City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
Re: Great Observation Wheel
Dear Sirs and Madams:
Your department has solicited community views on a proposal to allow the installation,
for a temporary period, of a 200 foot Ferris wheel, known as the Great Observation
Wheel, at the foot of Windward Avenue in the Venice Beach Recreation Area.
The Venice Stakeholders Association is a non-profit organization committed to civic
improvement. While many would be delighted to ride a Ferris wheel at the proposed
location and to enjoy the stunning views which it will make available, we have serious
concerns about the project, principally related to the parking demand and increased traffic
that will result from this installation.
We would ask that this project be viewed as an opportunity for the City of Los Angeles to
seriously reconsider its policy regarding any and all events and installations in the Venice
Beach Recreation Area. For example, the filming of the Ninja Warrior Challenge this
last week took over much of the park from south of Windward Avenue almost to Market
Street. Our members report that public parking on Windward on Saturday and Sunday,
while filming was underway, was completely taken up by 7:30 AM by visitor vehicles in
the 200 block of Windward. This resulted in residents who do not have on-site parking
being held hostage in their homes or running the risk of having to park many blocks away
from their homes if they gave up their street parking spaces on Windward during the day.
The Wheel proposal is a good reason for the City of Los Angeles to apply to the
Coastal Commission for preferential 24/7 permit parking for beach adjacent residents
and to craft an ordinance to require that all events and installations in the Venice Beach
Recreation Area pay in-lieu parking fees to a dedicated Venice parking fund, which is
immune to being “swept” by the City Council for non-parking purposes or use outside of
Venice, to the end of creating parking structures of modest height in Venice.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
Sincerely,
Mark Ryavec
Mark Ryavec, President
cc: Mayor Antonia Villaraigosa, Councilman Bill Rosendahl
