Aug. 11--The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a sweeping transportation plan that calls for the addition of hundreds of miles of new bicycle lanes, bus-only lanes and other road redesigns over the next 20 years.
Mobility Plan 2035 is billed as a major shift in the way the city approaches the use of its public streets, putting a new emphasis on road safety and offering more alternatives to driving. And it seeks to take the fatality rate from traffic collisions to zero within that period.
The vote was welcomed by business groups, transit advocates and groups that seek more bike routes on streets. But opponents, many in the city's Westside, are preparing to sue, saying the city's own analysis shows the loss of roadway for cars would add to traffic congestion and reduce emergency response times.
"We can't stand by and let this happen," said Laura Lake, a volunteer with the group Fix the City. "We want to see real transformation reform, but this isn't it. This is aspirations and slogans, not transportation planning."
The mobility plan reflects a recognition at City Hall that widening streets and adding freeways is no longer feasible or, in many cases, desirable. If even a small share of motorists change their travel behavior -- choosing alternatives to the car -- the city can make a big dent on the overall number of miles traveled, planners say.
L.A. briefly achieved that type of change during the 1984 Olympics, when residents and businesses cut back on their car trips and changed the times of the trips they did make, officials said. A similar achievement was reached four years ago during Carmageddon, when the 405 Freeway was closed over the weekend on the Westside.
Councilman Mike Bonin, a major backer of the plan, said the city has a "legacy of shame" when it comes to the number of automobile fatalities involving children and seniors. The mobility plan would address that, said Bonin, who represents coastal neighborhoods.
"This is a document that helps us prioritize public safety, so that those who are walking and bicycling and trying to get around [without] a car don't get killed," he said. "Right now, only 5% of those hit by a car going 20 miles per hour die. Over 80% of those who are hit by a car going 40 miles per hour die."
To approve the plan, council members had to sign off on a Statement of Overriding Considerations, a legal declaration that the benefits of the mobility plan outweigh its more serious environmental impacts. The city's Environmental Impact Report concluded that the plan's projects, if completed by 2035, would result in "unavoidable significant adverse impacts" -- increased traffic congestion, noise, cut-through traffic and diminished access for emergency vehicles.
One section of the report projected a doubling of the percentage of major streets that are highly congested during evening rush hour. But another section said the plan's projects will cut the number of trips by 1.7 million miles per day. That achievement will have a positive effect on air quality, city officials said.
The council delayed for a month a decision on proposals to cut some streets from the plan's network of bike lanes, including Westwood Boulevard, Lankershim Bouelvard and Central Avenue. The two opposing votes were cast by Council members Gil Cedillo and Paul Koretz.
Cedillo, who represents Eastside neighborhoods, said the city failed to provide enough outreach in his district.
"I have to be a representative for the entirety of my district, not simply 1%," Cedillo said.
UPDATE
2:28 p.m.: This post has been updated to include comments on bike lanes proposed for Westwood.
