New Signs In South Bay Signal Slower Travelers Sharing The Road

There's a new road sign that drivers in the South Bay should pay attention to. It's a green and blue turtle on wheels and it's purpose is to let drivers know they should slow down and share the road with other travelers using slower modes of transportation.

The new road sign is part of an initiative for cities in the South Bay called the Local Travel Network — the first of its kind in an urban setting.

Local Travel Network signage that will be displayed on roads to indicate drivers they've entered the network of slower streets.

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Courtesy of the Local Travel Network for the South Bay

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It's a 243-mile network of streets that allows people to take a slower means of transportation to do a local trip.

How the project came to be

A coalition of local city governments in the South Bay had gathered to think about to make it easier for people to get around the South Bay.

"We found out that 70% of our trips were 3 miles or less. Ninety percent of our trips were 10 miles or less," said Jacki Bacharach, executive director of the South Bay Cities Council of Government (SBCCOG).

The goal is not only to get people to think of alternate ways to take local trips, but to do them in an environmentally friendly way.

Research by the SBCCOG found that "the average gas-fueled passenger car weighs more than 4,000 pounds and carries mostly empty space — on average 1.67 people — which is 'inefficient and unsustainable.'”

"If we're going to solve our greenhouse gas emissions, or at least take a dent into them, we're going to have to do something about transitioning to electric," said Bacharach.

About the Local Travel Network

This is the first network of streets making way for a slower means of transportation in an urban setting. The city of Lincoln in Northern California already has their own roadways for neighborhood electric vehicles.

The routes are specifically labeled with two arrows and a bicycle that's meant to signal to drivers to slow down and make room for people on bikes, e-bikes, scooters, skate boards or even neighborhood electric vehicles (electric-powered golf carts) that travel at 25 mph.

The idea is to get more people doing local trips on human-powered or electric powered vehicles.

"We're in the 21st century and we have to look at 21st century modes of travel," Bacharach said.

Here is a map of where the Local Travel Network streets are in the South Bay.

A map of the Local Travel Network streets in the South Bay

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Courtesy of the Local Travel Network for the South Bay.

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Residents can purchase neighborhood electric golf carts, e-bikes and e-scooters to use on these roads here.