Bike lanes vs. street parking: West Hollywood city leaders reignite Fountain Avenue debate

The West Hollywood City Council will consider a motion Monday evening that thwarts long-planned and nearly shovel-ready protected bike lanes along Fountain Avenue out of concerns that the cyclist improvements will eliminate too much street parking.

The motion was introduced by West Hollywood City Councilmember Lauren Meister. If passed, it would direct staff to evaluate an alternative design for Fountain Avenue, one that maintains the road’s existing parking capacity, reduces the road to one travel lane in each direction and adds a center turn lane — but doesn’t include protected bike lanes.

“Continued investment in bicycle infrastructure elsewhere would remain a separate consideration,” according to a copy of the motion. 

Meister did not respond to LAist’s requests for comment about her motion.

The project 

Introducing protected bike lanes to Fountain Avenue was approved by City Council in 2025 as part of the first phase of the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project.

The approved designs include reducing the road to one travel lane in each direction, installing pedestrian improvements and creating a bike lane separated from vehicular traffic by concrete curbs.

The goal of the road redesign is to increase safety. Between 2013 and 2024, there were 35 collisions resulting in severe injuries and five fatal collisions, according to the city. Last year, Blake Ackerman, a 27-year-old attorney, died while biking on Fountain Avenue in a hit-and-run collision. 

But to make room for the reimagined Fountain Avenue, city staff said they would need to remove 60% of the road’s street parking. To mitigate that loss, city staff has suggested allowing residents with parking permits to use nearby parking lots.

Although it was ultimately approved, the issue caused disagreement among the five members of the City Council. Two voted against it — Meister and West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman.

The election

The future of Fountain Avenue has been a political issue at play in recent city elections, and this year is no different.

Meister and Heilman are termed out, and there are three seats on West Hollywood City Council up for grabs. 14 candidates are vying for a spot, and their views on the bike lane debate are front and center.

Incumbent Chelsea Byers, who is an advocate for the protected bike lanes, is running to retain her seat.

Several candidates have spoken out against Fountain Avenue’s planned bike lanes, including Kyle Brazeal.

Brazeal has earned the endorsements of Meister and Heilman. He told LAist he isn’t against bike lanes and believes there are other West Hollywood streets that are better candidates for cycling infrastructure.

The timeline

West Hollywood officials said construction for the first phase, including the protected bike lanes, is scheduled to begin before the end of 2026. That schedule would change if the City Council decides to pursue an alternative design.

Officials said in a report that changing the project’s scope could “jeopardize” the nearly $5 million in state grant funding it’s planned to use for construction.

City staff said in the report that if the motion is approved, it would seek clarity on how any design changes would impact grant funding and if the city would need to find alternative funding sources.