Thomas Small has a dream.
In the wake of last summer’s goal-oriented Strategic Retreat for City Council members, Mr. Small is working toward making storied Ballona Creek as pristine as shiny new adjacent Milton Park in the Marina del Rey neighborhood.
Before he recently began to address the notion of a Centennial-related park in the grassy plots of City Hall, Mr. Small was and is committed to polishing its surroundings.
“Milton Park is very much the beginning of what I would like to see go all along the river,” he said. “It has grass. It has vegetation. It has trees. It has benches. It has tables. It has shade.”
Mr. Small continued to sprat excitement over what he has seen and what he envisions.
“There is a walking path with decomposed granite so that you can walk along the Creek as easily as you can bike on it. And it is beautiful.”
An art critic among other numerous talents, when Mr. Small stamps an object as beautiful, his accuracy is not to be doubted.
The area he was assessing sharply contrasts with the rest of Ballona Creek, in his opinion.
“Most of the Creek now has a very good bike path,” Mr. Small said, “but you can’t very comfortably walk along it. It is not very beautiful. There is not much greenery and not much shade.
“If you add shade, greenery and a walking path, you have a lot more already.”
(To be continued)
