As the November City Council election nears, Mayor John Erickson and his running mate, Danny Hang, want to talk about the minimum wage. Candidate Larry Block seems focused on empty store fronts. But the issue that has provoked the heretofore silent majority of West Hollywood residents are the plans for the “Re-Design” of Fountain Avenue. Voters are both astounded and outraged by the plans being forced upon our community without meaningful public input.
On Monday, the City Council will likely vote to accept a grant from the California Air Resources Control Board that will provide funding for a number of transportation related projects, including a $5 million dollar grant for the Fountain “Re-Design”. Mayor Erickson is calling this grant “free money”. I call it arrogant and irresponsible as the City has made not done a traffic study to show the impact of the plan on Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards. Nor has the City requested that the Fire Department or the Sheriff provide feedback on how reducing Fountain to one lane will impact response times.
In case you have living under a rock, the Fountian “Re-Design” involves installing “protected” bike lanes along the curb, with parking, where possible, on the left of the bike lanes, while sidewalks will be widened. To accommodate these goals, Fountain will be reduced to one lane in either direction.
While those of us who live near Fountain agree that traffic should be slowed and the sidewalks in certain areas be widened to accommodate people with disabilities. But this half-baked proposal is being moved forward on Monday will remove (by the City’s count), 250 parking spaces and wreak havoc on traffic patterns.
More importantly, Mayor Erickson is hoping that by accepting the grant, the City can thwart public opposition to the plan and indeed, end the conversation.
At a public meeting on August 22nd, City Staff indicated that the plans for Fountain were simply an informal “sketch” and that nothing was laid in stone. The grant application tells a completely different story; it makes it appear that the City has already adopted the “Re-Design Plan”. Indeed, the Grant calls for community outreach, to “educate the public about the benefits of the project” and those efforts will be assisted by Bike LA, which is hardly an unbiased party. Furthermore, the Grant indicates that “outreach” will be to “residents and stake holders” and will include on-line outreach. This means that the Bicycle Coalition and Streets for All will be able to skewer whatever conversations take place. While staff is telling us there is time for public input, the Grant indicates that the plan is already a done deal. Furthermore, the Grant mandates the City to break ground 15 months from the acceptance of the Grant. That means early 2026.
We should remember that this is the same process the City used to manipulate the numbers for the 2022 community survey. The on-line survey was open to anyone who wanted to log on, including non-residents members of the Bike Coalition. Unsurprisingly it reflected that 62% of the on-line survey participants favored “protected bike lanes”, which would require Fountian to be reduced to one lane in either direction.
It is clear there is overwhelming opposition to this proposal by residents who will be impacted by the “Re-Design” Plan. But our voices have been systematically excluded by a process that was manipulated to appease the City Council majority.
To my knowledge only two candidates for City Council, John Erickson and Danny Hang, have come out in support of the “Re-Design”. While that is not explicit on their websites, it was explicated stated in their endorsement by Streets For All, a pro-bike advocacy lobby. Indeed Hang, in his response to their questionnaire, even supported creating “exclusive bus lanes” on Santa Monica Boulevard during rush hour.
I am not aware of any of the other City Council candidates supporting the Fountain “Re-Design”. At the August 22nd public meeting in Plummer Park, candidates George Nickle, Zekiah Wright and Jordan Cockeram spoke out passionately against the “Re-Design”.
Accepting this grant before the election and before meaningful public participation will only create more problems for the City. Aside from alienating residents, the next City Council can vote to rescind the Grant request. We need to vote for folks who will do exactly that.
But in the meantime, please let your voice be heard on this issue. It is Item E(1) on Monday’s City Council agenda and if you cannot be there in person, you can comment online.
Steve Martin
I was hit on the sidewalk near the grove on 3rd street! Not by a car but a scooter who according to witnesses was going top speed. I am a small 72 year activity woman. I walk a lot the scooter hit me so hard from behind. Knocking me down and the rider took off living me on the ground. No broken bones thank god but lots of soft tissue damage and pain! Be careful out there. Let’s have bike lanes and have scooters there!
Fantastic!! They should abolish cars all throughout Fountain and turn it into a exclusive public transit and bicycles corridor. This city is infested with obese unhealthy drugs addicted people, enough with this repulsiveness that has its core on this horrible car culture
And the scooters blocking me in to even drive and never stop at stops. Get real
At 16 my friends and I got tickets for riding in a crosswalk Laurel Canton Victory. We had to go to see a judge and everyone here is more entitled to scooter and all other weird modes of transportation and not follow laws.
Start with the basics. Give out tickets for stopping. It will make more money than using the dirty micro mini parking meters
Try being color blind using meters and trying to clean them.
You will increase pollution for all those crawling in one lane. Taipei shows an increase in Lung Cancer with non smokers due to Particulate Matter 2.5 microns. I have worn a mask now for 7 years to go outside I want to thank you for adding to my long cancer since I just moved north of Fountain. I can barely breathe in this Los Angeles —-school training in SF valley Air so brown no one saw any hills or mountains when training for track. No stage one alerts —-fires anywhere and the wind bring killer particles —-gardeners blow around anything… Read more »
OMG, I can’t wait to be able to bike and walk safely on the main east-west thoroughfare in the City I’ve called home for 10 years!
Anyone that thinks this is a good idea needs to go see how its working in Hollywood on Hollywood Blvd. Road diet traffic jam causing a commuter nightmare.
NYC did a full bike lane on most large streets. All I hear is NYC IS IMMOBILIZED buy the decision to take car lanes for bicycles
Stop allowing hundreds of new apt. building and office buildings that get approved for construction without proper traffic and safety studies being conducted. These projects bring more people and more cars to our streets, adding to our already horrible traffic conditions. Ever think how 200 or 300 new cars dumping onto La Brea, Wilshire or any other street, affects traffic? How can you even think of eliminating traffic lanes without addressing the real problem, that we keep adding to the car problem. We need to look at why bicycle use, works in Europe and other places and doesn’t work here.… Read more »
I’m clutching my pearls. Since second of Heilman began WEHO IS IN THE BUSINESS OF MAJOR DEVELOPERS.
Why – it’s the monarchy of the secret actions and no or false public statement. Weho is it’s oligarchy – taking the crumbs (albeit a lot of money for City Council & part time law school professor.
Why isn’t this article labeled as an “Opinion” piece?
Steve is on the wrong side of this issue. Bike lanes and more pedestrian friendly streets are LONG overdue ! LA and WeHo way behind the curve. We need to move away from being car centric and car “first” on all our streets. Getting more residents to walk, bike and use public transportation a great thing and will improve the live ability of our city. Bravo for those leaders standing up against the tired status quo!
Agree on your principles and ideas, but (check me but pretty sure), The VAST majority of cars are just driving through WeHo to get to work & back all all other normal life things for L.A.
It’s a very 1990’s-era thinking that we need to prioritize and accommodate vehicle traffic above pedestrians and bikes (you know – ACTUAL HUMANS) who call the city home. You don’t like car traffic? No one does! SO let’s build denser housing, widen sidewalks, encourage ground floor retail spaces, and make the city for HUMANS not cars. If you’re stuck in 1990 I encourage you to go outside, take a look at the date on your iPhone and notice that it’s 2024. If you prefer your city to be frozen in amber, I encourage you to grow up and learn that… Read more »
Bike lanes on Fountain will force commuter traffic to Beverly Boulevard and radically reduce the lovely scents cars send into the air. And I guess no one is going to get run over by a car on Fountain if this happens. That’s why I oppose it. It will hurt my business.
I totally agree with Steve. No input from Fire Dept., law enforcement, or residents is unconscionable! Hollywood Blvd. has been fouled up by the same redesign. I was the 6th car trying to get into the left turn lane on Hollywood going east at Western, but the left arrow turned red. I could not move into the left turn lane and all the cars behind me could not get around me due to the parked cars. Result: nobody in the ONE traffic lane could drive forward. Residents use all these East-West streets to go to/from work on the West Side.… Read more »
A constant problem will be the roadblock created whenever a vehicle stops in the travel lane to make a delivery or conduct other residential business.