Friday, January 18, 2008

Last night's EVNA Steering Comm. meeting

Last evening, the encinoblogger attended the (self-selected; if you were there, you're part of it) steering committee meeting. A funny thing here - several emails begged for confirmation of attendance because the room would only accommodate 25 people. No problem there; I think there were 12 people at the peak, so we could have each brought a guest and still had room within the legal limit.

At any rate. there was a discussion about the pending parking restriction experiment (see the EVNA blog for more on this; link below) put together by some Balboa Park-adjacent residents. Hard to believe anyone would oppose this, especially if you've seen the density of the parked cars on weekend days for blocks around the park. Obviously, the park was built in simpler, less dense times, and seen by the city as a neighborhood, not a regional gathering place. Soccer leagues changed all that, as did the explosion of apartments and condos that replaced homes. People drive to the park, they don't walk (so much, at least) and they come from all over the Valley, not from the neighborhood. There won't be any more parking built, at least not without shrinking the green areas of the park. Gotta wonder just where people will park once the restrictions start; I guess we'll see. I've dealt with this a lot as a guest at other's homes. It's a slight pain in the ass for all concerned, but less so than the unintended consequences of a horde of strangers using the nabe as a parking lot.

The rest of the time was spent discussing a few issues:
  • Someone needs to represent the Village on the Encino Neighborhood Council. Maybe me, I dunno. Wednesdays are a tough night for me; I have a recurring obligation that would interfere a lot, and which I'm loathe to give up. Who's out there that will step up?
  • Apropos of that, whatever time we meet will always pose a problem for someone. How best to decide this?
  • There is an ongoing need for better communication within the Village. Long detailed flyers don't work. A few bullet points and a source for more info are better. Bet you read the bold red stuff first, didn't you. Geeks and wonks (we know who we are) want the details immediately, and should be able to get them. Everyone else needs to be brought into the tent first. Simple solution - a flyer on everyone's doorstep with basic info and a referral to a website and a phone number (some people don't use the 'net; go figure) for more info.
Read this; tell your neighbors. Comment, but be nice and be on topic.