New bike lanes planned for South LA and the Valley

Last month—after a bit of controversy—the Los Angeles City Council voted to dedicate $27 million in the next fiscal year to the city’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic deaths. Already, it seems that city staffers are snapping into action, with plans materializing last week for no less than five new bike lanes totaling 17.4 miles in South LA and the San Fernando Valley.

The plans (spotted by Urbanize LA) call for street safety improvements along Hoover Street, Broadway, Avalon Boulevard, Main Street, and Sepulveda Boulevard. The proposed changes would shave a single automobile lane from sections of each street, with that space being replaced by bicycle lanes in each direction.

Here’s a breakdown of the changes:

• Hoover Street: Three miles of bike lanes would be added between Vernon Avenue and Manchester Avenue.
• South Broadway: One mile of buffered bike lanes between Manchester Avenue and Century Boulevard.
• Avalon Boulevard: 6.4 miles of bike lanes between Jefferson Boulevard and 120th Street.
• South Main Street: Four miles of bike lanes between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 92nd Street.
• Sepulveda Boulevard: Three miles of buffered bike lanes between Nordhoff Street and Rinaldi Street.

Similar street safety alterations in Playa del Rey have drawn the ire of drivers dismayed about the effects on traffic and commute times. City officials who advocate for the changes, however, say they’ll help to reduce the risk of fatalities on some of LA’s most dangerous roads.

In January, the city updated its Vision Zero action plan to help achieve Mayor Eric Garcetti’s ambitious goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2025. All five of the streets now set to receive safety-oriented updates were identified in the study as among the 40 most dangerous corridors in the city.

• City Council votes to dedicate $27M to Vision Zero, its plan to end traffic deaths [Curbed LA]
• How Los Angeles plans to make its streets less deadly [Curbed LA]
• Drivers aren’t happy about pedestrian-friendly changes in Playa del Rey [Curbed LA]