The Los Angeles City Council aims to improve road safety and calm traffic by encouraging residents to give up their motor vehicles or reduce usage through its controversial Mobility Plan 2035.
The plan calls for hundreds of miles of new bus-only lanes, bicycle lanes, and traffic calming measures over the next 20 years. It would use existing roads for 300 miles of bike lanes and 117 miles of bus-only lanes. Major corridors such as Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Way, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard would be redesigned. But critics doubt the plan will have the intended effect.
"Taking away lanes, which creates congestion, to try and force people to choose a different method of transportation other than the car, is a horrible way to solve a congestion problem," said Richard Katz, a planning commissioner. "People don't respond well to being forced to do things.”
Supporters say the mobility plan is an acknowledgment that the city can't build its way out of congestion problems. Widening streets is no longer feasible, and new freeways not viable because of the cost and difficulty in acquiring rights of way, they say.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Nov 29, 2016
Seattle imposes new construction regulation to address rat problem
The city ranks first in U.S. in rat population.
Codes and Standards | Nov 28, 2016
Construction groups sue New York City over crane safety regulation
The rule bans cranes from operating when wind exceeds 30 mph.
Codes and Standards | Nov 28, 2016
Marines plan first net zero energy military base
The Albany, Ga., site will have ground source heat pumps and a biomass generator.
Codes and Standards | Nov 18, 2016
Mahesh Ramanujam takes reins as U.S. Green Building Council President and CEO
Ramanujam brings his tech and business consulting background to the post.
Codes and Standards | Nov 18, 2016
Canada GBC launching Zero Carbon Buildings Initiative
First step toward Zero Carbon Building Standard.
Codes and Standards | Nov 17, 2016
Santa Monica, Calif., passes historic net-zero ordinance
Includes more stringent commercial, multifamily building standards.
Codes and Standards | Nov 14, 2016
Six more states approve legal marijuana, creating opportunities for developers
Federal prohibition complicates the picture.
Codes and Standards | Nov 14, 2016
Los Angeles voters approve billions to tackle traffic and homelessness
The approved measures will create new rail lines and permanent housing.
Codes and Standards | Nov 9, 2016
NRMCA updates environmental impacts of concrete
The EPD now includes 88 companies, 72 mixes.
Codes and Standards | Nov 9, 2016
Louisiana flood projections require urgent action, officials say
The 'no net loss’ prediction now seems unrealistic.