Riled Residents Force Council Discussion Of Belmont Shore Area Ocean Blvd. Lane-Shrinking "Road Diet"; Councilwoman Price Says It's City Traffic Engr's Idea As Council Votes To Allocate Tax Dollars To Fund It; Indicates Traffic Slowing/Diagonal Parking Measure Will Be Implemented After One Add'l Public Meeting Explains It To Peninsula Residents

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City Continues To Delay Providing Public Record Documents re "Road Diet" Requested By LBREPORT.com

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(Sept. 21, 2016) -- What City Hall planned as a City Council "consent calendar" item with no public discussion instead turned into a half hour of the first -- and to date only -- public Council discussion a controversial planned "road diet" that would shrink Ocean Blvd. lanes, slow traffic and in some areas implement diagonal parking along a lengthy shoreline stretch from Livingston Dr. to the eastern end of the Peninsula.

The public airing of the issues before the decision making City Council came only after residents from three key Belmont Shore areas plus a veteran ELB community advocate waited nearly three hours to speak three minutes each in opposition. Susan Miller (Shoreline area), Elaine O'Neill (Belmont Heights), Jennifer Cameron (Peninsula) and Ann Cantrell (ELB) variously cited a lack of City transparency as well as substantive aspects of the measure in urging the Council not to allocate funds for it.

City staff produced graphics, obtained by Belmont Shore resident Susan Miller

Following the public's testimony, 3rd dist. Councilwoman Suzie Price defended the measure and said it's the City Traffic Engineer's idea. Price didn't deny a lack of any online graphics or narrative text on the "road diet" attached to the agendized item or on the City's webpages or social network pages or on Price's web and social network pages for the public to view prior to the Council vote. However Price said the measure had been discussed at more than one neighborhood meeting and said staff had given a graphic of what was planned to some neighborhood group reps. Councilwoman Price also said she plans to put the traffic engineer's study online and indicated that the "road diet," which includes diagonal parking in some locations that would increase available parking in the parking-starved area, will be implemented after one additional public meeting explains it to Peninsula residents (date not yet set.)

To hear the Council agenda item (Ocean Blvd. section with quick launch on-demand audio), click here. (24 mins, MP3 file)

No residents or businesses spoke in support the measure at the Sept. 20 Council meeting [although LBREPORT.com believes there is some support for it among some area residents and businesses.] No other Councilmembers apart from Price spoke on the Ocean Blvd. "road diet."

LBREPORT.com was (to our knowledge) the only LB news outlet to alert the public to the upcoming Sept. 20 Council agenda item and published city-staff prepared graphics obtained a few months earlier by Ms. Miller. Word of the Council action also spread via online social networks.

A Public Records Act request by LBREPORT.com in mid-August for documents related to the "road diet" and diagonal parking (with a response promised by Sept. 8) has produced no documents as of dawn Sept. 21.

The City also plans to continue the current "road diet" previously implemented along Broadway between Temple and Cherry Aves. but using Measure A funds (not Council district "discretionary funds" as originally agendized.)