Councilwoman Price has previously spoken approvingly of the "road diet" concept and held at least one community meeting on the issue over the summer. We also believe the item was heard by the Belmont Shore Residents Association, which took no position on the proposal.
In general, supporters of the concept say it would make Ocean Blvd. safer to cross for pedestrians and the new diagonal parking spaces (Price newsletter text indicates along south side of Ocean Blvd.) would benefit residents and nearby businesses in the parking-starved area. Opponents say the "road diet" would slow access for ambulances, police and fire units, including beach responses, and would invite collisions when diagonally parked vehicles back-up into an adjacent bicycle lane. Opponents also say diagonal parking was tried and removed several years ago along part of Atlantic Ave. in Bixby Knolls. The Sept. 20 agenda item included funding to continue a "road diet" implemented along Broadway between Temple and Cherry Aves. [where we believe grassroots responses have been mixed.]
The Sept. 20 Council action was agendized as a "consent calendar" matter on which no public discussion was expected unless sought by the public or a Councilmember. On Sept. 19, LBREPORT.com reported the "road diet" consent calendar item, and on Sept. 20, four residents (three from the Belmont Shore area: Belmont Heights, the Shore and the Peninsula) waited nearly three hours to testify in opposition to the road diet/diagonal parking items. No public speakers spoke in support. Councilwoman Price cited reasons in support of the road diet, indicated that a community meeting would be scheduled to explain the concept to Peninsula residents, and the Council approve the items as agendized (8-0, Mungo absent.)
[Chief of Staff Cunningham text in Councilwoman Price Oct 1 newsletter]
Ocean Boulevard Road Diet - from 39th Place to 54th Place
After years of concerns about traffic and safety along Ocean Blvd. Our office asked the Traffic Engineering Department to develop a measure that would reduce traffic speeds and improve safety for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. Based on the results of a traffic study the Traffic Engineering Department developed a proposal that takes in to account police capacity to enforce traffic, emergency vehicles' need for access, the high number of pedestrians who access the beach, the actual number of cars that travel this roadway, and the limitations that exist in other proposed speed reduction measures. The solution that Traffic Engineering developed is called a road diet, meaning it is reducing the number of lanes on Eastbound Ocean Blvd. from 2 lanes to 1 lane. This will not only reduce the speed of traffic along this corridor, but also reduce the number of lanes a pedestrian must cross creating greater safety and visibility for pedestrians.
We have received some concerns from residents on this as to if this project will create traffic back-ups, and the study found that the volume of traffic that travels Ocean Blvd. daily is less than half as much as the road was designed to transport. Originally Ocean Blvd. was meant as a main thoroughfare for traffic traveling up and down the coast up until the bridge at the end of the Peninsula that led to Seal Beach was removed. This means the road is wider than is necessary for the realistic amount of traffic it receives. Wide roads and wide lanes make drivers feel like they are free to drive more quickly, and pay less attention to other cars, intersections, driveways, cyclists, and pedestrians which leads to decreased safety. With only one lane, cars cannot weave around other vehicles to speed through traffic, and narrower lanes mean cars drive more cautiously in order to remain in their lane.
In the long term, engineering projects like this are more cost-effective and safer than posting a police officer to enforce posted signs. This is important to note as currently the Police Department is operating at 200 officers below what it needs to, so prioritizing traffic patrols is difficult when there are higher priority crimes that require rapid police response. Also, these engineered lane reductions will be present 24 hours a day, unlike even the most dedicated police officer. Further, lane reductions affect all drivers, not just the ones that police officers stop and ticket. Additionally, the road diet provides over 150 new diagonal parking spaces along the south side of Ocean Blvd between 39th Pl. and 54th Pl., leading to additional relief for the parking impacted Belmont Shore. The additional road space that would be available also creates enough space for a buffer zone to be included between the diagonally parked cars and the bike lane in order to provide additional distance for parked cars to navigate in and out of a spot before entering a traffic lane or bike lane.
These diagonal parking spots are a benefit not only for those looking for spaces, but they improve safety by calming traffic on Ocean Blvd. The diagonal parking gives the road a narrower feel which leads to people driving slower. It also eliminates the problem of potentially opening your car door into a passing cyclist which is a frequent issue for parallel parking.
Also, we certainly acknowledge the number of special events that occur at the beach which often result in traffic congestion, however these events are special, and not the normal everyday traffic conditions. Although traffic may be affected during special events, the benefits to safety will be felt 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Some days of increased congestion are being considered in exchange for long-term constant increases to safety. Too often the city gets criticized for being reactive when they wait until there is a tragic car crash to address speeding concerns, so we are being proactive to resolve a known speeding problem before there is a serious collision.
That being said, in order to mitigate the impacts that the road diet may have during special events the Traffic Engineering Department has committed to working with event staff and reviewing the traffic plan that all events are required to submit for approval by the Police Department and Special Events Department prior to the event. This approval process has many factors that may be required including requiring special event promoters to increase communication with the public about when parking facilities are nearing capacity and to turn away excess vehicles, incentivizing attendees to take alternate modes of transportation to the events, temporarily removing some diagonal parking spaces to allow for more efficient traffic entrance or exit from beach lots, requiring staff to direct traffic, as well as requiring crossing guards to decrease pedestrians from causing significant traffic stoppages.
All of this project is being done with paint. There is no construction occurring, so in the event that this project results in a negative impacts it can be changed relatively easily or returned to its previous design. Traffic Engineering has committed to studying the effects of the road diet once installed and have agreed to install any changes that may become necessary.
Ocean Blvd. Traffic Study
Ocean Blvd. Traffic Design
--- by Jack Cunningham
3rd District, Chief of Staff
As of Oct. 2, the City of Long Beach has failed to respond as required by the CA Public Records Act (CA Gov't Code section 6250 et seq.) to a request made on August 15 by LBREPORT.com seeking access to documents pertaining to the "road diet"/diagonal parking. Under the state statute, the City was required to respond on or before Sept. 8.
here.) With the funding in place, city management can now implement the funded projects without further Council approval.
