Traffic Calming
Streetsblog LA
Happy Endings: Judge Rules Traffic Calming Measures Put Back in Holmby-Westwood
Yesterday, Judge Robert O'Brien of the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a tentative ruling that traffic calming measures in the Holmby-Westood community that were removed by the LADOT and City Council in the summer of 2009 be returned. The traffic calming was first put in as part of a Neighborhood Protection Plan (NPP) when the Palazzo development was constructed on the west side of the community. The measures were "only temporary" pending a vote of the neighborhood six months after installation. However, when LADOT surveyed the community, they surveyed a different and larger area than the one agreed to in the plan. The vote to keep the traffic calming was approved by "only" 60% of residents who responded to the survey, which was short of the two-thirds needed to keep the calming in place.
July 8, 2010
Speed Humps Installed Surrounding Nine Valley Schools
City Councilman Richard Alarcon has always been a vocal supporter for traffic calming and safe streets around schools and other places that children congregate. In 2007, he introduced legislation calling for the LADOT to report on how it prioritizes traffic calming devices around schools, parks and recreation centers. Last year, he introduced the resolution which created the "set-aside" for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the city's Measure R Local Return funds.
April 23, 2010
DIY Goes Legit: Hills Community Wants to Pay for Its Traffic Calming
Fed up with speeding traffic zooming through their local street, residents of the well-to-do Mt. Olympus Homeowner's Association have approached the city with a plan to pay for the speed humps and speed feedback signs that would make a difference in protecting their street from speeding drivers of all stripes. A motion to allow them to do just that was heard at last week's City Council Transportation Committee Hearing, with a resolution expected at next weeks.
March 17, 2010
West Hollywood Shows Us How to Use Stimulus Funds to Make a Difference
Not every transportation reform project needs to bring visionary change to a city to be a good project. Case in point, the beutficiation project recently started on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Instead of just repaving the road, as is done so often on the streets of Los Angeles, West Hollywood is taking the extra step to also plant trees, fix the sidewalks and improve the crosswalks. In West Hollywood, a repaving is a reason to re-examine whether or not to re-imagine a street.
January 5, 2010
Santa Monicans React to Controversy Over Narrowed Ocean Park Blvd.
Alert Reader Johnathon Weiss pointed me to a story in the Santa Monica Daily Press, and posted on the Times' LA Now Blog, about the impact the narrowing of Ocean Park Boulevard on traffic and safety in Santa Monica. In 2007, after a series of crashes involving cars and pedestrians, the city of Santa Monica decided to narrow the four lane. The Daily Press explains:
August 31, 2009
There Are Opponents to Highway Crash Memorials?
The California State Assembly recently passed legislation that will allow the family of victims of highway crashes to pay Caltrans to erect signs memorializing the fallen and reminding drivers to drive safely. However, thanks to opposition from a group of what the Times terms "environmentalists," the legislation is actually watered down so that our state's highways aren't littered with signs ruining the view.
August 10, 2009
Council Transportation Committee Moves to Remove Traffic Calming
At an early morning meeting, scheduled for 8:30 A.M. but not starting until close to 9:00, of the Los Angeles City Council Transportation Committee, both sides in the contentious debate over the fate of temporary traffic calming measures placed in near the Palazzo development in Westwood.
May 6, 2009
Council Considers (Again) Removing Traffic Calming in Westwood
Nearly a month ago, we discussed the efforts of local Councilman Jack Weiss and the LADOT to remove three temporary traffic calming measures that were placed on streets surrounding the Palazzo development to mitigate traffic on the streets surrounding the large, mixed-use development. Before the traffic calming can be removed, it requires the blessings of the City Council. When the Transportation Committee heard Weiss' motion to remove the signs and cones protecting LeConte, Weyburn, and Lindbrook avenues, the hearing wasn't going well for Weiss and his allies. Thus the motion was pulled so Weiss could try and negotiate an agreement between the communities.
May 5, 2009
Coming Soon to a Street Near You: Speed Limit Increases!
Yesterday, three-fifths of the City Council Transportation Committee met to discuss the proposed speed limit increases for four stretches of roads in the Valley. Sue Doyle of the Daily News does a great job describing the issues surrounding the limit increases, how the city pleads powerlessness even as crashes mount in the areas around the effected areas.
April 9, 2009