Two Unusual proposals in parks-poor L.A.

Concreted-Over L.A.: park planners want to use freeway and flood basin for new parks
--is this a good idea?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/05/proposal-would-park-a-park-on-top-of-downtown-la-freeway.html

5/13/2010--The freeway is jammed, traffic is crawling and motorists are steamed. On top of all that, they want a 100-acre park.That describes the plan to roof-over a half-mile stretch of the Hollywood Freeway in downtown Los Angeles and turn it into a gentle greenbelt.

The idea of a $700-million "cap" covering the freeway between Hope and Alameda streets in the Civic Center area is the latest in a series of proposals to convert airspace above local freeways into public parkland. Civic leaders in Hollywood and Santa Monica have initiated similar freeway-cover campaigns for sections of highway there. A covering for the 101 Freeway in Ventura has also been discussed....

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Long Beach flood basin conversion to Salvation Army park cancelled due to risks

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/callocal/la-me-longbeach-kroc-20100513-1,0,2480900.story

5/13/2010--last week, Salvation Army leaders announced that the project — which was to be funded largely by $76 million from the estate of Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's entrepreneur Ray Kroc — was not financially viable. They cited insufficient local fundraising, escalating costs and liability concerns.

http://www.longbeachkroc.org/about_site_location.htm

The Hamilton Bowl Detention Basin can be reconfigured and regarded to create approximately five (5) acres for development of the Kroc Center.  This reconfiguration would be accomplished by increasing the depth of the remaining detention basin area by approximately 3 feet.  At this stage of the evaluation, operations of the existing Hamilton Bowl Pump Station will not be affected by the reconfiguration and deepening of the Detention Basin.

With the engineering approach as described, the 19-acre site will be completely utilized.  A 5-acre section will be configured along Walnut Avenue.  The portion of the site will be the location of the three primary buildings:  a Chapel, Education Building, and the Gymnasium and Sports Complex.  The remaining 14 acres will be used for parking, sports playing fields, the Aquatics complex, play yards, walking trails, and the other park landscaping and gardens.