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LADOT Says They're Caught in Rumor Mill about Eliminating Bicycle Lanes
Photo by roland via Flickr
It's been a trying few days for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation as strong emotions from bicyclists and other complete streets activists rallied to save the elimination of bicycle lanes on Reseda Blvd. to make room for peak hour traffic. A Northridge Neighborhood Council had it as an agenda item earlier this week, prompting a huge turnout by the public to fight the measure.
However, according to LADOT, the whole issue is just one big rumor. "We had no plans to do that," explained the department's spokesperson, Bruce Gilman. "It was all based on rumor, nothing that we had propagated."
Apparently, the motion in front of the neighborhood council was pre-emptive and based on the rumor that the city was considering removing bicycle lanes amidst it's major bicycle planning process. The official statement from LADOT emphasizes there are no current plans as such for the street:
Recently, rumors surfaced regarding elimination of bicycle lanes and street parking along Reseda Boulevard to make way for 'Peak Hour' parking restrictions, allegedly to move more vehicles quickly during high vehicle volume hours. Rest assured, The Department of Transportation, City of Los Angeles (LADOT) has no current plans to remove any portion of the bike lane or to install peak hour lanes on Reseda Boulevard according to Ken Firoozmand, Transportation Engineer, West Valley District Office, LADOT.
You can follow LADOT's General Manager Rita Robinson on Twitter, but so far, she has not updated.
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