
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
City Councilman Bill Rosendahl joined community leaders Kurt Toppel and Bob Jeffers for a street beautification ceremony last Thursday at the newly landscaped triangle on Marquez Avenue at Sunset. Also in attendance were landscape contractor William Ranselaar and Ron Olive, Assistant Director of the Bureau of Street Services. ”The ceremony celebrated the joint effort by Palisades PRIDE and L.A. Street Services to plant five trees, install five benches and provide trash cans as part of the Marquez business block revival. The project was spearheaded by Jeffers, a local resident and PRIDE member. ”At last Thursday night’s Community Council meeting (chaired by Toppel), Jeffers talked about the progress made as a result of the $89,000 in discretionary funds the city allocated for the Marquez project on January 4, 2005. The first improvement was to remove three rooftop signs at a cost of $1,600. The next step was adding a stop sign at the corner of Bollinger and Marquez. Although Jeffers would like to see a crosswalk painted there, it has not been done yet. ”The hillside area across from the business block was cleared of trash and planted with new foliage. Last October, Ranselaar and his crew planted five golden medallion trees in front of the shops, while also installing iron grates similar to the ones on Swarthmore. Just recently, the triangular island on Marquez was planted with blue sedge, lavender, germander, and dwarf blue rye grass. ”Although the project is 10 percent over budget, Jeffers is hopeful that several more improvements can be made, primarily the installation of four antique lamposts like the ones on Swarthmore and a sign that says ‘Marquez Knolls shops.’ ”He noted that in addition to city-contributed funds, $16,000 has been raised from local residents and merchants, along with a $5,000 donation from the Junior Women’s Club.
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