More than 500 neighbors, partners, and community organizations joined me on Aug. 3 to celebrate the dedication of the South Los Angeles Greenway. This transformative initiative promises to revitalize Slauson Avenue by introducing new green spaces, recreational areas, and cycling and walking paths for residents to enjoy.
Click here to watch footage of the community event, which was held at Augustus Hawkins Nature Park. For photos from the day’s festivities, check out the Flickr album here.
The dedication ceremony featured notable speakers such as Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell; Commissioner Wilma J. Pinder, Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners; LA City Recreation & Parks General Manager Jimmy Kim; LA Metro Chief Planning Officer Ray Sosa; and President and CEO of SLATE-Z, Zahirah Mann.
Coinciding with a Green and Healthy festival, the event featured the unveiling of the City of Los Angeles sign for the “South Los Angeles Greenway” and a walking gallery showcasing renderings of the planned network of parks and green spaces set to transform the local landscape.
By working in sync and locking arms, we are making significant strides in enhancing the well-being of our District 9 community, providing much-needed green spaces, and improving pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. Years from now, we will all enjoy the beauty of a more welcoming Slauson Avenue.
Our community celebration offered family-friendly activities and valuable resources for attendees, complimentary breakfast and lunch, a fruit and vegetable distribution, planting activities, a nature walk, a tree tour, bird watching, a scavenger hunt, sound baths, yoga, and more.
The South LA Greenway project supports our community’s needs and the future of environmental sustainability. The efforts in CD 9 complement Metro’s $143 million Rail to Rail (R2R) project, which is converting abandoned rail lines into shaded areas with trees, walking and biking paths, and improved lighting.
The Greenway will intersect a network of three new neighborhood parks in the 9th District: the Slauson Connect Recreation and Education Center, Sen. Bill Greene Memorial Park, and Slauson & Wall Park, all in various stages of development.
The Slauson Connect Recreation and Education Center along Slauson Avenue, between Normandie and Budlong Avenue, will provide local youth with opportunities in digital media arts, such as broadcasting and game design. The state-of-the-art community hub will feature pedestrian and bike pathways, a green screen studio, a multipurpose editing and gaming lab, a daycare center, afterschool programs, a vegetative roof terrace, and much more.
The Sen. Bill Greene Memorial Park, in partnership with LADWP, is breathing new life into a vacant lot on Figueroa and Slauson that has sat empty for over 40 years. This park will include an amphitheater, an outdoor fitness area, a tree canopy, and more.
The Slauson & Wall project is redeveloping a city-owned block to include a four-acre park, as well as commercial and retail space, and over 500 residential units, with 50 percent designated as affordable housing. It will also include playground equipment, a picnic area, a basketball court, greenery, and a pedestrian path.
The upcoming Greenway not only introduces three new parks to the District but will also connect to existing parks along Avalon Boulevard, including South LA Wetlands Park, South Park Recreation Center, and Gilbert Lindsay Recreation Center.
Greenways are known to reduce urban heat islands and absorb carbon monoxide, with trees and vegetation acting as natural air filters. This improves air quality, benefiting both physical and mental health.
In the short term, the South LA Greenway is expected to reduce vehicle emissions. In the long term, it will significantly benefit children in District 9, where one-third of the population is under 18 years old, by promoting walking and biking in the community.
Our proposed South LA Greenway is an intentional strategy to foster a healthy and more livable community. For more information about the South LA Greenway project and upcoming events, please contact my Office at (323) 846-2651.
Today is a new day in South LA with this Greenway!
