The most car centric city in the US –Los Angeles– just voted overwhelming approval (63-37%) for a measure that will change the way roads work in the future.
The Healthy Streets LA act requires street repaving as the condition for which the city must implement bus, bike and walk improvements in the city's Mobility Plan. Approved in 2015 and 2016, that plan remains predominantly unimplemented. The city also adopted a Vision Zero policy to eliminate traffic deaths by 2035 - but in recent years traffic deaths have risen to their highest levels in decades.
There are flaws with Measure HLA, namely in failing to prioritize less advantaged neighborhoods and its lack of bike lane connectivity, but its support in the community shows that the everyday assumptions about car supremacy aren’t what they used to be.
From the Los Angeles Times:
“This says people in Los Angeles want change, they want safer streets, and they want the city to follow through on their promises,” said Michael Schneider, who has led the HLA campaign and is executive director of the advocacy group Streets for All, which conceived the measure.
Measure HLA requires Los Angeles to re-engineer some of the region’s most storied boulevards, reducing traffic lanes, building more space for bicyclists and buses, and providing better protections for pedestrians. It calls for 238 miles of protected bike lanes, hundreds more unprotected lanes and 300 miles of improvements for buses, including designated lanes and signal prioritization for public transit.
Now it’s time for San Diego to step up to the plate. We’re in the planning stages for a much needed change in the way the government views transportation priorities.
So far a few people have made a lot of noise about any actions to broad use of the city’s streets. They’ve lied -claiming mass community support but unable to draw more than a handful of people to a rally-, they’ve cheated -remember the petition that turned out to be signed by many non-residents–, and they’ve failed to predict the lack of consequences –businesses not closing en masse–of adding a bike lane to 30th Street.
Over the next few weeks the City is inviting residents to weigh in on its Draft Mobility Master Plan. (You might want to bookmark this post for when the inevitable ‘nobody told us’ whiners are vying for media attention in a couple of years)
What’s at stake here is a comprehensive transportation planning effort to create a balanced, equitable and sustainable mobility system for the benefit of all San Diego residents and visitors. It’s being developed to guide investments in areas with the greatest needs, promote pedestrian safety along with advancing the goals of the Climate Action Plan and the General Plan.
Seven “open house” style events are being held by The City’s Sustainability and Mobility Department at local libraries to answer questions and gather feedback on the plan. An additional virtual open house will occur Thursday, April 4 from 6-7pm on Zoom.
Of particular importance to community members should be the list of mobility projects along with new program options such as neighborhood shuttles, micro mobility services, and transit fare subsidies.
This is a big deal. For years our transportation systems have been auto-centric, and supporters of the status quo have been the loudest voices in the room. Too much of our working, housing, shopping, and recreational systems are built with the presumption that things will not change.
But things are going to change.. Global climate change means that things are going to have to be done differently. Governments are smart to start planning out necessary transitions. The day of personal carbon fuel powered vehicles is coming to an end, and switching over to electric powered personal transportation falls way short of what will be needed for this oncoming existential crisis.
Here’s the list of meetings.
Monday, March 11, 2024
3:30 - 5:30 p.m., San Ysidro Library, 4235 Beyer Blvd., San Diego, CA 92173
Thursday, March 14, 2024
3:30 - 5:30 p.m., City Heights/Weingart Library, 3795 Fairmount Ave., San Diego, CA 92105
Monday, March 18, 2024
3:30 - 5:30 p.m., Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library, 5148 Market St., San Diego, CA 92114
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
2 - 4 p.m., Rancho Bernardo Library, 17110 Bernardo Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92128
Thursday, March 21, 2024
3:30 - 5:30 p.m., Mira Mesa Library, 8405 New Salem St., San Diego, CA 92126
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
2 - 4 p.m., Linda Vista Library, 2160 Ulric St., San Diego, CA 92111
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Pacific Beach/Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St., San Diego, CA 92109
Thursday, April 4, 2024
6 - 7 p.m., virtual open house on Zoom.
For more information, including project updates, presentations and access to the Plan and the comment portal, visit the Mobility Master Plan webpage. Questions can be directed to sustainability@sandiego.gov.
UPDATE: Good news for City Heights
City Heights Gets $3.3 Million CARB Grant to Develop Bike, Pedestrian Infrastructure via Brooke Binkowski at Times of San Diego
The latest grant is part of City Heights CDC’s ongoing plan to “advance community infrastructure and increase transportation options via sustainable redevelopment and anti-displacement policies,” according to the organization.
“This $3.3 million grant will be used to enhance and amplify approved SANDAG-led capital improvement projects, bolstering transportation options and sustainability in City Heights,” Alexis Villanueva, executive director of City Heights CDC, said in a statement.
“Working with our co-applicant for the grant, SANDAG, we are proud we can bring efficient, clean and sustainable mobility options to City Heights. We are thrilled to receive this grant, which offers another testament to our original mission.”