Councilmember John Heilman expressed his concerns about plans for bike lanes on Santa Monica Boulevard at Monday’s City Council meeting.
I would like to thank the staff for their help and the speakers for their contribution. While I appreciate the passion some of the speakers have for cycling, I have some concerns. Some of them said that we should do anything and everything, regardless of the consequences, but it is our responsibility to consider the impact of our decisions on the community and the business community. If we remove parking, it will likely remove commercial loading zones, which can’t be replaced in many areas without allies. How will we manage this with a protected bike lane? Some of the people who drive are disabled and need parking near businesses. How do we address this issue? These are some of the things we need to consider before making any decisions.
I am also worried about the lack of public input. We haven’t heard from the average resident or the business community in a significant way. We have only heard from people who are passionate about cycling. I think we should wait until Metro is being built, as Santa Monica Boulevard will be torn up, and we might be able to come up with better options for both the cycling community and the rest of the community. I am not fully supportive of all aspects of the report, and I would like to take more time to consider the impact of our decisions.
One of the speakers said “Build it and they will come,” but I don’t believe that is accurate.
In LA, they installed protected bike lanes along Sam Center, but they are not being utilized as much as expected. The same can be seen at USC, where they invested a lot of money into protected bike lanes that are not being used. I want to improve bike safety, but I also want to be realistic.
I don’t think we can suddenly make Santa Monica Boulevard have only one lane of traffic in each direction. That would cause major problems for the community, businesses, and residents. I’m also concerned that we’re making a decision tonight without enough public input.
We haven’t heard much from the business community or the average resident. I believe we should wait until the Metro is being built because Santa Monica Boulevard will be disrupted, and this may provide us with better options for both the bicyclist community and the rest of the community. I have mixed feelings about the report, as there are some aspects I support, but others I do not.
Transcription edited for clarity.
[…] a recent article “Heilman: We must not rush bike lanes” Randy wrote: “As an avid, very pro-cyclist, even I think that throwing $22 million of taxpayer […]
Well said. A voice of reason. I’m all for a bike-friendly city, but it has to be done carefully and you can’t grind all non-bicycle transportation to a halt in the process. Case in point – Beverly Hills had the brilliant idea to knock Little SMB down to one lane for a few months for “traffic calming” a couple years ago. Everyone revolted, and the city council undid it at their first opportunity.
I’m very encouraged by this!
Bicyclists can’t expect to be accommodated to the degree they seem to be demanding it. There really aren’t that many of them but they are very vocal, entitled, ….. and self-righteous.
i ws run over by a truck last year in a non protected bike lane so i really wish you could experience that and then let’s see what you say
If we reacted by change to every bad thing that happens we wouldn’t be able to keep up with it. We can’t adjust to accommodate the victims of every accident. I’m glad you’re still here to tell the story and I hope you’ve learned not to ride your bike where there are no bike lanes.
As someone who was doored to a bloody mess across the street from the Troubadour, I would like to say this guy is wrong. Underutilization of existing bike lanes is because there is a not a safe network to get from A to B. A lot of people don’t have cars or are unable to drive. We need to offer them safe passage. The future isn’t electric cars for all. The roads have no room for them all and it’s not environmentally sustainable.
A minuscule number of people don’t have cars.
I’m not sure if you’re aware of this but there is a solution for people who don’t own cars, it’s called the bus system. Yeah, it’s not new either.
Getting doored is so scary and potentially life-ending. I’m happy to trade some inconvenience or maybe the time to figure out a different route so that fewer and fewer people die while biking or walking in WeHo and throughout LA.
Jeez John, do you think. Unless we are removing cars, how do we have car lanes, bike lanes, sidewalks for walking and accommodate ADA issues. This city is focused on all the wrong things. Streets and sidewalks crumbling, traffic light not synced, ambassadors who sleep, homeless everywhere, but yeah let’s mandate gender neutral bathrooms and unsafe bike lanes. Such a joke.
Nobody is “mandating” unsafe bike lanes. In fact, I am grateful that we have bike lanes, at all. Not all cities do, by a long stretch. I am a cyclist, and I think all of this is a big waste of time and money. Including the Fountain project. $22 million, just to do improvements to existing bike lanes on the west side. That is obscene. That could be applied to social services for the homeless, per your point about that being a problem. That money could be used for so many other things. That said, I would like to see… Read more »
Well the Metro won’t be built with a Santa Monica spur or be built for 30 years so basically no bike lanes in West Hollywood?
After the cars on fire, Fountain/Harper, I would wait a long time to get people to follow driving instructions and safety.
PS walking my dog, and waiting at corners, 3 out of 4 cars come to a rolling stop during rush hour at Wiloughtby and Harper. One always just goes through.
Bikes/scooters most don’t were helmets. Out of towers don’t stop at all. Generally I have not had great experience with either. Skateboarders stop.
Just my observations waiting at a stop sign.
I agree with you. I live off of Willoughby, and as a pedestrian, I use extreme caution when cars are going down that route. Same as when I try to cross at one of the uncontrolled pedestrian crosswalks. On Fairfax, at Romaine or Waring, I exercise even more caution. People just barrel up and down Fairfax, and they just don’t pay attention, nor do they read the signs that that is a pedestrian crosswalk. Those should be lit up, with the buttons, for pedestrians to activate, just like they have on Santa Monica Blvd., in multiple places. One is in… Read more »
The bicyclists rarely obey traffic laws. They don’t stop for Stop signs or red lights. They are constantly riding on our sidewalks–basically a hazard for everyone, including themselves.
I might support putting a small amount of money toward bike lanes if the offenders were ticketed on a regular basis.
I mean traffic fatalities are up 24% in Los Angeles but yes it’s clearly the bicyclists making things dangerous.
When was the last time someone was mowed down and killed by a cyclist on a sidewalk? Were they riding on the sidewalk due to not having a bike lane?
If they were riding on the sidewalk due to not having a bike lane they should not have been riding at all.
I spend quite a bit of time in NYC and there are bike/pedestrian fatalities there from time to time.
As an avid, very pro-cyclist, even I think that throwing $22 million of taxpayer money for protected bike lines, just on the west side, is ridiculous. I appreciate that we have the lanes we have, and was here when they installed them, in late 1999, I believe. Beverly Hills and Century City don’t even have protected lanes, I don’t think. It was a big fight to get Beverly Hills to spend $$ on this, even though they have plenty of it, and the north side of SMB had plenty, plenty of space to be reduced for bike lanes, closing the… Read more »
I live on the Eastside and I only ride my bike early on weekend mornings because it is simply not safe. But I am not buying the Eastside “equity” argument. It is about geography not politics; historically the far westside of Santa Monica was wider to accommodate all of the Red Cars entering and leaving from their depot which was where the MTA and Pacific Design Center are now. Thus we had more opportunities to make a safer, more walkable boulevard. East of La Cienega the boulevard narrowed. In front of City Hall there is no room for a bike… Read more »
Steve, you make total sense. Yes, the west side also had extra space, with the train tracks. Wish we still had streetcars. Yes, I know how narrow SMB in my part of the city is. My understanding is that the east side has 28(?) parking spaces. I don’t want it to affect our local businesses. It was just hoping it would feasible to add bike lanes, w/o removing all parking. Perhaps I wasn’t paying good enough attention when watching Monday’s meeting. My intention was for commuters, who use SMB as their corridor. What you say is probably true, and extending… Read more »
You are right! For those who live in CENTRAL West Hollywood, west of Crescent Heights, bicycles are a rarity. On Fountain you may see a dozen bikes a week. The bike riders are a small minority and not hundreds.WEHO is not Amsterdam.Who is going to ride a bike up to Sunset Blvd? On La Cienega? From Santa Monica Blvd.? Mayor Shyne? Give me a break.As for John “Oshkosh” Erickson talking about driving south to Melrose? He went on about bar hopping in the “west” side. Trust he is not driving. Unfortunately, Mr. Heilman, you were partly responsible for the ridiculous… Read more »
bull… im on a bike and see them all the time
I was leery of John Heilman when he was elected to the council as I thought he would go crazy and join Mayor Shyne in her nonsense. He seems to be taking his steps cautiously so far.As long as he is honest as he was with his statement on bicycle lanes,I will watch him and may change my mind about him.
John Heiman is doing his best to bring some balance and common sense to a Council that does not like to be confused by facts. Staff is pandering to the new Council majority rather than providing professional expertise. $22 million is a lot of money for the number of bike trips expected.
Agreed, Steve. I’m really disappointed by City Staff’s pandering and poor preparation.
The staff is pandering to the B.S. plus E. Shyne, Buyers and Erickson. None of them are native Californians but transplants from Iran, Arizona, and Wisconsin. Three very unsophisticated people may I add. Just opportunistic political hacks.
Textbook common sense from John Heilman
How is delaying planning for 30 years common sense exactly?