LA City Council re-re-re-considers plan to add bike lanes, reduce some car lanes on Friday

After approving, then rescinding, then re-approving a controversial plan for the future of Los Angeles streets, the City Council will again consider the proposal, this time with several changes approved by the City Planning Commission.

The Mobility Plan 2035 is a blueprint for city transportation projects over the next two decades and is part of the General Plan, which guides long-term development policy decisions.

Originally adopted by council last year, the Mobility Plan has inspired fierce criticism and support of its proposal to add hundreds of miles of bike and bus-only lanes by taking away some car lanes.

In September, the community group Fix the City filed a lawsuit that charged the City Council had not followed correct protocol in changing the plan when approving it. So the council rescinded and re-approved the plan in its original form and sent its proposed changes to the city Planning Commission to consider it again.

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Several council members had proposed removing from the plan several bike lanes from major streets, including those on Westwood Boulevard, North Figueroa Avenue in northeast L.A. and Central Avenue in South L.A.

While the Planning Commission approved some minor changes to the plan at a February meeting, it voted not to make any changes to the proposed bike lane network, teeing up another battle at the City Council as it moves through the approval process once again.

On Wednesday, the council's transportation committee considered the plan, drawing dozens of people to once again offer public comment. Most expressed support for the contested bike lanes and urged the council to adopt the plan as is.

But council members Paul Koretz and Curren Price renewed their calls to remove bike lanes from Westwood Boulevard and Central Avenue in their respective districts.

The proposed changes will go before the full City Council on Friday, which could vote to direct the Planning Commission to consider the bike lane revisions once again.