Parkway use and abuse

Apologies (and thanks) to the several followers of this blog who noted my extended hiatus from invective. I have no excuse except an occasional Oblomov-like sense of futility. I'm back now and plan to pan with relish as the summer winds down.

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As an avid driver, I still tend to think of a parkway as a "broad landscaped thoroughfare," in Webster's definition. The Burbank Boulevard between Sepulveda and Balboa sort of thing, for example.

But for the Los Angeles Department of Public Works, a parkway is defined as "the area of the street between the back of curb and the sidewalk that is typically planted or landscaped."

Whatever you call it, this strip of green fronting the street can add tremendously to the quality of a neighborhood.

Creative use of the parkway as a tomato and herb garden on Tremaine Avenue.

Alas, this absentee owner in Hollywood has let the parkway in front of her building become a mini-wasteland, complete with razorgrass, downed palm fronts, broken concrete curbs, and a shattered Panasonic television set that has been there since January.

Parkway as dumpway, Argyle Avenue.

Panasonic: "Ideas for Life"

Upkeep of the parkway is the property owner's responsibility, with consequences for neglect. (The above example will be remedied. Stay tuned for "after" pictures.)

The department's Bureau of Street Services has a downloadable Residential Parkway Landscaping Guideline brochure that spells it all out and also provides a list of suitable alternatives to turf and televisions.