OK, maybe that's a little strong -- but it seems to be Larry Wilson's conclusion in today's PSN.
Here's the nut graf (actually, two) for us:
Because if you take Altadena's upper Lake Avenue as one area that could have supported the sidewalk cafes and other pedestrian-oriented businesses that work on Baldwin in Sierra Madre, there's no denying the deleterious effect of the loud, speed-kills freeway that is Altadena Drive at Lake.
You might say Lake is too steep to support a lot of walking and shopping - but Baldwin has almost the same slope. It also has better shade trees - including a huge native sycamore on Baldwin's east side citizens stopped the city from chopping down. Though much smaller at around 10,000 souls compared with 40,000 for Altadena, it's always had a more vibrant business climate, perhaps because of its smallness, a tourist virtue, and fame in the hiking era.
We're wondering who says Lake is too steep to support a lot of walking and shopping. Apparently they didn't drop by a couple of Fridays ago, when North Lake was abuzz with walkers, businesses, artists, music -- putting Sierra Madre (and Old Town Pasadena) to shame, at least for a night.
(We think he's right about the shade trees. We even remember the old days of, say, February, when Pasadena had shade trees downtown).
And apparently the Sierra Madreans are really into sniping at each other online, which doesn't seem to happen in Altadena with the same virulency. (The vast majority of comments we get are fair and thoughtful, but trust us, we don't print everything!)
Anyway, there's some things to think about.
Thx to Monica, otherwise we might've missed this!
