County Ponies Up $500K Toward Silver Lake's Corralitas Red Car Property Open Space Effort

The Board of Supervisors agreed today to contribute $500,000 to an effort to preserve 10 acres in Silver Lake as open space and wildlife habitat.

The estimated total cost of acquiring the narrow, winding parkland --- which lies between Griffith and Elysian parks and is known by local residents as the Corralitas Red Car Property -- is about $1.5 million.

The city of Los Angeles is putting up $500,000 and the rest is expected to come from a Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy grant.

Supervisor Hilda Solis described the land as an urban oasis filled with walnut and oak trees.

“Already used as a neighborhood park by dog walkers, cyclists and nature lovers, the open space lies adjacent to the Los Angeles River,” Solis said. “It is an urban jewel; it is a haven for local residents.”

It was once a right-of-way for the Pacific Electric Red Car streetcar line which ran from downtown to Glendale and was decommissioned in the 1950s. Various plans for development of the land, including condominiums and single family homes, have been successfully opposed by residents.

The property is home to various raptors and mammals and is considered a key wildlife corridor between Griffith and Elysian parks. A blog by one resident reported the sighting last summer of a bobcat that researchers believe traveled from either Griffith Park or west of the Hollywood (101) Freeway.

Once acquired, the land will be controlled by the Trust for Public Land.

“Conservation of the Red Car Property would take this privately held parcel and eventually turn it into a community asset for the public good,” Solis said.

City News Service