Glendale paid out $125,000 to a man whose nasty tumble on a sidewalk in the city left him temporarily unconscious and with a permanently damaged left eye. The money was a settlement for a slip-and-fall-suit filed by Michael Donovan over an incident that happened back in 2009. more ›

Cyclists share the road with other drivers, but is there ever a time when they are allowed to share the sidewalk with pedestrians? Today the Los Angeles City Council embarked on a plan to update the municipal code to clarify the current language of the law and to specifically determine when a bicyclist can use the sidewalk. more ›

Los Angeles has a problem with massive cracks in its sidewalks, after the cash-strapped city just let things go for way too long and federal help dried up. Now the city is considering a plan to make those monster cracks the responsibility of homeowners. more ›

Monster cracks in L.A.'s sidewalks are going unrepaired while politicians dither over whether to make homeowners responsible for their upkeep, according to KCET's SoCal Connected. more ›

Fixing the sidewalks of Los Angeles is a $1.2 Billion problem for the City, and this week the Council will consider repealing a 1974 ordinance that says the City must be responsible for the repairs, LA Now is reporting. Said Councilman Bernard C. Parks, chairman of the council's budget and finance committee: "We have no ability to perform these repairs. The money ran out in the mid-1970s, yet the city has continued to hold itself responsible." Should the ordinance be repealed, it will be up to the property owners to have the sidewalks repaired, at their expense. more ›

Just as a reminder, if you're headed in or around Hollywood and you don't have a golden ticket to sit in the Kodak Theatre to watch the Oscars in person, you'll want to remind yourself of the street and sidewalk closures, parking restrictions, and changes to public transit now in effect to accommodate the awards show. more ›

A look at the city we walk all over, as captured by LAist Featured Photos pool contributors. more ›

Over the weekend LAist received an email tip regarding John Lennon's star on the world-famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. It seems that at 1750 Vine Street the spot "is covered up with a trashbag, and beneath that is an empty outline of a star," prompting Lennon fans on the Beatlestweets site to claim the assassinated Fab Four member's star is "missing." more ›

Instead of approving a $300-every-two-years fee for restaurants that want sidewalk dining, the city council yesterday sent the idea back to study because they believed it was a disincentive to restaurants to offer such a service, according to the Daily News. "At a time like this, when businesses are struggling to survive, I just think it sends a wrong message of 'Here comes the city again, with yet another fee,"' Councilwoman Janice Hahn said. "I know in my district, we have been trying to encourage this, to get a more pedestrian feel. This just seems the wrong time to be imposing another fee on businesses." The proposed fee would cover the costs of inspection to make sure chairs are not blocking access to the sidewalk. A $1,200 one-time fee to set up sidewalk dining is still on the books. more ›

The streets of Pasadena were brightened this weekend by artists wielding colorful chalk, creating temporary masterpieces to delight visitors to the Paseo Colorado. There was the Joker, the Beatles, renderings of museum masterpieces, dames, soldiers, giraffes, and tribute to Harvey Milk, all created at the hands of talented artists. Blogger Ben Wideman has a shot of the Best in Show awardee, Arlou Somo's "Mucha," and all the winners are up for viewing on the fest's official website. LAist Featured Photos pool contributor noobphotog along with Flickr shutterbug okarol bring us these shots of some of the artists at work on their colorful creations...which, as is the temporal nature of chalk on sidewalk, don't linger long in real life. more ›

Bicyclists quickly shot down the city’s idea of possibly making it illegal to ride on sidewalks. During the Transportation Committee meeting last Wednesday, advocates said changing the vehicular code won’t ensure that all cyclists will be aware of the law. Instead, the city should develop safety education programs to inform casual or less experienced riders of the dangers posed by cycling on sidewalks. more ›

The answer to that may depend where you live. If you're a UCLA student, parking on the sidewalk may not get enforced, but if you're in a different part of the city--let's say the Valley--a ticket could be there waiting for you. The inconsistent parking enforcement is now park of a lawsuit against the city. "This lack of enforcement continues even though parking on a sidewalk violates both the California Vehicle Code, Los Angeles Municipal Code and may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)," explains Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA. "The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Barden v. Sacramento sets a nationwide precedent requiring cities to make all public sidewalks accessible. As a result, cities must remove barriers that block disabled access along the length of the sidewalks." more ›

Yes, lazily hosing down your sidewalk instead of using a broom is now illegal, thanks to a recent water conservation passed by the city last month. Since then the DWP has been sending out weekly tips and today was about the hosing. more ›

All still minor damage being reported throughout the Southern California region after this morning's earthquake, but here's a photo of some cement bricks fallen on a sidewalk in downtown Los Angeles in the 300 block of South Broadway. It appears they may have been swept up into a pile.
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Taking a note from a Los Angeles bicycle law, the city of West Hollywood has made the first steps to allow bicycles to legally ride on sidewalks, reports WeHo News. Currently, West Hollywood's law is consistent with LA County law stating that “a person shall not operate any bicycle… on any sidewalk or parkway except at a permanent or temporary driveway or at specific locations thereon where the commissioner finds that such locations are suitable for and has placed appropriate signs or markings, permitting such…riding.” more ›

If you want to waste city resources and money, go ahead and leave your refrigerator on the sidewalk with the door still attached. Don't worry about even doing the minimum acts of kindness like duct taping it shut or at the very least, placing it on the ground with the door on the bottom. Why do this? We do it because little kids tend to play unintentional suicide by getting locked inside fridges. more ›