Call to Action: Support Los Angeles Mobility Plan 2035 on Thursday, February 11 at City Hall

Since our last update we shared with you regarding the City of Los Angeles’ Mobility Plan 2035, there are new developments to share! In November 2015, a number of amendments went through City of Los Angeles’ Planning Commission and the full Mobility Plan, with these friendly amendments, was re-adopted by City Council on January 20th with a  12 to 2 vote. Changes to the plan included:

• Adding equity as a core principle (by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson)
• Adding the City Council as an implementing agency (by Councilmember Jose Huizar)
• Emphasizing community outreach and public safety (by Councilmembers David Ryu and Mitch Englander)
• Reiterating flexibility in implementation to fit the neighborhood context (by Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Paul Koretz)
• Emphasizing the importance of pedestrian safety, particularly in low-income communities (by Councilmember Gil Cedillo)

Picasa

All of these amendments clarified or strengthened Mobility Plan 2035 as a guiding document for transportation decisions in the City of Los Angeles and were compatible with the plan’s overarching themes of putting safety first and creating a balanced transportation system to further a more livable and age-friendly city.

With all “consensus” amendments now adopted, what is left are the two amendments that directly jeopardize the balanced network approach by cutting out two critical segments of the bike network. The entire Mobility Plan is premised on the idea that all modes deserve complete, functional networks so that residents have a range of good mobility options to fully move about their neighborhood. That principle is under attack with these two remaining amendments:

• Councilmember Koretz's amendment would remove Westwood Blvd from the Bicycle Enhanced Network, which provides direct access to UCLA for hundreds of students, faculty, and staff who ride this route every day. This segment has approximately 800 bike riders on an average weekday.
• Councilmember Price's amendment would remove Central Ave from the Bicycle Enhanced Network, which runs through the heart of historic South Central, serving businesses, youth centers, schools, and the Constituent Services Center (CD9's district office). This segment had approximately 60 bike riders per hour during the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalitio and Los Angeles Walks (LACBC) 2013 Bike Los Angeles Bicycle and Pedestrian Count.

Because these amendments are not consistent with the overall goals of Mobility Plan 2035, city staff is recommending against them. However, each council office is expected to lobby vigorously for the removal of these bike lanes from the plan.

AARP California needs your support to uphold the Mobility Plan's balanced approach and to avoid piecemealing the carefully designed networks. Next Thursday, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on these amendments and make a final decision on whether to keep these critical bike lanes in the Mobility Plan.

Los Angeles City Planning Commission Public Hearing

When: Thursday, February 11, 2016, at approximately 8:30 a.m. or soon thereafter

Where: Los Angeles City Hall, Public Works Board Room 350 (3rd Floor) - 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, 90012

The staff report for the amendments can be found  here and the adopted version of the Plan from January 20th can be found  here.

Can’t make the meeting? You can still support our efforts by sharing your thoughts with the City Planning Commission by emailing  james.k.williams@lacity.org (and bcc us at  sramirez@aarp.org). Here’s a sample email of support:

To:  james.k.williams@lacity.org

BCC:  sramirez@aarp.org

Subj: Support Mobility Plan 2035 with bike lanes on Westwood and Central

Dear Commissioners,

I strongly support the Department of City Planning’s staff recommendation, which keeps Westwood Blvd and Central Ave in Mobility Plan 2035. This plan takes a balanced approach to providing high quality transportation options by providing complete, functional networks for people of all ages using all forms of transportation. It would be inappropriate to piecemeal these networks, which would undermine the overall goal of the plan to provide safe, accessible, and reliable transportation for a more livable and age-friendly city. Both Westwood and Central have high numbers of people biking who deserve safe infrastructure to ride on, and support complete streets in Los Angeles. Keeping them in the plan is a commitment to study them and engage the community about the future of these streets. Taking them out at this time would cut off much-needed community dialogue about how to make these streets safe for everyone who uses them.

I urge you to support the staff recommendation and maintain a balanced Mobility Plan 2035.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Your Address