NELA

The city of L.A. opened its new Riverside Drive Bridge, featuring a protected bikeway and roundabout. The project was praised for safety improvements, but the oversized project is really about moving more cars even faster.

The city of L.A. has nearly completed 0.8 miles of new road diet bike lane on Fletcher Drive, extending from San Fernando Road to Eagle Rock Boulevard. The lanes contribute to fairly strong bikeway network in northeast L.A.

At tonight's meeting of the Glassell Park Improvement Association, Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell will be presenting the Department of Transportation's (LADOT) planned Fletcher Drive Streetscape Project. Project plans are posted at the GPIA website. The project includes a road diet with bike lanes, plus new landscaped median islands. The bike lanes extend 0.8 miles from Fletcher and San Fernando Road to Avenue 36 and Eagle Rock Boulevard. Fletcher turns into Avenue 36 just north of the 2 Freeway.

Due to this year's El Niño storms, the federal Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is clearing vegetation (arguably illegally according to a similar regional water board lawsuit) in the most natural areas of the L.A. River. USACE is also adding temporary flood barriers along the river in the middle of the central stretch of L.A. River bike path. The flood barriers have closed the river bike path between the 134 Freeway and Fletcher Drive. The closures apply not just to bicycling, but also to the equestrian crossing from Atwater Village to Griffith Park.

Tragedy has struck again on North Figueroa Street.

According to media reports, this morning at about 3 a.m. a hit-and-run driver struck and killed a cyclist in Highland Park. The crime took place at the intersection of North Figueroa and Pasadena Avenue. The L.A. Times reports that witnesses stated the driver was traveling at 80 miles per hour north on Figueroa. The victim was dragged several hundred feet. LAPD were summoned to the scene and are investigating the crime.

In a unanimous 11-0 vote, the Los Angeles City Council approved the city Bureau of Engineering's (BOE) single-sidewalk pedestrian-killer design for the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. Though the item was not approved at the Public Works Committee last week, the City Council approved the item today with no public comment, after brief misleading characterizations by Councilmembers Tom LaBonge and Mitch O'Farrell.

The city of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering's (BOE) sidewalk-deficient Glendale-Hyperion Bridge design was heard today in the L.A. City Council's Public Works Committee. As at the earlier Public Works Board hearing, the BOE trotted out dire Level of Service predictions and threats that the city would lose $50 million if the project is delayed. Councilmember Tom LaBonge and Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell's staff spoke in favor of BOE's unsafe design, and against a road diet option that BOE's earlier traffic predictions had shown was feasible.

Above is a graphic created by Don Ward to show just how crappy the Bureau of Engineering's Glendale-Hyperion Bridge plan is. The unsafe design was recently approved by L.A.'s Board of Public Works, and will soon come before City Council. Streetsblog USA profiled the board's approval as a sign that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's commitment to great streets may be illusory.