2017 Los Angeles CD5 Endorsement: Jesse Creed

Primary Election day: Tuesday, March 7, 7am-8pm
Find your Council District: http://neighborhoodinfo.lacity.org/
Find your polling place: http://lavote.net/locator

Los Angeles’ 5th Council District, which takes in Westside neighborhoods east of the 405 freeway, is an area of enormous but mostly untapped potential for active transportation. As the home to UCLA and its dynamic student population, a thriving office district in Century City, three brand new Expo Line stations with a planned Purple Line extension in the works, and residents yearning for alternatives to soul-crushing traffic; the district is well positioned and in desperate need to chart a bold new course toward better and more sustainable mobility options.

Unfortunately, under incumbent Councilmember Paul Koretz, residents have seen a string of missed opportunities to create safer streets, from a sidewalk never added near an Expo Line stop to a gap in the Expo bike path that remains unfilled. One welcome exception to this trend has been the road diet and bike lanes along Motor Avenue in Palms, which have helped to revitalize an emerging community hub. And Koretz’ role in overseeing the construction of the Expo Line itself, now a rousing success, should be acknowledged – even if he seeks to distance himself from the failure to grade-separate the crossing at Overland Avenue.

But there is one particular missed opportunity that overshadows the rest. When presented with a chance to address a long history of crashes and injuries along a crucial cycling route to UCLA, Koretz abandoned all pretense of working toward consensus on bike safety improvements for Westwood Boulevard. Not content to stop there, Koretz poured considerable energy into denying future generations the mere possibility of those improvements by getting even a broad vision of bike lanes on Westwood removed from Mobility Plan 2035, short-circuiting more than four years of public input. Koretz consistently expresses support for environmental issues, but he fails to connect that commitment to urban policies, and to prioritizing active transportation as an alternative to driving.

Jesse Creed, on the other hand, has been a breath of fresh air, having articulated a strong vision for making it safe for Angelenos of all ages, abilities, and travel modes to get around, recently expanded on in a December 2016 op-ed for the L.A. Daily News. In his response to our questionnaire, Creed showed an impressive commitment to the safety of the most vulnerable users of L.A.’s streets, calling attention specifically to the challenges facing seniors and youth.

Creed also voiced support for completing the promised, but never-finished, study of Westwood traffic safety, and for bringing all stakeholders back to the table to arrive at a workable solution. He also emphasized that in order to lead, one must eventually move from listening and consensus-building to action, and “make decisions based on facts.” We think the facts support a decision to install the bike lanes, and after his recent press conference in which he reiterated his commitment to improving safety on Westwood, we are heartened to see that Creed is willing to consider those facts.

The rest of Creed’s questionnaire response is impressive for its breadth and depth of knowledge, touching on the need for thoughtful expansion of L.A.’s nascent bike share system, the opportunity presented by Measure M local return to expand the City’s investment in livable streets, and a note of urgency on L.A.’s Vision Zero initiative, which holds a great deal of potential but has suffered from a lack of visible progress so far.

For these reasons, we are excited to see Creed emerge as a prominent challenger in the Council District 5 race, and we look forward to seeing him provide the leadership needed to work toward safer and more sustainable transportation alternatives for all of the district’s residents. We endorse Jesse Creed as an outstanding leader who will help Council District 5 to realize its full potential.

(See below for Jesse Creed’s response to Bike The Vote L.A.)

1. What role do you see for walking, biking, and transit in improving the lives of Angelenos?

While Los Angeles has come a long way in just the past decade, we still don’t have a transportation system that provides great options to get around safely, regardless of their age, ability, or the way they travel. People feel trapped on the Westside with no good way to get in and out of their neighborhoods for several hours each day. Meetings get scheduled to avoid traffic and parents lose precious time with their children while idling in gridlock.  We need to make District 5, and the whole city, more transit-oriented with mobility options that are safe, widely accessible, reliable, and affordable to everyone. Implicit in that vision is the need to protect our most vulnerable community members: older adults aging-in-place in our wonderful neighborhoods, children walking and biking to school, and students traveling to UCLA. If we prioritize walking, biking, and public transit, we can help make Los Angeles a place that’s easier to get around, while reducing the number of people stuck in our notorious traffic.

I encourage you to read my op ed in the Daily News to get a sense of my thinking on transportation issues through the lens of one part of the network.  You can read it here  http://www.dailynews.com/opinion/20161210/la-leaders-must-step-up-on-sidewalk-safety-guest-commentary

2. In 2015, Los Angeles approved Mobility Plan 2035, the first update to the Transportation Element of its General Plan since 1999. Mobility Plan 2035 puts “safety first” in transportation decisions, and provides a vision for a transportation system composed of safe and quality transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and automotive options. Do you support the goals of this plan, and how would you like to see the plan implemented in CD5?

Yes.  Council District 5 has some of the best neighborhoods in terms of quality of life, but we also have huge job centers that generate an incredible amount of traffic on our major streets: Wilshire, Santa Monica, Sepulveda, Overland, Westwood/National, and Ventura—not to mention the 405. These streets can’t handle the demand if everyone drives, so it’s important that we build streets that support other modes. Mobility Plan 2035 is a smart approach: it recognizes that not every street can prioritize every mode, but that every mode needs a complete network. That allows the City to focus on bus and bike lanes where they will have the most benefit to the system.

Mobility Plan 2035 also revolutionizes the City’s approach to neighborhood traffic management by establishing a clear set of standards to keep cut-through traffic off neighborhood streets and prioritize walking and biking on the neighborhood network. This is another win-win—residents desperately want traffic calming, and it can be implemented in a way that creates a family-friendly bike network that connects schools, parks, and other local destinations.

3. Mobility Plan 2035 enacted a ‘Vision Zero’ for Los Angeles, with the goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths within 20 years. In order to meet this goal, LADOT identified a “High Injury Network” to prioritize safety improvements on L.A.’s most dangerous streets. However, after a year and a half, we still haven’t seen much action to reduce transportation-related deaths on City streets. What do you see as the hold-ups for improving safety on Los Angeles streets, and how would you work to address these impediments in reducing speeding to save lives?

LADOT has a mandate to reduce fatalities and serious injuries 20% by 2017. Well, it’s already 2017 and we’re not on track – not even close. We need to act faster and to treat traffic deaths like the public health crisis they are. In District 5, we’re fortunate to have relatively little violent crime (though that is changing). Instead, our residents are more likely to be killed or seriously injured while crossing the street, riding their bike, or driving their car. As the LADOT statistics show, older adults and young children are at the greatest risk, so safe routes to schools and improvements near senior centers – including our sidewalks – are particularly important.

Intransigence from some members of the Council has been a significant factor. Council members have a responsibility to listen to and respect their constituents, but in the face of a crisis, a true leader shouldn’t be paralyzed just because they don’t have 100% consensus. The focus should be on safety first and to listen to a greater cross-section of the community and work to build consensus, be open and honest, and make decisions based on facts

The High Injury Network identifies multiple streets in District 5, including Westwood, Santa Monica, Pico, 3rd, Beverly, Fairfax, and Ventura.  Based on community feedback, I would add Overland Ave. near the Expo line as a dangerous street as well, where an organized group of nearby residents is publicly protesting the speed of vehicles on the now six-lane highway.  If elected, I would sit down as soon as possible with LADOT to understand what projects are planned along these streets and get to work engaging stakeholders along each corridor.

4. Angelenos recently approved Metro’s transportation funding plan, Measure M, with an impressive mandate of support from over 71% of voters. What opportunities do you see for Measure M to improve the options for how Angelenos get around? Given that Measure M will return millions of dollars directly to the City of Los Angeles each year, do you support increasing the funding the City allocates to making it easier and safer for Angelenos to walk and bike?

Measure M is an important statement that Angelenos are willing to invest in improving their own mobility. It is a mandate to redouble our efforts to build transit, walking, and biking infrastructure so that we can have the more balanced transportation system that voters are demanding. The transit projects promised by Measure M—including the Purple Line extension to Westwood and the Sepulveda Pass transit project— will be the most exciting things to happen in the next term of the CD5 councilmember.  But the projects will only achieve their potential if the City makes the streets around each station more accessible for walking, biking, and buses, which are how over 90% of Metro customers access transit. I am aware of the great planning for first and last-mile that is starting to happen at Metro and support it wholeheartedly.  But I’m equally aware that the wrong leadership in a particular district can thwart Metro’s efforts, as I described in my Daily News op ed.

Mobility Plan 2035 calls for 20% of local return to be dedicated for walking and biking. The City currently only dedicates 10% of Measure R. I support Mobility Plan 2035’s dedication of funding. I also would make sure that all projects funded through local return are compliant with complete streets, which will require greater coordination between LADOT and BSS.

5. There is universal agreement that Westwood Boulevard is a dangerous street for people walking and bicycling. Westwood Boulevard is identified as a corridor on LADOT’s High Injury Network, bike lanes were considered a priority in the 2010 Bike Plan, and the project has wide community support, including from UCLA and the Westwood Village Improvement Association. However, implementation of continuous bicycle infrastructure on Westwood has stalled for years. Prioritization of safety improvements for the street was removed from the Mobility Plan 2035 by an amendment co-authored by Councilmember Koretz. Will you commit to implementing quality bicycle infrastructure on Westwood Boulevard during the next Council term? (If not, what specific alternative do you support to improve the safety of people walking and bicycling in the area, and to address the high rate of crashes related to speeding on Westwood Boulevard?)

Absolutely, the current situation is incredibly dangerous for people walking and biking—and driving too. Councilmember Koretz’s flip-flopping on this issue is a complete failure of leadership. It is not ok to say that a street on the High Injury Network is too dangerous to be improved, which is essentially Koretz’s position. The City’s job is to make it not dangerous. We need to complete the LADOT study, evaluate what makes sense in partnership with all community stakeholders, and commit to moving forward with safety improvements on Westwood. We might not get to 100% consensus, but I believe we can come up with a solution that satisfies the reasonable majority that wants to make things better.

6. Bike share systems have started to be installed across Los Angeles, but as systems expand to different areas of Los Angeles and neighboring cities, experts foresee two major obstacles: stations that are discontinuous/too far apart and stations with unsafe walking conditions that limit access. How would you envision the growth of bike share in the City of Los Angeles and regionally?

It is incredibly exciting that Los Angeles finally has bike share, and I support the expansion of the bike share system.  In the short term, I’d like to see the bike share program built along the Expo Line in my district, specifically near the Palms station.  That said, I recognize that bike share works best when there is a minimum station density that makes the system useful and when it is installed in walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods. Downtown certainly fits that mold.  While I want CD5 to get a bikeshare program, it might make more sense for the City to expand out from Downtown more methodically, even if that means taking longer to get to other parts of Los Angeles. I want to see the program set up for success more than anything.

Below is 2017 City Council District 5 Candidate Paul Koretz’ full questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.:

1. What role do you see for walking, biking, and transit in improving the lives of Angelenos?

I took a trip with an LA transportation planner friend to China in 1998. We visited a number of cities, most notably Beijing. Their system was one that I would to see us emulate. Millions of people were using bicycles, transit, and walking to get around. People were using bicycles everywhere. It was incredible. Hardly any private ownership of cars.

We met with government leaders and spoke with them about how difficult it was to get the public to move toward bicycles and to create bicycle lanes and paths in a built-out city where streets were designed for cars, like Los Angeles. We explained that we were trying to figure out how to move in their direction transportation-wise, and strongly encouraged them not to copy Los Angeles as they become more affluent and people want private ownership of cars. As the world knows now, they didn’t listen to us. Beijing traffic is a parking lot, and air quality is worse than LA on its worst day ever. Gas masks abound, and one can always see the air.

BICYCLING
We need to have a system of bike lanes that is connected enough that less skillful cyclists can get to their destinations without fear of being hit. Right now, most of our system is still bits and pieces. We need to move towards a connected system that would allow a much higher percentage of cyclists to get to their destinations by bicycle. (Personally, I did the 500 mile+ California AIDS Ride, but I don’t possess the skill to ride my bicycle safely to work at City Hall on a major commercial street like Beverly Boulevard without a bike lane). I have
helped us to move in that direction. Working with the late Bill Rosendahl, we had the City commit to spending a percentage of our Measure R funds on bicycle and pedestrian improvements, which I believe was a first. I also helped get a substantial grant in the Mid-City West area for bike lane funding. Years ago, I cast the deciding vote to create the bike lanes on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood when I was on the City Council there. I have also been a supporter of bikesharing, and unsuccessfully objected to Los Angeles selecting a different vendor than other Westside Cities. We must make those systems work together for bikesharing to be as effective as possible.

PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS
The logical thing to do to help people walk more (remember the song “Nobody Walks in LA”?) is to make crossings safer. As bureaucratic and costly as our process is, I have gotten new traffic signals added, with more in the process of being installed, like those on Pico Boulevard. There are more in the queue, including an important one on La Brea. I have also pushed our transportation bureaucracy to add a few seconds to crossings where senior citizens don’t have enough time. In addition, the City of Los Angeles, at my request, is about to put in a mid-block crossing on Westwood Blvd. between Kinross and Weyburn in the Village, to make one of the most dangerous, frequently jaywalked spots safer. Also, we have abandoned some underground street crossings near schools because of dangers of adults loitering in the crossing and causing trouble. I believe those issues can be overcome and those crossings re-opened.

TRANSIT
Like bicycling, but even more so, connectivity is crucial. I believe many more people will use LYFT, Uber, taxis shuttles, bicycles and walking for the last mile, but 5, 10, even 20 mile gaps in our transit system make it almost impossible to rely on these transit options as an alternative to the automobile. Also, some flaws such as the atgrade crossing of EXPO at Overland and Westwood slow north-south traffic while reducing east-west traffic. I fought against that element of the EXPO line once I was elected to Council, but it was already a done deal, and the EXPO Board voted unanimously for the at-grade crossing. I was appointed to the Board after that.

I have helped to get the EXPO Line built while a member of the EXPO Board, and have supported the Purple Line connecting much of my district to transit.

I am pushing for adoption of a different mode of transportation, Personalized Rapid Transit, or PRT, to fill the gaps in our system. It is inexpensive (roughly 20 million dollars a mile!), quick to build, partly because it is largely prefabricated, cheap to maintain, bypasses stops until the destination is reached, and at top speed (with the newest technology being modeled in Tel Aviv) can travel 155 miles an hour. It is a system of above-ground automated vehicles that provide a personally safe environment because, the way in which its designed, you are only physically travelling with your those in your own party. Also, PRT exists in various places in the world, including an older system in Morgantown, West Virginia, which has a history of no fatalities.

A complete PRT system could be built that connects all the gaps in our system in as quickly as five years. This would be critical, not only to quickly address our worsening traffic, but because automobiles create much of our climate-changing air pollution. Climate scientists agree that without reducing our greenhouse gases dramatically within ten years, we may reach the point of no return for human survival. If we can build such a system and get other cities across the country and the world to do the same, we can contribute mightily toward reducing climate change. Also, Measure M does not fully fund the transit lines identified in the Measure, and some will not be built for 20 years or more even if we do get the funding. Using PRT, the entire plan could be funded with only the Measure M money, and the projects could be completed decades ahead of schedule.

A positive development to transit in LA is that millennials seem very willing to abandon automobile usage. If this trend continues, combined with the development of these modes, we may be able to dramatically reduce traffic and air pollution in the coming years.

2. In 2015, Los Angeles approved Mobility Plan 2035, the first update to the Transportation Element of its General Plan since 1999. Mobility Plan 2035 puts “safety first” in transportation decisions, and provides a vision for a transportation system composed of safe and quality transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and automotive options. Do you support the goals of this plan, and how would you like to see the plan implemented in CD5?

Yes, I support the goals of this plan, and have received some blowback from constituents for doing so. Many are angry because of the places where we have reduced a lane of traffic and replaced it with a bike lane, such as on a portion of Palms Blvd. Drivers are inconvenienced and they don’t see many bicycles on the bike lanes. I recognize that it may take some time for both a cultural mindset shift toward thinking more of bicycles as a viable mode of transportation, and greater connectivity of bike lanes to make them a more widely used alternative. It takes some vision.

My answer to question one also describes my vision for implementation of the Mobility Plan in CD5, as well as across the city.

3. Mobility Plan 2035 enacted a ‘Vision Zero’ for Los Angeles, with the goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths within 20 years. In order to meet this goal, LADOT identified a “High Injury Network” to prioritize safety improvements on L.A.’s most dangerous streets. However, after a year and a half, we still haven’t seen much action to reduce transportation-related deaths on City streets. What do you see as the hold-ups for improving safety on Los Angeles streets, and how would you work to address these impediments in reducing speeding to save lives?

The City of LA is using a data driven approach to prioritizing intersections and neighborhoods where a high percentage of traffic fatalities and severe injuries occur. Other government entities, especially LAUSD, employ a more haphazard approach. In many instances, LAUSD is listening to the loudest voices, especially those of LAUSD parents, to drive their priorities. A successful program will not work that way. These solutions must be data driven. We all need to get on the same page so we can coordinate and prioritize the right intersections. This is clearly one of the hold-ups. I will work with the County, School District and City to prioritize the areas of greatest need. Funding is limited (although we recently obtained additional grant funding) and must be spent in a very targeted way.

One of the impediments is simply that everything involving government takes time. Things are moving forward, but on a methodical timetable. Also, everything involving engineering and construction takes a lot of time, so the first and most expeditious area of focus is the public education and outreach component.

Some progress has already been made. LADOT has identified a network of streets as a High Injury Network (HIN), where strategic investments will have the most impact in reducing severe injuries and deaths. Despite making up only 6% of our city streets, almost 2/3rds of pedestrian deaths and serious injuries occur in the HIN. People walking and biking combined statistically make up for 15% of collisions, but account for 50% of all deaths. It has been decided that this is where the earliest focus will be. We are developing a citywide media campaign, implementing the vision zero education and outreach strategy. An RFQ process is concluding and contracts are soon to be awarded, after which a planning phase will occur, and then the outreach and education will commence.

We are also increasing enforcement in the HIN, but traffic enforcement has limited success. After heavy enforcement in an area, people return to their old habits in a month or two. We don’t have resources to constantly patrol every area that needs it. However, in many areas we can’t even use radar and ticket speeders because our speed surveys have expired. We must follow through on our Vision Zero goal of updating 100% of the expired speed surveys by 2017.

San Francisco’s Vision Zero effort utilizes an online tracking tool so people can see what is being done in real time and hold the city and their elected leaders accountable. This would also provide more awareness to the public of the areas in which progress is being made and the things that are being done. I am going to explore introducing a motion when Council returns to session, to suggest that we implement such a tool.

4. Angelenos recently approved Metro’s transportation funding plan, Measure M, with an impressive mandate of support from over 71% of voters. What opportunities do you see for Measure M to improve the options for how Angelenos get around? Given that Measure M will return millions of dollars directly to the City of Los Angeles each year, do you support increasing the funding the City allocates to making it easier and safer for Angelenos to walk and bike?

I proudly supported and campaigned for the passage of Measure M. It will make a tremendous difference in how Angelenos get around. I will continue to advocate for State and Federal funding to expedite the construction of Measure M projects.

I support prioritizing the projects that move around the most number of people, not just the most number of automobiles. This includes projects that improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure, improve sidewalks, and multi-modal projects that increase the vibrancy of local streets and neighborhoods. Working with Mayor Garcetti, I will continue to hold the Metro Board accountable and ensure that they follow through with their commitment to improving bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Of course, I support increasing funding to make it easier and safer for Angelenos to walk and bike. As previously mentioned, I pushed to spend money on biking and pedestrian infrastructure with Measure R local return funds as a member of the City Council’s Transportation Committee and budget committee, and supported the LA City Bicycle Plan in 2010. I will continue to lead the effort to prioritize such spending.

5. There is universal agreement that Westwood Boulevard is a dangerous street for people walking and bicycling. Westwood Boulevard is identified as a corridor on LADOT’s High Injury Network, bike lanes were considered a priority in the 2010 Bike Plan, and the project has wide community support, including from UCLA and the Westwood Village Improvement Association. However, implementation of continuous bicycle infrastructure on Westwood has stalled for years. Prioritization of safety improvements for the street was removed from the Mobility Plan 2035 by an amendment co-authored by Councilmember Koretz. Will you commit to implementing quality bicycle infrastructure on Westwood Boulevard during the next Council term? (If not, what specific alternative do you support to improve the safety of people walking and bicycling in the area, and to address the high rate of crashes related to speeding on Westwood Boulevard?)

I agree that Westwood Boulevard is a dangerous street for people walking and bicycling in Westwood Village. It is a corridor on LADOT’s High Injury Network. That is why I want to discourage cyclists from using this street. As the Councilmember representing Westwood Village, I consider any other approach to be totally irresponsible. I did not support the location that was proposed for the Mobility Plan 2035. This proposal would have squeezed bike lanes onto Westwood Boulevard, while not taking into consideration the dangers this presents to bike riders. There would have been too many spots for interaction between cyclists and buses, as well as cars making turns. Because I agree that there needs to be a North-South route into Westwood and UCLA, I support moving the bike lane ONE BLOCK over to much safer Gayley Avenue, which does not have 900 buses and tens of thousands of cars daily. Having to travel one extra block for safety purposes seems like a tiny sacrifice worth making. I would note that the Westwood Blvd. route has widespread community opposition, including every Westwood homeowners association, neighborhood council, and community council. It also has the opposition of the business organization that officially covers Westwood Village, the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

I just want to highlight that while on the L.A. City Council, I have provided leadership on a number of bicycle related issues:

• I helped secure very substantial funding for bike lanes in the Mid-City West area;
• I helped implement a set of bike lanes that cross West Hollywood and Los Angeles boundaries on Fairfax Avenue;
• As a member of the Council’s Transportation Committee, I worked with the late Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, then Chair of the Transportation Committee, to fund the installation of many bike lanes and pavement marking projects throughout the City;
• I authored the motion adopted by the City Council to permit a person to secure their bicycle on a parking meter stand without violating city law; and
• I authored a motion adopted by the City Council directing several city departments to report back quarterly on their progress of implementing the 2010 bike plan, which is part of the City’s commitment to transform L.A. to a multi-modal transportation system.

As for pedestrian safety, I am pushing for mid-block crosswalks where possible, to prevent mid-block jaywalking accidents. A key midblock crosswalk location is about to be installed in Westwood Village on Westwood Blvd. soon.

6. Bike share systems have started to be installed across Los Angeles, but as systems expand to different areas of Los Angeles and neighboring cities, experts foresee two major obstacles: stations that are discontinuous/too far apart and stations with unsafe walking conditions that limit access. How would you envision the growth of bike share in the City of Los Angeles and regionally?

One of the most valuable elements of bike share is to provide the first mile/last mile to transit. We need to expand to have bikeshare at every transit stop. Also, I believe bikeshare will initially draw in a high percentage of more casual riders—one would hope bikeshare would be placed near bike lanes and paths to provide greater safety for such riders. Studies have shown that bike share replaces some car trips and leads to greater levels of bike ownership, as more occasional riders become regular ones. As we expand bikeshare, we can keep stations more contiguous, which will help the program become more successful. We also should focus and spend some of our now-committed $25 million a year in sidewalk repair on the sidewalks near transit stations and bikeshare stations or in some cases both. I had to battle to get a sidewalk built leading to the Sepulveda EXPO station, and am still fighting to get passible sidewalks leading to a couple of the other EXPO stations in my district. These would be needed for bike share placements as well.

We also need to be sure that bikeshare vendors across city lines can work in cooperation with each other. I argued against LA selecting a different vendor from the vendor selected in other Westside cities because of the difficulties in coordination. Inability to coordinate will make bikeshare much less practical where LA shares boundaries with other cities such as Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica. A mutual acceptance policy must be implemented by all these cities, including LA.

Below is 2017 City Council District 5 Candidate Mark Herd’s full questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.:

1. What role do you see for walking, biking, and transit in improving the lives of Angelenos?

Ending gridlock is one of my goals and walking, biking and transit infrastructure improvements are part of the solution.

2. In 2015, Los Angeles approved Mobility Plan 2035, the first update to the Transportation Element of its General Plan since 1999. Mobility Plan 2035 puts “safety first” in transportation decisions, and provides a vision for a transportation system composed of safe and quality transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and automotive options. Do you support the goals of this plan, and how would you like to see the plan implemented in CD5?

I support the goals and would like to see it implemented with the blessing of the community where changes would be made.

3. Mobility Plan 2035 enacted a ‘Vision Zero’ for Los Angeles, with the goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths within 20 years. In order to meet this goal, LADOT identified a “High Injury Network” to prioritize safety improvements on L.A.’s most dangerous streets. However, after a year and a half, we still haven’t seen much action to reduce transportation-related deaths on City streets. What do you see as the hold-ups for improving safety on Los Angeles streets, and how would you work to address these impediments in reducing speeding to save lives?

Infrastructure spending or lack of it is probably the biggest holdup.  Reckless over-development also turns safe intersections into death traps yet our leaders continue to favor developers over the needs of the community.  I will put the community first always. 

4. Angelenos recently approved Metro’s transportation funding plan, Measure M, with an impressive mandate of support from over 71% of voters. What opportunities do you see for Measure M to improve the options for how Angelenos get around? Given that Measure M will return millions of dollars directly to the City of Los Angeles each year, do you support increasing the funding the City allocates to making it easier and safer for Angelenos to walk and bike?

Measure R and Measure M both help L.A. tremendously and we must continue to improve and expand our transportation infrastructure and transportation options.  I will continue to push for more improvements if elected.

5. There is universal agreement that Westwood Boulevard is a dangerous street for people walking and bicycling. Westwood Boulevard is identified as a corridor on LADOT’s High Injury Network, bike lanes were considered a priority in the 2010 Bike Plan, and the project has wide community support, including from UCLA and the Westwood Village Improvement Association. However, implementation of continuous bicycle infrastructure on Westwood has stalled for years. Prioritization of safety improvements for the street was removed from the Mobility Plan 2035 by an amendment co-authored by Councilmember Koretz. Will you commit to implementing quality bicycle infrastructure on Westwood Boulevard during the next Council term? (If not, what specific alternative do you support to improve the safety of people walking and bicycling in the area, and to address the high rate of crashes related to speeding on Westwood Boulevard?)

Yes, I will commit to implementing quality bicycle infrasture on Westwood Blvd during the next Council term if that is what the community wants.

6. Bike share systems have started to be installed across Los Angeles, but as systems expand to different areas of Los Angeles and neighboring cities, experts foresee two major obstacles: stations that are discontinuous/too far apart and stations with unsafe walking conditions that limit access. How would you envision the growth of bike share in the City of Los Angeles and regionally?

I would like to see more funding to make access safer and stations more abundant.  I’d like to see L.A. as the greenest, cleanest and easiest city to get around in.  Building out quality bicycle infrastructure is important as we strive to make L.A. the cleanest city in the nation.

2017 Los Angeles CD11 Endorsement: Mike Bonin

Primary Election day: Tuesday, March 7, 7am-8pm
Find your Council District: http://neighborhoodinfo.lacity.org/
Find your polling place: http://lavote.net/locator

Representing Los Angeles’ Westside, Councilmember Mike Bonin has been a stalwart leader on moving Los Angeles toward becoming a more multi-modal City; and in ensuring quality and safe infrastructure for those who get around by bike, on foot, and by using public transit. After winning election in 2013, Bonin quickly showed a passion for a more progressive transportation system in taking public transit to City Hall on his first day in office.

As Chair of City Council’s Transportation Committee, Bonin has been, as Streetsblog LA puts it, “pretty much at the center of nearly every major transportation-related decision the city makes.” Bonin played a critical role in pushing forward and shepherding adoption of Los Angeles’ ambitious and potentially transformative Mobility Plan 2035, working it through a difficult political process and consistently framing the importance of the Plan with impassioned and inspiring introductions before Council. Bonin broke with unwritten Council protocol as one of two votes of dissent when Councilmembers Koretz and Price removed important streets from the Mobility Plan’s Bicycle Enhanced Network. Bonin has pushed for funding for active transportation, championed bike share, supported LADOT’s People St program, and is working toward bringing protected bike lanes to Venice Boulevard and expanding Breeze Bike Share in Venice. With this track record, it should come as no surprise that Councilmember Bonin’s tireless work on transportation recently earned him a Streetsie award as 2016 Elected Official of the Year.

In his response to a Bike The Vote L.A. questionnaire, Councilmember Bonin reinforces how important a role he has played – and will continue to play – in improving mobility options within Los Angeles. Bonin expressed his goal of implementing Mobility Plan 2035, his commitment to pursuing Vision Zero, and his important role in “working to change some of my colleague’s minds about the Bicycle Enhanced Network.”

Councilmember Mike Bonin has been a critical regional leader on active transportation, safe streets, and more livable communities. Bike The Vote L.A. is honored to endorse Mike Bonin for re-election to the City Council in District 11.

(See below for Mike Bonin’s response to Bike The Vote L.A.)

1. You are known as a multi-modal council member who frequently takes Metro to and from City Hall. How often do you commute by bike, and what are the impediments that keep you from biking to more destinations and with more frequency?

I have commuted to events in the district by bike, but the vast geography of the district I represent and packed schedule of meetings after events after meetings makes it difficult to build in the time necessary to bike to every event (it isn’t uncommon to have more than a dozen meetings or events in a single day).  When my schedule is localized to the Mar Vista area, I will spend the day on my bike between meetings, and like to take my son to preschool by bike.

2. What role do you see for walking, biking, and transit in improving the lives of Angelenos?

Giving people options other than single-passenger vehicles is central to my work as a Councilmember. Not only does a good multi-modal transportation system make sense for the people who want a healthier and more cost-effective way to get around, but it also makes life better for all Angelenos by taking cars off the road and pollution out of the air. Every person who decides to walk, bike or take transit is a car that isn’t on the road causing traffic.

3. Los Angeles recently lost a great leader who fought to improve the safety of cyclists in Los Angeles, former Councilmember Bill Rosendahl. Can you share a little of how Councilmember Rosendahl influenced your perspective and approach to transportation?

Bill and I had a very symbiotic relationship when it came to politics and policy. It was a little hard to tell where his passions and interests ended and mine began.  We both shared a love for neighborhoods and a hatred for traffic gridlock.  It’s hard not to have those feelings and not have a strong commitment to cycling and cyclists. Bill’s interest in standing up for cyclists had very little to do with the mode of transportation; it has everything to do with the fact that he felt people were being marginalized, and voices were being ignored, and that always infuriated him. I was proud to help convince Bill to take the Streetsblog challenge and and hop a bike for the first time in decades for an educational video.

4. You regularly host “Bike With Mike” events. What inspired you to lead these rides, and what have been some of the biggest takeaways from riding with constituents at these events?

I made “Bike with Mike” events a regular part of my Access 11 program for a few reasons. First, Access 11 is intended to improve accessibility to local government by “bringing City Hall to the Westside” and giving people an opportunity to meet with their Councilmember without forcing them to trek downtown. “Bike with Mike” events allow me to meet neighbors who might not come out to an office hours event or to a community meeting. “Bike with Mike” events also offer neighbors, and especially families with young children, a family-friendly community event to participate in, where they can meet their neighbors and learn more about their community. Finally, I host these events to show that there is great, easy and enjoyable opportunities for people to bike in LA. I have been very happy that these “Bike with Mike” events are some of the best-attended Access 11 events I host, and I look forward to continuing to host them in my next term.

5. You were a critical figure in City Council in getting Mobility Plan 2035, Los Angeles’ guide for transportation, adopted. Why did you support the Mobility Plan, and what are the next steps to making its vision of safe mobility options – including a Bicycle Enhanced Network – a reality?

Nearly half of all trips taken in Los Angeles are less than three miles in length, but nearly 90% of those trips are done in a car. It makes no sense that generations of bad policy have forced people into their cars, and I championed the adoption of Mobility Plan 2035 because it will make our neighborhoods safer places to walk, bike and it will make taking transit easier and more convenient. Now that the Plan is adopted (repeatedly), I am going to work with the Department of Transportation and my colleagues on the City Council to make sure it is actually implemented. This will mean pursuing important goals like Vision Zero and working to change some of my colleague’s minds about the Bicycle Enhanced Network so people will be able to bike between neighborhoods with safe and convenient routes.

6. You expressed support for Metro’s funding ballot measure, Measure M. Why do you support Measure M, and what opportunities does it provide for Los Angeles both locally and regionally?

Getting Measure M approved was a major priority for me in the November election because it will be a game-changer for transportation in LA. Not only will an expanded transit network let people get out of their cars, but some of the biggest projects (such as the airport-Metro connection and rail through the Sepulveda Pass) dramatically improve life for people on the Westside by eliminating a significant amount of soul-sucking traffic, but the money that is dedicated to active transportation projects will provide needed funding for walking and biking infrastructure. I am very excited to serve as both the Chair of the City Council’s Transportation Committee and as a Board Member on the Metro Board of Directors, which will give me an influential voice in how this money is prioritized.