Commuters threaten to recall council-man over traffic lane reductions
By Gary Walker
Furious over losing a lane of traffic in each direction with the recent reconfiguration of Venice Boulevard in Mar Vista, a group of Westside commuters is organizing to pressure L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin into reversing the changes — threatening to launch a recall campaign if necessary.
Part of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s pedestrian-friendly Great Streets program, lane reductions between Inglewood Boulevard to Beethoven Street made room for a protected bike lanes between the sidewalk and parked cars, but also triggered public backlash over slower traffic. Simultaneous safety-oriented lane reductions on Culver and Jefferson boulevards, Vista Del Mar and Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey have divided locals but almost universally enraged South Bay commuters. Bonin has described traffic-flow changes in both communities as pilot programs subject to further review.
On June 13 more than 100 residents of Mar Vista, Playa del Rey and Westchester lambasted the changes during a boisterous Mar Vista Community Council meeting, many of them peppering Bonin mobility deputy Jesse Holzer and Great Streets senior project manager Carter Rubin with a mix of questions and insults.
“Will a recall petition affect the pilot project? How quickly can we get rid of this dumb idea?” asked Edwin Ortega.
Morgan Pietz, a civil litigator who lives in Ladera Heights and works in Century City, said he’s creating a political action committee to fundraise for a campaign not only to restore traffic lanes on Venice Boulevard, but also to oppose any future lane reductions elsewhere.
“The goal of the group is to get Councilman Mike Bonin to reverse these changes, to restore the [vehicle] lanes and to oppose all road diets going forward by any means necessary. And that includes the option of a recall,” Pietz said of his forthcoming Save Our Streets PAC.
Others pressed Holzer and Rubin on the duration of the pilot program — “The pilot has crashed,” someone in the audience shouted — and raised questions about impact studies and Bonin’s criteria for justifying the changes. Many complained about being caught unaware, prompting Holzer to point out the council office’s yearlong public survey and information campaign.
Some in attendance spoke in favor of the changes, however.
Ana Martin, a Mar Vista resident and owner of the LA Brakeless bicycle shop on Venice Boulevard, was shouted down after saying “I think we should give it a chance.” Martin was visibly taken aback by the venom directed toward her, saying later she didn’t expect it.
Fred Davis, an avid bicyclist who said he used to avoid Venice Boulevard due to verbal harassment from drivers and “belligerent car doors,” said he loves the new configuration.
“I appreciate the calming effects on traffic and, by extension, the neighborhood as a whole,” Davis said. “It’s probably the best thing to happen to this neighborhood in the 13 years I’ve lived here.”
Mar Vista native Demetrios Mavromichalis has more at stake in the fate of Venice Boulevard than the average person: his livelihood. Owner of the Venice Grind Coffee House and the main investor behind new restaurant The Mar Vista and its companion restaurant MV Grab & Go, he initially supported the pedestrian-oriented strategy behind Great Streets.
“We were excited about it. We thought it would bring more energy to the boulevard,” he said.
Now Mavromichalis isn’t so sure. Since the traffic lane reductions and installation of new midblock crosswalks, he’s seen business go down.
“I think the changes were implemented too fast. This is an experiment at our expense,” said Mavromichalis, who supports restoring traffic lanes but not recalling Bonin.
Holzer said the city will reevaluate the lane closures at 30- and 60-day intervals.
gary@argonautnews.com
The rank arrogance of Mr. Bonin will be his political downfall. He lacks the ability or interest to offer empathy to his constituents. It is the reason why city hood for Venice will occur. He does not have the temperament to work with people and is condescending in his tone and disposition.
It’s all good, slow that traffic down, idiots that cruise at 50+ mph are a risk to the locals, pedestrians and cyclists, this community needs to back this new configuration, there’s other ways to get around town!
Please -what are these great alternatives of which you speak? The horrendous 405? The impossible to horribly clogged Sepulveda LAX tunnel-? Please share your suggestions.
it’s all gonna be OK folks. In five years, you’ll be used to it and will wonder why all this energy went to a great solution and fewer bike and pedestrian meeting with speeding cars. It’s all gonna be OK. Relax!
Yes it will be ok in 5 weeks. It will be reversed. People have to get to work, David. Some people have jobs.
Are you joking or an employee of DOT?
YOu should have considered talking to the police. I am an artist I know how air Faustus ideas float in the air. But in reality just bicycists were the only ones concered it is rough getting in parking spot, turning, seeing stores all the reason he gave to manipulate us.
Two lawsuits have already been filed over the Bike lanes. They have a trial date in January 2018 It may be easier to intervene in those lawsuits. Bonin is so pro bike lanes, that the likelihood he will change his mind is zero. The City wants motorists to be outraged as the city’s goal is to make traffic congestion as bad as possible thinking that people will give up their cars and use mass transit. ScottZwartz@gmail.com
Every city wants fewer cars so that they can generate INCOME$ from their mass transit projects. Removing lanes is their way of combating the Ubers and Lyfts of today. Road Diets on major streets/boulevards moves traffic to side, residential streets causing more accidents, more injuries, more deaths.
100% correct, on the nose – your comment should be at the top of this page.
I am very excited about the protected lanes that make bike riding safer on Venice Blvd. The bike lanes also protect cars; it is difficult to safely pass a bicycle when you are sharing a lane. Separate lanes are better for everyone.
http://bit.ly/2rnQgpV June 12, 2017. CityWatch, Citizens Group Sues City Over Toxic Bike Lanes … Mayor Not Listening, by Richard Lee Abrams
Bike Lanes in major streets expose the riders to serious health risks. The Bike Lanes should be located away from major streets in order to protect the health of riders, especially children . The City will study the health risks of Black Lung apartments which are near freeways but refuses to study kids’ exercising right where all the toxic auto emissions originate.
These road lane reductions have to stop. Bicyclists need to come second to those of us forced to use cars for commuting to work and going to school. This trend is causing terrible traffic delays at every location where lanes have been taken away for rare bicycle use. This increases the possibility of growing road rage as drivers are needlessly delayed. Plus, anything that gets Bonin out of here is a good thing.
Booo
“rare bicycle use” You have no idea what your talking about. Most people that use these lanes are commuting to work and school same as you.
Wrong. Those lanes are empty during rush hour. They’re packed on weekends only with recreational cyclists. In any case the car to bike ratio is easily 200:1.
Readers who oppose the lane cut — please check out the Restore-Venice website:
http://www.restore-venice.com
And sign and share out petition: https://www.change.org/p/mike-bonin-stop-the-unsafe-streets-project-on-venice-blvd
You can write to Councilman Bonin at this address. (Please try to be courteous.)
mike@11thdistrict.com
And he’s got an online survey here (at the bottom of the page):
http://www.11thdistrict.com/mar_vista_great_street
If you are opposed to this project, please check out the Restore-Venice coalition website
http://www.restore-venice.com
You’ll find a petition there — please sign and share it.
You can also fill out Councilman Bonin’s survey. It’s at the bottom of this page:
http://www.11thdistrict.com/mar_vista_great_street
Thanks!
The money spent for this was supposed to go to help fixing the roads. Bonin specifically lead the charge for this “Safe Streets” mis-direction of funds. He has to go because this won’t end until politicians learn there is a price to pay for this kind of unchecked lunacy.
This is insane. Just a few years ago our Public Servants were rejoicing at being able to divert East/West traffic from the I-10 to Venice, Olympic, etc. To that end the Blvds were widened, parking during rush hours was restricted to enable motorists a more free flow of traffic. Now, these new blockheads are taking away lanes, creating more congestion & pollution. Meanwhile, the hoi poloi can’t get simple traffic bumps on our side streets to discourage the speed maniacs from cutting through to avoid inconvenient traffic lights at the intersections of major arteries. Sign me:
Stuck in traffic Jack
Go to http://www.Restore-Venice.com to sign the petition to get our lanes back.
Many neighbors and environmental advocates are THRILLED with the City of Los Angeles finally taking action to rid our community of Playa del Rey and the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve of a high-speed freeway that has been allowed to run through our area for far too long.
We’ve put up with unprecedented traffic jams when accidents have been caused by the speeds that have reached up to 80 MPH at times.
We’ve watched – horrified – as drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians end up lying seriously injured, and sometimes dead, on the pavement after these accidents.
And we’ve also documented and photographed what a CSU Channel Islands researcher has called “the worst roadkill streets – by orders of magnitude” near ecologically fragile reserves anywhere in southern California.
While most of the screaming against these changes has come before the construction of the Playa del Rey Safe Streets changes were even finished – we understand that commutes may be lengthened by at the most 5 minutes in each direction, according to the estimates of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation once the final traffic calming measures are implemented.
Our commutes are also impacted. But those of us who asked for some relief from the speeding and unsafe driving in the area are willing to adjust our schedules in order for everyone – the humans and the wildlife – to be safer.
We welcome those who want a slow, calm drive through our community. But for those who insist upon a speedway, we are hopeful the new directions will lead you to roads that are called freeways, primary highways and secondary highways – so you can arrive at your destinations safely as well.
Thank you, Mike Bonin, for your boldness, and your commitment to safety for all of us – and for your dedication to protection of our environment on the coast of Los Angeles. And thank you to Mayor Eric Garcetti and his forward-thinking Transportation Director, who realize that our neighborhoods need and deserve some respect and calm.
“While most of the screaming against these changes has come before the construction of the Playa del Rey Safe Streets changes were even finished – we understand that commutes may be lengthened by at the most 5 minutes in each direction, according to the estimates of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation once the final traffic calming measures are implemented.”
This is statement right here is soo far from the truth it hurts my brain. Travel time from Manitoba to to the 90 can now extend to 40 minutes in traffic. That’s about 3 miles for 40 minutes. That’s in the morning. Coming home? Traffic is congested all the way down culver for the same duration in the evening. It’s not 5 minutes… Not even close.
Now lets think about what happens when a car breaks down one a single lane road during rush hour with traffic backed up across those 3 miles. This change is for the handful of people I’ve seen bike down Culver now taking advantage of these new bike lanes. A HANDFUL in proportion to the number of people who want to get home and spend time with their families.
Coming down Nichols and merging onto Culver in the morning used to be a real pain… But now? It’s accident after accident waiting to happen. At least before there were 2 lanes, and a merge lane for the people coming down Nichols and heading east on Culver. Now? Its one lane, filled with pissed off people with zero patience to let people in. Its now just a direct injection into that lane. There is no merge lane where you can gradually move in, or that second lane where people about to bump with those mergers could move over to. Culver is the most ill conceived arrangement of lanes I’ve ever seen in any place in the world.
This whole approach is so one sided. I definitely agree that people need to be able to bike on the streets. Without question. However, having 1 lane and one lane only in each direction is not the answer. Neither is having 2 lanes and no bike lanes. Much like some designated turn signals are no turns from 8am to 10am and 5pm-7pm, so should lane sharing. The roads should be adjusted to account for the most users at that time. Cones could be set up between those hours and taken down between those hours if it’s that big of a concern. Incredibly costly, but if people want both, they have to pay for the luxury of both. But I do not think one over the other is the way to go. I also don’t think misleading people about the travel time that people are experiencing from the newly found traffic is either ethical or appropriate.
To clarify my first statement…. It used to take roughly 15 minutes to get from manitoba to the 90 in the morning. If you compare that to the current 40+ minutes to get to the 90, it’s drastically more than the 5 minutes you’re claiming it has increased.
The City has already been sued and it does not care, nor does anyone else in LA. The City will do whatever it wants because in LA no one ever helps anyone else. They let their neighbors get screwed and they other pay all the fees and take hundreds of hours to file lawsuits, while they do nothing. Then, when the same thing happens to them, then they are outraged, but they do nothing.
http://bit.ly/2rnQgpV June 12, 2017. CityWatch, Citizens Group Sues City Over Toxic Bike Lanes … Mayor Not Listening, by Richard Lee Abrams
Hilarious. Which government transit department do you work for?
Five minutes-your watch is broken. I took VDM from El Segundo at 8 a.m. On Wednesday-used to be a 20-minute drive to the hospital. It took 57 minutes on Wednesday. This is a selfish, dunderheaded move by Head Bike Dirk Garcetti and his lead henchman, Bonin. They just lost a ton of votes. Probably won’t be a yoga studio in Sacramento any time soon.
This thing has been a disaster. Its caused gridlock in cities miles around the area. Whatever problem it is supposedly trying to solve, it has created an even bigger one in its place. Mike Bonin needs to go. ASAP.
The purpose of Bike Lanes is to crate traffic congestion. Thus, complaining about traffic congestion tells City Hall that it is being successful. If you think City Hall cares what you think, then you are living in a Alt-Universe. If you think that there will be a recall of Bonin, you fell down the Rabbit Hole with Alice.
Entitlement based bullshit!
These complaining residents and commuters should learn to share or move somewhere else.
So funny how those who get it are turning back the roads made for horses and bicycles( before cars) into roads nore sutiable to bicycles.
Big circle right back to how it was, and how it should be.
Full disclaimer: I bike and drive. I also am into sharing and caring about others.
Learn some history bonehead. The roads were laid out and designed for horses and horse drawn wagons and carriages. Bicycles such as they were in those day being very much an after thought to the equation 100 to 150 years ago. Not to mention many of our major thoroughfares were laid out to accommodate the old Pacific electric red car system as well as other municipal railways. What people need to do no matter if you ride a bike or drive a car is to pay attention to what the hell you are doing. I am a bike rider myself. I ride them I collect them I restore them. Because I love them I own 30 of them. But I am not stupid and self important about it, or unrealistic about it either. I have to commute 70 miles round trip every working day which makes using a bicycle to get to work out of the question for me. So head up and pay attention to what you are doing out there when you bike or drive people! Otherwise the powers that be will make those decisions for us because we are fuck ups. Just like they did on Venice blvd Sign me; “Driving and biking on the west side for 50 years with no accidents”.
Love your comment Brian. l live in Marvista, l drive and ride a bike. They want to make it more friendly to bicyclists but cause a cluster fuck for the drivers. They should start collecting registration fees on bicyclists,so many of them ride on the midlle of the lane on PCH and main boulevards just to fck with the drivers. l rode my bike to the Farmers market before this disaster happened. It was just fine the way it was before they created this bood clog. We already had a bike lane. I am boycotting Mar vista businesses until the bring it back.
Soul, you are right on. I think the bicyclists should pay (for use of the roads) like a $100 registration fee + a license fee and some other made up tax to share with car drivers. I have seen numerous bike people go thru stop signs and cut in and out of traffic, guess who is at fault in case of an accident? Buses have to cut in front of you after picking up people at the bus stops to get back into the flow of traffic. What’s with all the weeds growing in the middle of Venice Blvd.? Garcetti and Bonin should be cutting them down in the obviously spare time.
LA Is not a bicycle city! We are too spread out. Thousands upon thousands of cars will be gridlocked for the few that bike. Mostly tourists, I might add. Thanks for nothing Garcetti & Bonin . This is a major fail!!!!
You may think Bike Lanes are a failure because they create terrible traffic congestion. That is due to your perspective and not Garcetti’s and Bonin’s perspective. for them extreme traffic congestion is the objective of bike lanes. It’s linked to their desire to Manhattanize LA and that requires extreme density and the only way to get people into and out of extreme density is fixed rail. People, however, insist on their own convenience and fewer Angelenos are using mass transit. If Garcetti can make driving a worse experience than riding a subway, then he has achieved his objective. There could be one biker a day and the City would still install Bike Lanes, where cars cannot travel.
If Garcetti cared about bikers, then LA would have bike routes on side streets, where the air is not lethal, but bike routes on side streets will not create traffic nightmares. This program is going city wide whether you like it or not.
If you’re opposed to these changes, please be sure to sign out petition! You’ll find it at http://www.restore-venice.com
And fill out Councilman Bonin’s feedback form at the bottom of this page:
http://www.11thdistrict.com/mar_vista_great_street
Sorry for the repeat posts — the page wasn’t taking comments for a long time.
I know that the residents are very upset about the congestion, but this level of congestion is the only way to kill the excessive development that’s occurring west of the 405. As long as Venice Blvd is a free following highway, the city will continue to approve additional development that will add thousands of parking spaces, and thousands of additional cars to the area. The 6 lanes of Venice will quickly become what you see today with 4 lanes within 10 years. The road diet will result in the blocking of additional development, and the long-term effect will be a better Mar Vista.
Actually, this thing is being driven in part by developers. The goal is to increase density in LA, along transit corridors. That’s part of the Mobility2035 plan that the city council voted on in 2015. Lane reductions all over town, high rises near train stations. I’m all in with bicycling, but I’d rather do it with a carrot than a stick. Vista Del Mar is now a parking lot. And you can easily wait through three cycles of every light on Venice in Mar Vista (as I’ve done). Venice already had good bike lanes that could have been made better. This project produced 6 blocks of arguably worse lanes that go nowhere. I already use a bike for all local trips. But I can’t get to work without a car. I think we probably agree on a future that’s got a lot more bikes in it, but, in my view, this isn’t the way to get to that future.
To those fuming about sitting in traffic — YOU ARE THE TRAFFIC.
Think about how many of those cars you’re sitting behind are just going a mile away to the store? How many of those people would not be on the road if bicycling or walking was more safe and convenient? The city of Santa Monica has pretty good bike lanes and I ride my bike WAY more than I drive. It’s easier, less stressful, cheaper, and it keeps me in shape. What’s not to love?
You get what you design for. Too many streets are designed for the 3 hour rush with so many extra lanes which aren’t necessary for the other 21 hours of the day. Removing those extra lanes breathes life into our communities as people can walk or bike without stress. If you design the streets for people, that is what you get. Cars belong on the 405 which we just spent billions on adding lanes and fixing ramps. Stop the madness of one person per 3000 lb car, future generations will ask “What were they thinking?” We’ve got to start somewhere as our existing approach trying to mitigate delays for cars has not been working and is not sustainable.
It’s called, living efficiently. Cars are needed to live efficiently, so folks can get to work , get home, spend time with their family etc. The overwhelming majority do not commute via bike and don;t live in a bubble allowing them to live and work within an easy bike ride. Get real!
This is not about bicycles and how many will use the new lanes. This is really about safety. The roads in Playa del Rey were reduced to one lane to slow traffic down and prevent the reckless behaviors of drivers cutting through this small town. If people would drive safely and within the posted speed limits, we wouldn’t need this. But this has lasted for years now with ever increasing volume of cars. There have been enough deaths, enough accidents with serious injuries, enough property damage and agression on our streets – we are done. The residents sought change, our councilman and his staff worked hard to achieve it.
LA is filled with traffic jams all over the city. It is a part of the LA identity. I drive these roads in and out of Playa several times a day. The increase in drive times due to the lane changes adds very few minutes to my commmute in rush hours and virtually none any other time of day. Safety on the road and in our community is well worth the few extra minutes.
I’m going to again disagree with the comment that was already stated once…. These aren’t increases in traffic by minutes… Getting to work from Manitoba to the 90 took 10-15 minutes in the morning before… We are now looking at 40+ minutes to get there… And that’s just to get to the 90… Not counting to get to work from the 90 for a lot of people. That’s not a “slight” increase… And if you think the new merge lane from Nichols (which isnt really much of a merge lane at all) is going to reduce accidents and injuries, you’re sorely mistaken. There’s been a significant reduction in distance to merge into the eastbound culver traffic, on an already stressful traffic jam. So please… refrain from “we” as a universal address to include all playa del rey residents… Because “we” playa del rey residents will seek change to the councilman’s mess that has already become an issue for hundreds and hundreds of people. His proposal is no compromise, and you’re speaking without any compromise… One lane reduction is not the answer.
LA’s identity is traffic jams? You support a proposal that increases traffic? Why?
Mike Bonin is the City Councilman for Playa Del Rey as well – and the Playa Del Rey safety measures are working. Culver Blvd crossing from Montreal St to Vista Del Mar North. Since the road change, the safety improvement at this intersection is tangible. Traffic speed going west has reduced, resulting in a noticeable drop in the number of vehicles running the red light from Culver Blvd to Vista Del Mar South at speeds well above 35MPH. 2 out of every 3 vehicles travelling west on Culver Blvd veer south on Vista Del Mar towards the South Bay. The rhetoric from South Bay commuters is not affecting the route choice of many commuters – though the road changes are decreasing their speed and increasing our safety. Traffic accidents in Playa Del Rey are caused by driver recklessness – not by paint. The councilman is addressing the safety and traffic issues that led to the $9.5-million settlement for the family of a teenage girl killed trying to cross Vista Del Mar to Dockweiler State Beach. Please drive safely and please support your local businesses.
The only people who seem to support this ridiculous notion are active political supporters of the Councilman or employees of the City of Los Angeles.
On Culver through the wetlands, why isn’t it a solution to build a separate bike lane by the side of the existing road, rather than restricting the road to one lane? There is PLENTY of space on either side of the road through there, from Nicholson east along Culver (and W. Jefferson). The new bike path would be low-impact to the wetland areas.
There is NOT plenty of space – that space is already occupied by the wildlife – we humans paid a lot of money that we all voted for – $140 million – so the wildlife would have a place that is protected.
We should be widening the roads not narrowing them. In Playa Del Rey start bulldozing though that swamp land. Displace some turtles a few lanes over on each direction.