Why is Lincoln Boulevard so persistently grim and ugly?
As a Venice resident, I contemplate this question with some frequency and sense of resignation.
So it was refreshing to see USC urban planning students re-envision Lincoln Boulevard as a sustainable, vibrant hub of employment and activity, in a presentation given to the Venice Land Use and Planning Committee (LUPC) last Wednesday.
“Lincoln Place” would capitalize upon Venice’s creative, beachy vibe to attract a “tech” corridor nestled between Santa Monica’s emerging Silicon Beach and the LAX Airport/El Segundo’s aerospace/engineering cluster. Not such a stretch in light of Google’s pending move to Main Street.
Shown in red below, the new tech park would stretch along Lincoln Boulevard adjacent to the existing Lincoln Place apartments, a 38-acre complex with its own interesting history. It would displace two retail centers, Ralph’s supermarket and Ross Dress For Less, with the new building footprints adopting the New Urbanist best practice of a zero lot line and parking in the rear.
Lincoln Place Tech Park
Lincoln Boulevard itself would be transformed into a “complete street” featuring dedicated rapid bus lanes in the center lane, an all-electric fleet technology (notice the overhead catenary wires), wider sidewalks, and an enhanced public realm.
Lincoln Boulevard reimagined as a "complete street"
As one of the LUPC members pointed out, Lincoln Boulevard’s official designation as a state highway (Route 1) means that little in the form of traffic calming or retrofitting may be legally permissible, let alone desirable, given existing traffic woes on the Westside.
The leap from concept to implementation is always a tricky one. The makeover scheme also begs the classic question of phasing: Would public investment in better amenities and transportation options need to come first to make Lincoln Blvd more desirable for high-wage tech workers, who value quality of life, or would the increased employment base come first and then provide the tax dollars to do so?
That aside, USC students are spot on in identifying the locational advantage that Lincoln Boulevard currently enjoys but does not successfully exploit. City planners would do well to take note.