This morning the L.A. City Council Transportation Committee (in some cases acting jointly as Transportation and Public Works Committee) approved three livable streets items. These do not take effect until the full city council approves them; that generally takes place within a few weeks after committee approval.
Bike Lane Enforcement
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced a motion (Council file 25-0558)
to lay the groundwork for the city to implement automated bike lane enforcement. The motion directs the Transportation Department (LADOT) to report on the feasibility of camera technology to ticket drivers parked in bicycle lanes. The motion specifically calls for enforcement on Hollywood Boulevard, though, of course, drivers park in bike lanes throughout the city.
The enforcement program would likely be somewhat similar to the joint Metro/LADOT bus lane enforcement program, which currently uses on-bus cameras to ticket drivers blocking bus lanes or bus stops.
Bus-camera bike lane enforcement recently debuted in Sacramento. Hopefully success there can lay the groundwork for other cities to implement similar programs.
(Full disclosure: Metro's and Sacramento's camera contractor Hayden AI is an advertiser with Streetsblog. Hayden AI was not consulted on this post.)
Bike/Walk Path Maintenance
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion (Council file 25-0481) that looks to improve the city's maintenance of bike/walk paths. The motion calls for the city to provide a level of maintenance for bicycle and multi-use paths "at least equal to that provided to streets and sidewalks." This would likely be a significant improvement, though city street and sidewalk maintenance sometimes falls short.
City bike path maintenance has long been neglected and haphazard. Many paths are maintained (somewhat) by LADOT or by the Department of Recreation and Parks. Many path facilities, including along the L.A. River, fall into disrepair and are only sometimes rehabilitated after years of community pressure.
The motion would also shift path maintenance responsibility to the city Public Works Department.
Measure HLA Implementation
The committees approved the city's proposed Measure HLA implementation ordinance (Council file 24-0173). Voters approved Measure HLA last year. The law requires the city to gradually implement bus/bike/walk improvements when doing street projects, generally during street repaving. HLA took effect in April 2024, but the city is taking a further step to approve a specific HLA city law.
Theoretically, the ordinance reiterates the ballot language that voters approved. In practice, it appears to somewhat water down HLA requirements in a few ways.
The HLA ordinance does clarify which city departments are responsible for which aspects of HLA. Some city staff have asserted that the lack of an approved ordinance is hindering the city from planning for HLA-mandated improvements (which are essentially on hold.) Time will tell if approving this ordinance is able to remove some of the city's resistance to safer and more multimodal streets.
The HLA ordinance does set up an out-of-court appeals process. Angelenos will be able to notify the city of an apparent HLA violation - a place where the city should have installed bus/bike/walk facilities but didn't. Then the city will respond to the appeal, either installing the missing facilities or stating why the city does not plan to.
(Disclosure: I, the author of this post, Joe Linton, on my own - not in my role as editor of Streetsblog - am currently suing the city under Measure HLA law. I claim that the city has already violated HLA, during repaving projects in two locations, and in future project plans.)
