for even more gridlock in the future.
Plans are to “traffic calm” Santa Monica, Olympic and Ocean Park boulevards. Why not? Then all the east/west streets can be gridlocked like Wilshire with its new, palm tree festooned traffic islands or the traffic-choked Pico slalom course.
Reducing a street’s ability to carry traffic doesn’t improve vehicular flow. Does City Hall care? Naww. Remember all those councilperson’s campaign promises last election? They said they’d “fix traffic problems and get things moving again.” Guess what? They lied.
As traffic worsens, we will stop going out or stay close to home. Those in City Hall will be happy as long as the tourism boom continues. Despite the vagrants and the worsening traffic outlook, nothing will get fixed as long as city coffers fill with tourist tax revenues — that’s until the next economic downturn.
Then, there will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Me? I’ll be flaking out on the couch with DIRECTV and a bowl of popcorn. The heck with ‘em all. (Bill Bauer is a longtime Santa Monica resident and a freelance writer.)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 4, 2005. Read the original PDF.