Breaking: Delay on Pico/Olympic plan

The city of Los Angeles has agreed to delay for three weeks a plan to try to speed up traffic on Olympic and Pico boulevards on the Westside, according to the office of the city attorney. Implementation of the plan, proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was supposed to begin March 8.

Two groups filed individual suits last week to stop the plan, which they allege was not properly studied under California environmental law. The groups — the Westwood South of Santa Monica Boulevard Homeowners Assn. and the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce — fear that the plan will actually put more cars on both streets and affect businesses and residences.

The city’s plan is to synchronize traffic signals to give an advantage to westbound traffic on Olympic and eastbound traffic on Pico. In addition, the city wants to eliminate most street parking on both streets during the morning and afternoon rush hours to give an extra lane to vehicles.

— Steve Hymon

Comments

[Larry Scholnick]

One of the most controversial parts of the plan deals with the stretch of Pico Blvd between the City of Santa Monica and I-405. A recent editorial noted that it could take more than 20 minutes to traverse that 2-mile stretch on certain afternoons. The proposed solution was rush-hour parking restrictions, allowing 3 lanes of eastbound traffic in the afternoon. The complaint is that this would choke local business because there is no off-street parking in the area.

This ignores the effect of Gateway Blvd, which is the slant street that connects Ocean Park Blvd at Bundy Drive with Pico Blvd just west of Sawtelle Blvd. No matter what they do in terms of parking restrictions on Pico Blvd between the Santa Monica border and just west of the Pico Blvd/Gateway Blvd intersection, a substantial proportion of the eastbound capacity of Pico Blvd as it crosses Sawtelle Blvd is taken by traffic that has taken Gateway Blvd northeast from Ocean Park Blvd.

There is only one solution that I can imagine that will solve this issue.

Provide another eastbound outlet for this traffic. Where, you may ask? Exposition Blvd. By eliminating parking on Exposition Blvd between Pico/Gateway Blvds and Westwood Blvd, and extending Exposition Blvd a few blocks from Westwood Blvd to Overland Avenue, you provide at least one and perhaps 2 eastbound lanes of traffic crossing Sawtelle Blvd, I-405, and Sepulveda Blvd. There would have to be a new traffic signal on Exposition Blvd at Sawtelle Blvd, at Westwood Blvd, at Overland Ave, and perhaps at Military Ave, replacing the 4-way Stop Sign there. This route should be the signed route to reach eastbound I-10 from Pico/Sawtelle and from Pico/Gateway.

Although this plan will inevitably be opposed by the Westwood South homeowners, it should be done for the greater good of the commuting public.