Mar Vista Voice - November 1, 2022

After an unprecedented level of community outreach and widespread support, LADOT will move forward with most components of the Venice Blvd. Safety and Mobility Project, including a new bus-only lane extending 2.5 miles from Inglewood Blvd. to Culver Blvd and protected bike lanes from Inglewood to National.

Unfortunately, the anti-bus, anti-cycling vocal minority in Mar Vista and Venice seems to have bullied the agency into delaying a key component of the plan: protected bike lanes stretching west from Mar Vista, from Beethoven to Lincoln. These safety improvements are sorely needed. Venice Blvd is on L.A.’s high injury network, a collection of streets with a high concentration of severe injuries and deaths. An average of 6 people die on this stretch of road every year, and there is simply no excuse for resisting efforts to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Sadly, members of our local Mar Vista Community Council seem to be okay with this level of carnage.