Amidst all the election news comes word that there is a small Bikelash brewing on the Westside from residents worried that the diet is creating spillover traffic jams on other local streets. The good news is that the proposed solutions seem to be about improving traffic calming measures on the streets parallel to Motor Avenue. The bad news is the complaints will be heard at tonight's meeting of the Palms Neighborhood Council which will feature local City Council Member Paul Koretz. The agenda for tonight's hearing is here.
Jonathan Weiss, a member of the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee and regular commuter on Motor Avenue notes that it's not the bike lanes that are causing spillover traffic.
I’ve never seen more cyclists than I do now, and, with theExpo train coming to Palms in about 2015, the community soon could be transformed into one of the bike-friendliest around. Meanwhile, the morning traffic stacking up in Palms does so because the northbound traffic trying to make its way to Century City and Beverly Hills via Cheviot Hills is “metered” (choked off and redirected) at National Boulevard per the Century City Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan, a City Ordinance obtained by residential communities in response to Century City area commercial development.
The bike lanes are part of a road diet a three quarter mile stretch of mixed residential and commercial development on Motor Ave. The diet was put in place with the support of the LADOT, the Motor Avenue Improvement Association, and the Palms Neighborhood Council. More Palms-area bike lanes are planned, including a connection to the pending Palms Expo Light Rail station, in accordance with the City of Los Angeles' Bike Plan.
The Palms Neighborhood Council meets tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the IMAN Center, 3376 Motor Avenue. The community letter that hints at the Bikelash is after the break (with names redacted, these aren't public figures.) If it's looking as though Motor Avenue is going to turn into another Wilbur Avenue, we'll let you know.
Hi everyone,
It gravely saddens me to send you this email.
Earlier today I was speaking with Council member Paul Kortez Deputy, David Giron, sharing how people are completely livid about the deletion of two automobile lanes from Motor Avenue which is also about to happen on Palms Boulevard as well. I shared that doing this before the Expo was completed in 2016, with two HUGE complexes being built on Motor, not to mention 2 school on Palms that the already gridlocked area has now intentionally been converted into a self-made 405 parking lot. I was told that they are hoping people adjust. I also mentioned how cars already use this area as a speedway to get to other areas, i.e., Overland and Robertson - as this is how they are hoping the gridlock traffic will direct it's self away from the now less traffic lanes available to cars on Motor. We know better ...
I shared about the little girl that was hit and trapped under a car from someone using neighbor streets trying to get to Kaiser on La Cienega. Thankfully, it was early morning when some of the neighbors, mostly the men, were still home and literally lifted the car off the little girl before the rescue could even get here.
Sadly and ironically, just hours after this conversation, I must forward you the below message from one of our long-time block captains that just witnessed someone being hit and killed on Clarington.
Although the new President is a bike enthusiast who wants more bike racks, I hope this new Neighborhood Council can take a break from their obsession with bicyclists and get some much speed bumps. THE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL IS THERE TO BE YOUR VOICE TO CITY HALL WITH YOUR NEEDS.
I ask that as many of you that can make the Neighborhood Council meetings once a month on the first Wednesday of the month do so. YOU HAVE A VOICE IN WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD ... USE IT!
God bless you all and as always,
Keep watchin' out!
