On the heels of Mayor Villaraigosa's November 26th press conference announcing his new "Olympic-West Pico-East Traffic Initiative”(1), several groups, who had fought this battle only 8 months prior, put aside their yule tide spirits and mobilized once again. In the peak of the holiday season, neighborhood councils, business groups and home owner associations were caught completely off guard, along with a majority of the L.A. City Council, by what appeared to be a strategically timed fast-track through the bureaucratic process. The mayor's new initiative had not been vetted to the community and was scheduled for implementation in January 2008. As a result, groups of business and community leaders descended on the December 3rd Traffic Committee Special Meeting to voice their opposition as well as the neglect they felt by being left out of the decision-making process; a process clearly stated in the city's charter that involves getting feedback from neighborhood councils and other community groups.
First of all, this initiative is not so new. It's actually the same wolf proposed by Councilmember Yaroslavsky in April 2007 but in different sheep's clothing. In January of 2007, Zev Yaroslavsky "hired a traffic consultant to analyze the feasibility of turning Olympic and Pico Boulevards into one-way streets from downtown Los Angeles to the City of Santa Monica."(2) The study, called the "Olympic/Pico One-Way Pair Initial Feasibility Study" was penned by Allyn D. Rifkin, P.E., presented to the Traffic Commission in April and given the file number 07-1199. The committee decided to request the Dept. of Transportation to review and analyze Councilmember Yaroslavsky's feasibility study, do some community outreach and report back in 60 days.
When the D.O.T. commenced with their outreach, the public was vehemently opposed to the proposal. Townhall Meetings in several impacted areas resulted in record high attendance by outraged citizens and businesses. Since July 2007 until the announcement of the mayor's new initiative there's been no ongoing dialogue with the community regarding any changes or re-proposing of Councilmember Yaroslavsky's original plan. It appeared to the community that their voices were heard and the initiative had been defeated. It's no surprise that the community was startled and outraged with the mayor's new "Olympic-West Pico-East Traffic Initiative" unveiled on November 26th (under the same city file number #07-1199).
Although presented with a bright and shiny new name, this new proposal bears no significant difference to the end result of it's predecessor. It's slippery schedule of implementation is split into 3 phases, however, it's clearly aimed at attaining the same goal: to create 2 one-way streets. Some will argue that the inclusion of a contra lane to accommodate busses is technically not a one-way street but that would be splitting hairs. The result is still predominantly one-way corridors. One might ask, " Why are we doing this at the expense of businesses, neighborhoods and community if the result produces no long-term sustainable solution?" The answer is, "We shouldn't." Are there other agendas at work here? Do politicos need to hang their star on a temporary solution to bolster their own public opinion polls? Are there hip-pocket developers waiting in the wings to snap-up prime boulevard real estate at a deep discount? After all, the new initiative would strip away valuable customer street parking forcing small businesses to close their doors, thereby reducing the value of commercial real estate – a great opportunity for larger developers to raise buildings much like what is happening along mid-Wilshire. What we should be doing is addressing the infrastructure of traffic in L.A. and creating a system that works in the long view instead of using solutions that are outdated and unsuccessful. Perhaps focusing on moving people instead of cars is the answer.
No one solution will address all the traffic problems that face L.A. but with smart planning, informed progressive politicians who show leadership along with citizenry that care, we can make it work. It's for this reason that this ad hoc coaltion was started. We're here to raise our voices, express our concerns and utilize every resource and braintrust in our majestic city to work together to bring about change that makes sense – keeping L.A. one of the best places to live.
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(1) Source: Mayor's 11/26/07 Press Release.
(2) Source: L.A. Traffic Commission Meeting Minutes – January 2007.
