The beauty of this new tech age may indeed be the ability to crunch numbers, stats and trends and spit out a visual that gives an overview of a situation – like the terrible state of streets in Los Angeles – that we may understand both in more detail, as well as in the Big Picture.
The LA Times recently compiled a visual report using available street inspection data in 114 neighborhoods across the vast LA basin, and perhaps not surprising to any of us living in the area, the greater Hancock Park area rated an astounding “D-“, with more than half the streets rating an “F.” The LA Times Street Quality Map, where you can type in your street address and see what ‘grade’ your block earned, is pretty interesting, and a remarkable color patchwork of neighborhoods in decline.
The Times story reports heavy traffic, an aging network, the undulating terrain and a “street repair strategy that bypasses the worst streets in favor of preserving salvageable ones” as some of the many reasons it could take up to 50 years to fix what we’re already stuck with. The story focused on the HP as one area that really needs work:
With its stately homes and manicured lawns, Hancock Park is one of the wealthiest areas in L.A. and considered one of the city’s historical gems. But that hasn’t helped get its mostly ancient concrete streets repaired: The neighborhood has an overall D-minus grade. Hancock Park residents Michael and Ruth Steinberger live on Rimpau Boulevard, which was graded F when last inspected. They have complained to the city that their street has a severe rut at the intersection with 3rd Street that has scraped the undercarriage of their Mercedes countless times.
“scraped the undercarriage of their Mercedes” wow, that’s a first world problem.
Oh, the humanity.
It’s puzzling when they repave some less used streets around the neighborhood. For instance, sections of Elmwood (and others here)were repaved a year or so ago & they seemed to be in good shape. Well, until the paving crews marked up/gashed the newly laid asphalt with their trucks & tractors – as they left the area.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Subject: Letter +
Date: Sun, 5 May 2013 21:48:52 -0700
To LA Times
Letter to Editor
May 5, 2013
Re “L.A. full of roads to ruin for cars”
Good feature by Ben Poston.
While focusing on making pothole repairs (we can never catch up), how about improving current technology to eliminate road defects? I have been volunteering with the Bureau of Street Services. First, we had a select committee (Director of The Aerospace Corp. Materials Lab, a senior engineer from NASA/JPL, a professor at UCLA doing related research, a friend who received an international engineering award for related technology, and myself – 50 years experience in pertinent technologies with many commendations and awards) identify processing changes to improve reliability, and,
more important, recommend how available composites technology could substantially enhance road performance with minimal changes.
For the past year, I have worked with the City to implement lab tests to establish feasibility (we’re 90+ percent certain), preliminary to road testing. Now we need to secure the limited funding for the GSD to perform the lab tests. Suggestions?
George Epstein
223 So. Detroit St.
LA 90036
323/938-7023
P.S. There are more pertinent details but you only allow 150 words. We could explain how road fractures/potholes form, and how technologies proven in the aerospace industry, would prevent these. I would be glad to discuss this with Poston. I might add that the proposed changes would conform with the findings related to armor systems by Dr. Theodor von Karman who founded JPL and Aerojet, and, in whose honor, streets and other entities are named. (I was fortunate to have him as my consultant on the Army program that established the armor concept that protects personnel and equipment from projectiles.)
If you decide to do a follow-up on Poston’s feature, suggest you entitle it “Let’s Let Technology – Not Politics – Solve the Problem!”
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Subject: Letter +
Date: Sun, 5 May 2013 21:48:52 -0700
To LA Times
Letter to Editor
May 5, 2013
Re “L.A. full of roads to ruin for cars”
Good feature by Ben Poston.
While focusing on making pothole repairs (we can never catch up), how about improving current technology to eliminate road defects? I have been volunteering with the Bureau of Street Services. First, we had a select committee (Director of The Aerospace Corp. Materials Lab, a senior engineer from NASA/JPL, a professor at UCLA doing related research, a friend who received an international engineering award for related technology, and myself – 50 years experience in pertinent technologies with many commendations and awards) identify processing changes to improve reliability, and,
more important, recommend how available composites technology could substantially enhance road performance with minimal changes.
For the past year, I have worked with the City to implement lab tests to establish feasibility (we’re 90+ percent certain), preliminary to road testing. Now we need to secure the limited funding for the GSD to perform the lab tests. Suggestions?
George Epstein
223 So. Detroit St.
LA 90036
323/938-7023
P.S. There are more pertinent details but you only allow 150 words. We could explain how road fractures/potholes form, and how technologies proven in the aerospace industry, would prevent these. I would be glad to discuss this with Poston. I might add that the proposed changes would conform with the findings related to armor systems by Dr. Theodor von Karman who founded JPL and Aerojet, and, in whose honor, streets and other entities are named. (I was fortunate to have him as my consultant on the Army program that established the armor concept that protects personnel and equipment from projectiles.)
If you decide to do a follow-up on Poston’s feature, suggest you entitle it “Let’s Let Technology – Not Politics – Solve the Problem!”