LADOT's Faster Traffic/Safer Streets Initiative

The City of Los Angeles has an opportunity to address this situation by participating in the Federally funded Safe Routes to School program, which is designed to improve conditions for children in kindergarten through eighth grade as they safely walk and bike to school. The program funds infrastructure improvements within 2 miles of a school.

Unfortunately, the City of Los Angeles has not fared well in the funding process. Los Angeles has 10% of California's population but only received a 0.5% of the Safe Routes to School funds.

The City's Transportation Committee has addressed the funding process at the State level, communicating with the California Secretary of Transportation and working to ensure a level playing field.

Meanwhile, the City's Department of Transportation recently appeared before the Transpo Committee and acknowledged that it does not involve the community in the process of developing its Safe Routes to School projects, even though this community support has a significant effect on the scoring of the projects.

Even more curious in light of the LADOT's complaints of process is the fact that they sent no representatives to the all day seminar hosted by Caltrans and designed to assist local agency reps in the Safe Routes to School application process. The seminar was conducted by Ryan Snyder, a nationally recognized Safe Routes to School expert and a local bike/ped advocate and planner.

Today, the LADOT is appearing before the City's Transportation Committee in an effort to raise the speed limit in six different areas of the San Fernando Valley, in one case to 50 miles per hour alongside a bike lane on Reseda Boulevard.

At issue are the LAPD requests to re-certify the streets in accordance with CVC 40802(b) in order to justify enforcement of the speed limit by radar. LA's Department of Transportation is responsible for the engineering and traffic surveys, the recommendations go to the Transportation Commission and then they go to the City Council via the Transportation Committee.

Critics of the process point out that the LADOT has erred in the past by conducting the Pico/Olympic traffic surveys on religious holidays with restricted traffic, that they surveyed a West Valley elementary school for traffic congestion and parking issues at midday, when there were no parents dropping off or picking up kids, and they also tested the efficacy of loop detectors in reacting to cyclists by driving motor vehicles through the intersections, reporting that "Everything is working!"

Critics also point out that while the requirement to conduct the survey is mandated by State law, the process for the survey is not. The LADOT conducts the surveys in a manner that is lacking in transparency. The department doesn't involve the community or notify the Neighborhood Council of the projects, the results or the recommendations. LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson appeared before the Transportation Commission two weeks ago, proposing to increase the speed limit in three areas of the West Valley. When asked if the department had notified the neighborhood councils of the proposed changes she responded, "No. We are not required to notify the neighborhood councils of actions such as this."

Through it all, it would seem that the significant opportunity here is for the LADOT to work more closely with the local community to determine what's best for the neighborhood, not simply because its good for better ratings on funded projects (it is) not simply because it results in better projects (it does) not simply because community support drives success (yup!) but because it's mandated in the City Charter! (Oh yeah!)

Photo by aprilzosia, used with permission