West Hollywood is engaging the bike community as it looks to update its bicycle and pedestrian plan at the end of the year.
On Saturday, June 15, the city held the first of three community workshops. Attendees asked about more bike racks, streetscape improvements and traffic-calming measures, while the city presented data that staff members have collected since April, including bike counts at intersections, collision data and problem-areas.
“It’s not like we just talk about it — we actually do things. And we can do a lot more,” said Mayor Abbe Land, who made a presentation at the workshop. Participants gathered into groups around maps of WeHo and drew wish lists of bike and pedestrian improvements.
The data showed that Santa Monica Boulevard, which features bike lanes in some areas, is by far the main thoroughfare for cyclists. It’s also where WeHo’ans are most likely to see a crash between bikes and cars, and bikes and pedestrians.
The primarily concerns among those who attended were biking safety, connections to nearby communities and education.
West Hollywood will hold two more community workshops, the first in July and second in October. Design planning will start in August, and a final draft will be presented to the City Council in December.
In July, the city will hold a number of group walks and rides, and is also asking WeHo’ans to complete a survey about their experiences biking or walking in WeHo.
The “Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan,” a response to resident concerns about walking and bicycle safety, traffic and use of streets and sidewalks, was first put together in 2003. In 2011, the city’s Bike Task Force added a report that provided further recommendations.
Below are powerpoint slides from the city’s presentation at the workshop.
i totally agree with the comments above….one weird observation is that the pic being used above is THE very crosswalk where 2 guys were struck and killed by a bus…..AND to make matters worse, the city has done ZILCH to improve this and all other crosswalks in the city…..better street lighting at all walks so drivers can see people, and bigger/better flashing lights to alert drivers….what gives city hall????…i thought we are flush with funds to spend on all kinds of toys (city hall auto garage) and BS (rainbow crosswalks)
I’m all for bikeways (I even developed one for my college campus) but it seems we are living out the “if we build it they will come” viewpoint. I don’t have a car or a bicycle so I do a lot of walking. Rarely do I see bicycles using the established bikeways on Santa Monica or San Vicente. I see lots of bicycles on the sidewalks. I’ve had to move to keep from being hit. I don’t really understand why those who ride bicycles can’t be more respectful of those of us walking, especially when they have their own lanes.… Read more »
Possible dupe: ,Hwy 2 is not just a weho street. We are “not an island”. For safety reasons, thank God I never had to ride a bike back and forth from Century City. The same holds true for bicycle riders as motorcycles riders…..it is not IF an accident will happen but WHEN. I personally witnessed two accidents, both times the fault of the bicyclist. I unfortunately do not respect bicycle drivers because they do not follow the rules of the road. In my life I may have seen a bicycle driver make a full stop twice. They rarely ever signal.… Read more »