By EYE ON THE CITY BY ELIZABETH RIEL
It’s that time of year again in our fair city … time when the City Council begins deciding how to divvy up the budget. And you can be sure that any interest group who has anything to do with Santa Monica is giving our councilmembers and city staff an earful about where to spend the money.
But when 54 percent of residents think City Hall is doing only a fair or poor job of spending our money in the right areas, according to a 2005 city survey, maybe it’d be a good idea for the City Council to pay attention to what should be one of the most important interest groups in town — the residents in Santa Monica’s neighborhood associations.
Friends of Sunset Park, Mid-City Neighbors, North of Montana Association, Northeast Neighbors, Ocean Park Association, Pico Neighborhood Association and Wilshire/Montana are volunteer groups of residents who represent and advocate for the concerns of their particular districts.
Some associations are larger and more active than others, but they all play a crucial role in giving individual residents a collective voice in City Hall and defining the kind of community that is Santa Monica.
And what do residents from across the neighborhood associations want our city’s budget priorities to be? In a nutshell, they want to improve our quality of life in real, tangible ways. Here’s what tops the list: traffic and parking, loss of trees and open space, and services for youth.
Traffic congestion and lack of parking should come as no surprise to anyone, since they have been repeatedly identified as two of the top three concerns of residents in recent years. Aside from the strong desire for a real, long-term plan to deal with traffic and congestion, the neighborhood associations would like our budget priorities to focus on tangible things that keep our kids and pedestrians safe. How about improved crosswalks and signals on major thoroughfares such as Main Street, Pico and Ocean Park? And how about a crossing guard at John Adams Middle School, where a child was hit by a car well over a year ago?
I’ve already ranted about City Hall’s proposed parking plan (SMDP, Jan. 26, page 4), so I won’t bring up that clunker again. But many neighborhood residents are really suffering from a severe shortage of parking, which also adversely impacts customer and employee parking for our local businesses. Wilshire/Montana has begged for a study to determine the feasibility of turning its north/south streets into one-way lanes with diagonal parking spaces. Even if one-way streets aren’t the answer, how about a serious feasibility study conducted by an outside firm to look at the neighborhoods’ and the city’s parking issues?
With increased traffic and development in our city, as well as one of the highest population densities in the state, it seems like we need more open space and trees as a much-needed respite. Yet there has been a dramatic loss in our tree canopy with large, old shade trees being bulldozed to make way for new construction. Replacing 100-year-old trees on our traffic medians, sidewalks, and residential and commercial properties with shrubs and wispy plants does not make for a green city. Lincoln, Ocean Park and Pico boulevards in particular could use some quality green relief and beautification. And north of Montana is the only neighborhood without a park in its area.
Finally, even though Santa Monica already has some great resources for youth, investing in our children always pays off. How about increased job training and apprenticeships for youth in local industries like the construction trade? And what about more programs that provide academic support, violence prevention and conflict resolution, and services for at-risk and older youth?
The City Council should read and consider the more detailed letters sent to them by the neighborhood associations. They address things large (e.g., runway safety at Santa Monica Airport) and smaller (e.g., increased shuttle service to the Farmer’s Markets), all of which will make daily life better for residents.
After all, it’s our money, right? If you would like to learn more about or get involved in your neighborhood organization, log onto: www.friendsof-sunsetpark.org, www.opa-sm.org, www.piconeighborhoodassociation.org, www.smnoma.org, or www.wilmont.org. For Northeast Neighbors contact and for Mid-City Neighbors contact (Elizabeth Riel is a Santa Monica resident. She).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 9, 2006. Read the original PDF.