Speed Humps Coming to Valleybrink Road

ONE OF THE longest stretches of unregulated residential asphalt in Atwater Village, with some 1,600 feet of acceleration space, is getting speed humps. After 2 years of traffic studies and petitions, 4 speed humps will be installed on Valleybrink Road between Sunnynook Drive and the 5-way intersection at Dover Street. Signs went up a few days ago. The humps (not the shorter bumps found in parking lots) could be installed any day. The speed limit on this stretch has always been 25 m.p.h. But the gentle, long curve of Valleybrink seems to encourage speeds of 40 to 50 m.p.h., especially on sweeping days when half the curbs are empty. So speed while you still can, child-hating scofflaws, before we start tearing your mufflers out from under you.

Garcetti: "The Sprinkler is Off"

LOS ANGELES City Councilman Eric Garcetti, responding to my posts about over-watering at 3522 Garden Ave., replies via Facebook today: "The sprinkler is off and we have told Department of Transportation that they need to keep it off except when needed." See Garcetti's Facebook exchange.

May Showers: Now at 120 Hours of Sprinkling

NEW PHOTO and an email update from a drought-tolerant reader, as of 11:15am Sunday, May 24, 2009: "Thanks for covering this story. We are approaching 120 hours of continuous sprinkler use on city property. This is a village spectacle. These sprinklers have to be spewing at least a gallon a minute. 4 calls to 311." See it in person: 3522 Garden Ave.

This Bed of Dirt Somehow Requires 75 Hours of Watering

FROM A READER: "For kicks, check out the city sprinklers that have been running non-stop for the last 75 hours in Atwater. I've called the city 311 two times and they are still running. The sprinklers are running at the entrance to the city parking lot #711. It is located directly east of 3522 Garden Ave, 90039. Go droughtbusters." Another angle shows the sprinklers aim at a single, leaning branch within a 10-foot bed of dirt and rocks.