Vista del Mar in Playa del Rey will return to four lanes — two southbound and two northbound. Work will start 21 August. Lawsuit was filed Thursday by Keep LA Moving to restore all lanes removed by what Councilman Mike Bonin referred to as “Safe Streets.”
Work should take three weeks to restore the lanes southbound from Waterview Street to Imperial and northbound from Imperial to Napoleon Street. Parking on Vista del Mar will be removed. Culver Blvd eastbound was restored to two lanes in July.
Keep LA Moving, comprised of Playa del Rey and Manhattan Beach residents, claims that removal of lanes on Jefferson, Culver, Pershing, and Vista del Mar was illegal without an environmental review. They seek restoration of all lanes removed.
It is a “gross abuse of discretion” to remove lanes without outreach and examining potential adverse effects on congestion.
“A few additional things that might be relevant to the Venice reader is that Venice Blvd wasn’t even mentioned by Councilman Bonin when he addressed Vista del Mar,” said Alexis Edelstein of keeplamoving.com. “Also Venice Blvd all the way down to the ocean and other streets like Lincoln, Sepulveda, Centinela and others are part of Mobility 2035, a citywide initiative that includes Vision Zero.
“All these streets are targeted for a variety of traffic calming measures meant to slow down drivers.”
“Another important aspect of the lawsuit is the misappropriation of Measure M funds,” said Alix Guck sky of RecallBonin.com.
The “road diets,” as generically called, have not been popular in Los Angeles. They have slowed commuter traffic wherever they have been implemented and raised the ire of the travelers. This is the first lawsuit. It is rumored there is another one ready to be filed.
Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) says:
Occasional full street closures will occur during night hours only.
During the duration of construction, it is recommended that commuters plan ahead and look for alternate ways to travel. Alternative east/west routes are Imperial Highway and Westchester Parkway; alternative north/south routes are Pershing Drive, Lincoln and Sepulveda Boulevards, and the 405 Freeway. Beach parking is available at the beach parking lots.
Additionally, the Bureau of Engineering also has an ongoing construction project that may intermittently restrict southbound traffic to one lane daily before 3 pm.
For project updates, please visit: https://www.safestreetspdr.org/vdm/
