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Whats Next For LA's Temporary Slow Streets Program? Maybe Permanence
L.A.'s "Slow Streets" program launched in the Del Rey neighborhood on Friday, May 15, 2020. (Courtesy Joslyn Treece)
L.A.'s Slow Streets program launced last month as a temporary step to give people more outside space to safely use amid stay-at-home orders. In participating neighborhoods, LADOT workers place signs to indicate certain residential streets are closed to cut-through traffic and urge drivers to slow down and share the road.
Now, L.A. City Councilmember David Ryu wants the city to study what it would take to make the Slow Streets program a permanent fixture in communities that want it.
Ryu filed a motion today, asking LADOT and other city officials to begin a feasibility study on expanding the program to develop "a permanent network of Slow Streets to enable wider access to open spaces for all Angelenos." He said in a statement:
"Since the start of the Slow Streets program, we have seen Angelenos find greater enjoyment and a closer connection to their neighborhood. People are getting outside, the streets are safer for kids and families -- I don't see why we wouldn't make this permanent."
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