Streets for All Announces ‘Westwood Connected’ Bus/Walk/Bike Campaign

Last week, Streets for All announced its new Westwood Connected campaign for new bus lanes, protected bike lanes, scramble crossings, pedestrian plazas, and additional mobility improvements in and around Westwood. SFA’s launch announcement urges that “No UCLA student should have to risk their life to get to/from the Expo line, or even just around Westwood Village.”

Campaign partners include the Westwood Village Improvement Association, the North Westwood Neighborhood Council, the UCLA Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC) Facilities Commission (FAC), and the UCLA Campus Bike Advisory Committee.

The timing of the campaign coincides with the area’s new representation on the L.A. City Council. Pro-bike pro-transit City Councilmember Katy Young Yaroslavsky recently replaced termed-out anti–bike anti–transit Councilmember Paul Koretz. It is also timed to coincide with Metro’s under construction D (Purple) Line subway extension station there, and Metro planning its future Sepulveda Transit Corridor to connect Westwood to the Valley and later LAX. So the time is now to build a community consensus around implementing first/last mile connections.

Among the campaign’s demands are:

• A heavy rail stop at UCLA
• Extend existing Wilshire Boulevard bus lanes to close gaps
• Protected bike lanes on Gayley Avenue from Wilshire to Veteran Avenue
• Protected bike lanes on Westwood Boulevard from UCLA to the Metro E (Expo) Line Westwood Station
• Protected bike lanes on Wilshire from the Westwood VA to Century City (to the Beverly Hills city boundary)
• Pedestrianizing Broxton Avenue between Le Conte and Kinross Avenues
• Reopening pedestrian/cyclist access to Constitution Avenue

To find out more about the Westwood Connected campaign, and to get involved, see SFA’s campaign webpage.