Tomorrow night, the L.A. City Department of Transportation (LADOT), the mayor's Great Streets Initiative, and Councilmember Mike Bonin will host an open house on the Mar Vista Great Streets project. The meeting will take place from 6-8 p.m. at the Mar Vista Recreation Center at 11430 Woodbine Street in Mar Vista. If the meeting is anything like the last one, project critics are likely to show up, so it is important that livability advocates attend and speak in support.
Streetsblog readers probably know much of the story of this excellent project which has improved walkability, community, and safety. In May, 2017, the city removed a car lane in each direction and added parking-protected bike lanes for 0.8 miles of Venice Boulevard. The project added much-needed signalized mid-block crosswalks. Opponents have repeatedly pushed for the local Mar Venice Community Council to oppose the project but, to date, the council has supported it. Preliminary data released in October showed minimal driver delays while reducing collisions, injuries, and speeding.
In late 2017, in response to community concerns, a few sections were re-tooled to make things better for right-turning car traffic. In January, LADOT added green pavement markings to make the bike lanes more visible.
Los Angeles Forward - an organization formed to support Mike Bonin against recall - created the above video to highlight community support for the project. Note that the video features Streetsblog L.A. founder Damien Newton.
Find additional project data via the LADOT's project website.
