CicLAvia returns on Octobe 10, AHF sues to block SB 10, and more

On Sunday October 10 from 9 am to 4 pm, CicLAvia returns with its classic Heart of LA route, connecting Downtown Los Angeles with MacArthur Park, Chinatown, and Boyle Heights.  Bike, skate, or walk - the choice is yours.

The event will follow L.A. County Public Health guidelines, which require masks on public transit and in all indoor public places in, as well as at events with over 10,000 attendees. CicLAvia will make complimentary masks available at the information booths (with branded CicLAvia masks for sale).

Heart of LA will also be an opportunity for those who have not gotten the jab yet.  Free, drop-in vaccination clinics with both Pfizer (12 and up) and Johnson & Johnson (18 and up) will be available.

Here's what we're reading this week:

Staples Center parking lot slated for development "A 68,000-square-foot surface parking lot within walking distance of Staples Center and L.A. Live has a new owner with plans to build even more parking there." (Bizjournals)

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Files Lawsuit Against Controversial Housing Bill "The AIDS Healthcare Foundation announced today it filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 10, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Sept. 16 to create a voluntary process for cities to streamline zoning processes to allow multi-unit housing on single-family lots near transit in urban infill areas." (KFI)

Puente Hills Landfill could finally become a park after 8 years and $80 million settlement "The plan for the park calls for an entry plaza and a 7,000-square-foot visitors center, which would take park visitors via a shuttle bus or gondola to the top of the site....Plans also call for 14 miles of multi-use trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Also planned are picnic areas and play areas for children." (Whittier Daily News)

L.A. redistricting panel approves draft map but avoids decision on Raman and Krekorian "The commission’s draft map would dramatically redesign districts represented by Krekorian, who is based in the San Fernando Valley, and Raman, a newcomer to City Hall who represents much of the Hollywood Hills. Raman and Krekorian have argued that the commission’s proposal would disenfranchise the voters who elected them last year by moving their districts into different neighborhoods with different constituents." (LA Times)

Light at the end of the subway tunnel: LA Metro adapts to pandemic and reopening "Spanning 1,433 square miles across LA County, the 140 bus lines and six rail lines of LA Metro form a vast network that connects 93 rail stations from the San Fernando Valley to the coastal South Bay. With the third largest bus fleet in the nation as of 2019, LA Metro owns 2,320 buses and covers 97.6 miles of tracks. These numbers illuminate the depth of the challenge ahead of Metro as the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Joshua Schank, the Chief Innovation Officer at LA Metro, the organization aims to learn from the challenges and changes from the year and enable millions of Angelenos to move more easily across this sprawling land." (The Occidental)

Assemblymember Friedman Announces Funding for L.A. River Bike/Ped Projects Including $10 million for the city of Glendale’s Glendale Narrows Bridge and $5 million for the city of Los Angeles’ Colorado Bridge Undercrossing East Bank River Way Project (Streetsblog LA)

COVID-19 Casts a Shadow on California and LA, Exacerbating Income Inequality "Back in June, UCLA economists predicted a serious boom in economic growth for the U.S. and California. Three months later, their outlook for both the nation and the state looked far less rosy in a new report, which blamed a plateau in vaccination rates and the impact of the delta variant for the change." (dot LA)