Broadway Road Diet Will Cut Cars and Prep For Streetcar

From a growing retail scene to a future arts center, Downtown's once-grand Broadway is slowly getting its groove back. Part of the improvements, which are being pushed by Councilmember Jose Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway initiative, is a road diet, intended to calm vehicular traffic and make the street a nicer place to stroll. A "dress rehearsal" for the road diet will begin this year, according to BBB's website, though there aren't specifics on the exact start of implementation. The dress rehearsal will bring semi-permanent changes to Broadway that include reconfiguring the street from four traffic lanes to three between Second and Eleventh Streets. Bus service will be streamlined, crosswalk widths shortened so it's easier for pedestrians to get across the street, and 24-hour curbside parking and loading will be added as a boon to businesses. The changes will set "the stage for the future Downtown L.A. Streetcar," which is set to arrive in a few years.
· Broadway Streetscape Plan / Road Diet [BBB]