- Valley View News
Reimagine Sixth Street
LOS ANGELES - In Koreatown, there are many restaurants, grocery stores, and apartments. But something that any K-Town resident will struggle to find is an accessible park.
A new proposal has come to light in hopes of fixing the problem of the park-poor neighborhood. Adriane Hoff is the president of Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council (WCKNC) and is working on the project Reimagine Sixth Street. The proposal plans to close off half a mile of Sixth Street from Normandie to Vermont Avenue and create the street into a pedestrian plaza.
The proposal will help traffic safety, small businesses and community resources. Hoff says the park installation will slow down traffic around the neighborhood, which will increase the safety of pedestrians and bike riders. The plan is to reroute traffic into Wilshire Boulevard, a street away from Sixth Street. This potential park will also help the small businesses surrounding the area that were struck hard by the pandemic closures, most of which are owned by people who migrated from Korea. Some potential amenities are pocket parks, public restrooms, charging stations, areas for pets, dining areas, art installations, WIFI and space for buskers and performers.
Now some areas of concern are parking, gentrification and homelessness. Many Koreatown residents can agree that car parking is a struggle and one can spend up to an hour looking for parking. Hoff is trying to find a deal with close-by buildings that have plenty of unused parking space for residents to park during the night. Hoff also wants to stress that this project is from the community to the community. She does not want an outsider coming in and profiting from the residents. As for the homeless, anyone in the community has as much right to use the amenities as anyone else.
If Koreatown residents want to see this project pass or happen soon, they should fill out the survey response on the WCKNC website. Another way is to reach out to the Los Angeles City Council to have the proposal passed and funded.
Video, Donna Ramirez
By Donna Ramirez
Photo, Donna Ramirez
Video, Donna Ramirez
Video, Dezeen
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