The City of West Hollywood is currently updating its Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Plan, which is expected to include new bike lanes and other important improvements.
The updated plan will be presented at several meetings in the next few months.
The more people that attend these meetings and speak up to support safer, better streets for pedestrians and bicyclists, the better our streets will become.
We need your help.  Please join us to show your support for bike lanes and other improvements!  Then spread the word.  Together, we can make a difference!

The draft plan can be downloaded here.  Please see WeHoBC statement here.

To receive email updates, sign up here:  https://wehobike.org/about-us/join/

Community Meetings

• Community Workshop
  Tuesday, Feb. 28th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
  Fiesta Hall, Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.
• Transportation Commission
  Wednesday, Mar. 15th, 7:00 PM
  First Floor Community Conference Room, City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd.
• Planning Commission
  Thursday, April 6th, 6:30 PM
  Council Chambers, West Hollywood Park, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd.
• Public Facilities Commission
  Wednesday Apr. 12th, 6:30 PM
  First Floor Community Conference Room, City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd.
• Public Safety Commission
  Wednesday, Apr. 26th, 6:30 PM
  First Floor Community Conference Room, City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd.
• City Council
  Monday, May 1st, 6:30 PM
  Council Chambers, West Hollywood Park, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd.

  Check the City’s calendar listing for each meeting to confirm agenda and location

Bicycle projects in the draft Plan

• Almont Drive neighborhood greenway
• Willoughby Avenue Greenway
• Fountain Avenue Road Diet
• Bicycle lanes on Vista St./Gardner Ave., Holloway Dr., Cynthia St. (west of San Vicente Blvd.), San Vicente and Crescent Heights Blvds. northbound from Santa Monica Blvd.,  and Beverly Blvd.
• Sharrows on Doheny Dr., Robertson Blvd. and Melrose Ave.
• Additional neighborhood greenways on Palm Ave./Cynthia St., Huntley/Sherwood/Westbourne Drs., Rosewood Ave., Norton Ave., and Formosa Ave.

If you would like to do more to promote bicycle advocacy in this Plan, or in West Hollywood in general, please join us at our meetings on the first Wednesday of each month from 6-8 PM in the Plummer Park Community Center, Art Room 2, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

As you’ve probably heard, the City of West Hollywood will be working on an update to its bike & pedestrian plan for most of this year. And on Saturday, they kicked off the public meeting component with a delightful workshop, where we gathered into groups around maps of the city and drew a wish list of bike/ped improvements.

Mayor Abbe Land was in attendance, and welcomed everyone to the workshop. “I’ve been a strong proponent of increasing biking here,” she said, pointing to the emphasis in active transportation in planning documents like the Climate Action Plan, Bike Task Force Report, and General Plan. And, she said, “it’s not like we just talk about it — we actually DO things. And we can do a lot more.” (Check out a gallery of photos from the event here.)

Consultants for the city have been collecting data since April: conducting bike counts, analyzing collision data, and identifying problem-areas. Now, they’re ready to hear from the public.

And they got an earful: by the end of the meeting, participants had heavily marked up the maps with requests for everything from traffic calming to bike racks to street furniture.

Some primary concerns that emerged:
– Safety
– Connections to nearby communities
– Education

So, what’s next? The city will hold more events, including group walks and rides, in the coming weeks. In the mean time, you can take a survey about your experiences biking in WeHo, and another about walking in WeHo.

The LACBC’s Alek Bartrosouf alerts us that we’ve reached a critical point in the campaign to install a bike lane on Lankershim Blvd. Even though this isn’t part of WeHo, we all benefit when new lanes appear in surrounding towns!

Please take a minute to email elected officials and let them know how important it is to have a complete, safe street that everyone can use.

Folks to email:

• tom.labonge@lacity.org
• sheila.irani@lacity.org
• renee.weitzer@lacity.org
• tommy.newman@lacity.org 
• councilmember.krekorian@lacity.org
• damian.carroll@lacity.org
• maral.habeshian@lacity.org
• karo.torossian@lacity.org
• bcc: alek@la-bike.org

Alek adds, “While I don’t recommend using form letters, here is one if you cannot draft your own.”

Dear Councilman Krekorian and Councilman LaBonge,

 

As a resident of (insert neighborhood here), I am writing in support of the proposed bike lanes on Lankershim.  The addition of bike lanes will only help increase safety and mobility options for people to visit prime destinations in the area and commute to work.  If we can make bike riding a safe, welcoming option, then we can relieve congestion, clean the air, and improve all of our health.

 

While I understand that these proposed bike lanes remove one travel lane, the benefits of bicycle lanes outweigh this cost.  Bike lanes will reduce motorists speeding through our community during rush hour.  Bike lanes will also help people feel comfortable riding on the street instead of the sidewalk, which is safer for them and safer for pedestrians.  Bike lanes are good for my community, and give me and my neighbors an option to bypass traffic rather than sitting in it.

 

In the end, Lankershim bike lanes will make our community feel safer and have more travel options to help people get around on foot or on two wheels.  With adequate infrastructure on our streets, I’d be more willing to ride to work, recreate, and run errands.  Thank you for your consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Name

Address

If you would like more talking points on benefits of bike lanes and want to modify this letter, please feel free to look at the summary we have generated here.  We also have reasons why the proposed Vineland bike lanes in place of Lankershim are not a good idea.  Feel free to touch on these points (or others) in your letter.

As if cars weren’t deadly enough, a new study shows 4.2% of drivers sleep while behind the wheel. Really.

Yet another reason to have physically separated bike lanes for cyclists. You never know when some snoozing driver might drift right into you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m56glR0WLuI

Knowledgable West Hollywooders already know that the city is hard at work on a redesign on the avenues south of the Pacific Design Center. New streetscapes, sidewalks, lighting, and street furniture are in the works.

A few weeks ago, the city hosted an open house to show off some potential plans and gather feedback from residents. Here’s some news coverage — along with appearances by numerous locals, officials, and cycling aficionados!

We’ve updated our bike-info resource with some stats on the heavy death toll attributable to cars.

Among the grim statistics: car crashes are the leading cause of death among children between 1 and 4. Check out our resource for more stats on just how harmful cars are.

LA Weekly recently called LA’s hit-and-run problem an “epidemic” — the comparison of car crashes to a deadly disease is quite apt.

Exciting news: the city of West Hollywood is putting out an RFP to update the bike & ped mobility plan. Tthe RFP specifically says that they’ll be working with the WeHo Bike Coalition and the community to update the plan for an expected completion date of late 2013. Details are here:

Big big thanks to the city of West Hollywood for bringing bike lanes to San Vicente! We had a grand opening this weekend, and now there’s a dedicated lane from Santa Monica all the way down to Beverly. Yay! Here’s some photos from the event:

We are totally thrilled to see new bike racks appearing in West Hollywood! Yay! But remember, park your bike lengthwise along the rack, not sticking out into traffic. That way people can get by without bumping into your bike.

In other words, don’t do this, spotted last night on Santa Monica Blvd:

Good news: Beverly Hills is taking some steps forward on bike routes and racks! But they need support to make it happen. Your presence is urgently needed at one of two upcoming meetings to advocate for streets that are safe and comfortable for cyclists of all ages and skill levels.

Here’s the details:

• When: April 11, April 25, and May 9 from 7pm to 9pm
• Where: April meetings at Public Words Bldg, 345 Foothill Road; May meeting at City Hall Room 280-A, 455 North Rexford Drive

And of course, cruise over to the Beverly Hills “Bicycle Ad Hoc Committee” Web page for official news and updates.

See you there!