Not every transportation reform project needs to bring visionary change to a city to be a good project.  Case in point, the beutficiation project recently started on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.  Instead of just repaving the road, as is done so often on the streets of Los Angeles, West Hollywood is taking the extra step to also plant trees, fix the sidewalks and improve the crosswalks.  In West Hollywood, a repaving is a reason to re-examine whether or not to re-imagine a street.

So what are West Hollwood's plans for Sunset Boulevard?  According to the project's website:

Despite the length of time since the Sunset Strip has received any serious roadway improvement, the road is basically in good structural condition. Construction will start on January 4, 2010. The Sunset Strip Beautification Project will include the following improvements:

• Pavement resurfacing;
• Replacing damaged sidewalks;
• Improving roadway and crosswalk markings;
• Upgrading traffic signal equipment; and
• Planting street trees.

More importantly than just the improvements that are taking place are the reasons behind them.  West Hollywood has made no secret of the fact that the city hopes the project will re-enliven and bolster the local economy.  Instead of focusing on subsidizing parking through more on-street parking, West Hollywood recognizes that people visit restaurants and shops along attractive boulevards.  Their cars are just a method to get there and don't need to be catered to individually as much as the actual people do.

Now it's time for a confession.  i've never walked the Sunset Strip before yesterday.  As I wandered down the street, I noticed the work crews out surveying the street and that the asphalt was covered with red and white writings and symbols; but I also noticed that despite the wide sidewalks, the area isn't a great one to walk through.  On the plus side, the sidewalks were wide and there were plenty of crosswalks.  The road also featured plenty of nice shops and restarants.  In short, it was the kinds of place that you would love to visit. 

On the other hand, there was so much traffic that it was difficult to hold a conversation.  Hopefully the trees and decorations that are part of the project will be more than just decorative.  A traffic calming impact, and a sound barrier for the shoppers and eaters they are hoping to attract are in the mix as well.

The total cost of the project is $5.4 million.  Over 20% of the project will be reimbursed from American Recovery and Reinvestment aka "Stimulus" funds.  For more details on the project, read the official fact sheet.

Last night over 60 residents of West Hollywood and other Westside Cities congregated to give Metro feedback on its Draft Long Term Master Plan. Among the attendees were two West Hollywood City Council Members, Mayor Pro Tempore Jeffery Prang, and a staff member representing the local Assemblyman, Mike Feuer.

The 20 people that testified were near unanimous in supporting more rail for L.A. County. There was also strong support for a Subway to the Sea alignment that runs along Santa Monica Boulevard. There was one audience member, an Angeleno that lives in Park-LaBrea, who argued that more money needs to be spent on improving the bus system because subway expansion is a losing proposition. 

Despite the disparity in funding priorities in the long range plan, people were more interested in seeing better bikeways and sidewalks connecting people to transit and centers of place than they were in seeing more highway and roadway capacity. There was one member of the audience who testified that his car was a private sanctuary where he can have meetings on his blue tooth while commuting, but an informal count shows that more people called for increased bicycle and pedestrian spaces to benefit communities than argued for increased roadway space for their Mobile Sanctuary Offices.

Congestion pricing was also a hot issue. Mayor Pro Tempore Prang opened the meeting by calling on Metro to explore Public-Private-Partnerships to fund future projects instead of charging people more money to support transit expansion. However, the handful of audience members that mentioned congestion pricing were supportive.

Former London resident Kevin Burton testified towards the end of the meeting that despite initial public protest, including opposition from Prime Minister Tony Blair, London’s congestion pricing plan is working brilliantly. Today even the cab drivers are supporters. Burton argued that for a congestion pricing plan to work, the revenue generated must be put right into transit expansion.

The budget for the Imagine Campaign must be enormous. At the sign-in table, buttons, postcards, CD-ROM’s and booklets all promoted the Draft Long Term Plan. Instead of the standard slide show presentation, we were treated to a 15 minute film explaining the plan. The film had a disconnect with those in attendance. Nearly half the film was promoting the time savings for highway travelers because of the plan, but not one person who testified in favor of wider highways.

Metro claims that if they have the funding to build all of the planned projects, including the $46 billion in highway construction, that freeway speeds will increase by 15%. That number is highly suspect. Just earlier this week, the Times reported that highway widenings don’t seem to be having any impacts on congestion in Costa Mesa.

However, if tonight’s audience is at all representative of the testimony heard at other meetings, perhaps Metro will reconsider it’s plan to sink just over 30% of its budget into highway capacity expansion and recommit that money to the transit and other alternative transportation projects that will really make a difference to L.A. County.

The next hearing is tonight at 6:30 P.M. at Metro Headquarters, next to Union Station.

Photo: Damien Newton