Visitors should feel safe throughout their use of the river and have expedient access to public safety resources as necessary. River staff can supplement local and regional law enforcement to promote public safety along the LA River and its tributaries, while increasing environmental stewardship and public involvement. River staff can also serve as a resource to visitors informing them of the river’s amenities, programs, and resources, increasing their comfort along the river. Additionally, emergency call boxes should be consistently sited along the LA River trails to provide a direct call line to 9-1-1 services, supplementing public safety staff at intermediate intervals. However, care should be taken to avoid over-policing and over-surveillance, which may result in residents’ unintentional discomfort, especially within communities with high levels of distrust of law enforcement. As such, it is important to employ public safety best practices, such as community policing and neighborhood partnerships. The LA River and its amenities should feel safe and open to all, and the entire community can contribute to this vision.

The LA River Master Plan recommends the construction and operation of River Pavilions: Shade (Tier I), Rest (Tier II), and Gathering (Tier III), to serve visitors along the LA River trails. To promote their active usage, they must serve as clean and welcoming environments. All pavilions will require maintenance with a janitorial staff that can routinely empty trash cans, clean water fountains, resupply and sanitize restrooms, and pick up after visitors who use community rooms and outdoor spaces. Staff should follow a schedule of service proportioned to each tier of pavilion, in which those with the most amenities, especially restrooms, receive considerable and continuous attention. Success of the entire network of pavilions is tied to the public’s perceived condition of them, and that they do not fall into disrepair. Gathering (Tier III) Pavilions have enhanced sanitation programming, with locker rooms and showers supplementing their restrooms, which compliments other adjacent amenities, such as sports fields and water activities. As such, they require regular staff to distribute toiletries and shower supplies. LA County should explore a pay-per-use model, to help subsidize the cost of extended sanitation programs. Each River Pavilion should stand as a well maintained and friendly retreat along the LA River trails.

Their on-site administrative offices can also house programming staff to book community events, such as public engagement meetings, local organizations’ gatherings, and family parties. The programming staff can also plan pavilion-specific activities and events. River Pavilion staff can be comprised of river operations and maintenance and safety staff and local employees, but it can be supplemented by the employment of river-adjacent communities’ youth, persons experiencing homelessness, and system-impacted individuals through future internship and job training programs. Pavilions provide an opportunity for job creation for and by the communities the pavilions reside in.

The construction, operations, maintenance, and use of pavilions will depend on partnerships among the county, individual municipalities they are situated within, land owners, and other organizations that may serve the facilities. There is great potential to leverage varying expertise, local presence, and community-specific needs to form strong partnerships aligned to individualized pavilion identities. For example, a pavilion situated alongside of soccer pitches may be supported through the partnership of a local soccer club, whereas one situated in a neighborhood with a large population of persons experiencing homelessness may stand in partnership with a homeless service provider. Pavilions serve as river-wide assets that unify different stakeholders, while sharing the same aspirations of comfort, safety, amenities, and identity.