Sept. 10--A Westside-based advocacy group filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Los Angeles' sweeping new 20-year transportation plan, saying officials failed to properly vet its effects on public safety, air pollution and other aspects of city life.
The nonprofit group Fix the City said in its lawsuit that Mobility Plan 2035, which calls for the addition of hundreds of miles of new bus- and bike-only lanes, will lead to increased tailpipe emissions as drivers find themselves on streets with fewer car lanes and greater congestion.
The mobility plan, approved by the City Council last month, also puts a new emphasis on road safety, calling for key streets to be redesigned in ways that rein in traffic speeds.
Fix the City's lawsuit questions a key finding of the mobility plan's environmental review: that greenhouse gas emissions would decrease as Angelenos get out of their cars and turn to other forms of travel: walking, bicycling and public transit.
"This conclusion is not backed by any rational or meaningful analysis," the lawsuit states. Because drivers will be stuck in traffic for longer periods of time, "increased idling time will increase fuel consumption and generate more greenhouse gases and air pollution."
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Fix the City also contends city officials failed to provide data on the impact of increased traffic congestion on police and fire response times. The city's environmental impact report concluded that the plan's projects, if completed by 2035, would have significant and unavoidable impacts, including diminished access for emergency vehicles.
Rob Wilcox, spokesman for City Atty. Mike Feuer, did not respond to the lawsuit's assertions, saying the city has not yet been served. Councilman Mike Bonin, a major proponent of the plan, said he would not comment until he had read the lawsuit.
Previously, Bonin had said the plan would deliver more transportation options to residents who are craving alternatives to cars. He also had said the plan's projects, when completed, would increase walking by 38%, transit use by 56% and bicycling by 170%.
"We've seen plenty of evidence that behavior is changing and will continue to change," he said last month.
Eric Bruins, policy director for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, said he was "disappointed but not surprised" by the legal filing. He said the plan would begin to work as Angelenos choose ways of getting around other than driving.
"That's the only way we have any chance of reducing congestion, and also emissions and greenhouse gases, from our transportation system," he said.
The mobility plan is the first major overhaul of the city's transportation policies since 1999. It calls for an additional 300 miles of protected bike lanes, the kind separated from traffic by curbs or other physical barriers, and 117 miles of bus-only lanes. An additional 120 miles of bus lanes would be created for rush-hour-only, under the plan.
Some corridors, including Sunset, Venice and Lankershim boulevards, would receive both bus-only lanes and protected bike lanes -- an arrangement that could lead to a reduction in space for cars.
In its lawsuit, Fix the City also contends that the city relied on outdated data on population, traffic and municipal services when analyzing the mobility plan.
The city's environmental impact report said the plan's projects, if completed, would result in a doubling in the number of major streets that are heavily congested during the evening rush hour -- bringing those heavily congested to 36% of the total in 2035, up from 18%. The same analysis found that if the mobility plan were not approved, the number would reach only 22%.
Backers of the plan, including council members, say those numbers are based on overly conservative assumptions. They also say the plan's various projects are needed to help L.A. achieve its goal of reducing the number of vehicle fatalities to zero by 2035.
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