Fighting Traffic Press Conference

Fighting Traffic Press Conference
Originally uploaded by lacityorgcd11.

ROSENDAHL UNVEILS ANTI-GRIDLOCK PLAN
Councilman Proposes $11 Million to Improve Traffic, Build Mass Transit


LOS ANGELES - Saying "it is time to get Los Angeles moving again," City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl today unveiled a comprehensive plan for spending more than $11 million on Westside traffic improvement and mass transit projects.

Rosendahl, who made fighting traffic a signature issue in his campaign for office, said he would allocate money to install left-turn signals, improve signal synchronization, promote extending the Green Line into LAX, and jump-start planning for a north-south mass transit line along Lincoln Boulevard.

"We have reached the boiling point. The gridlock is past intolerable," Rosendahl said at a rush-hour press conference at the gridlocked intersection of Lincoln and Venice Boulevards. "It is time for action.It is time to get Los Angeles moving again."

Rosendahl was joined by community members, mass transit advocates and Gloria Jeff, general manager of the City's Department of Transportation. For the past several months, Jeff's and Rosendahl's staffs have been working together to develop plans to spend accumulated traffic mitigation funds that can only be spent in Rosendahl's coastal district.


"I am pleased to work with Councilmember Rosendahl on this plan to alleviate traffic on the Westside," Jeff said. "The use of coastal transportation funds will go a long way toward reducing congestion at crowded intersections and will initiate long-range planning for needed mass transit."


The expenditures, all on the Westside, include short-term and long-term projects to relieve congestion and promote mass transit.

Specifically, Rosendahl's plan includes:

Left Turn Signal Improvements

*An estimated $3 million for 32 signal improvements district-wide
Signal Timing and Synchronization improvements and enhancements

*An estimated $5 million for 165 synchronization enhancements and for 239 controller change-outs to give DOT better control & and vision of signals

Extension of Green Line to LAX

*$500,000 to fund the work of the Green Line Task Force, a multi-agency group looking at extending the Green Line to the airport

*$750,000 for planning potential Green Line station locations

Lincoln Boulevard Light Rail Plan

*$750,000 allocated for study and planning light rail along Lincoln Boulevard
*$250,000 for studying and planning a connection between the Green Line and Phase Two of the Expo Line
*$50,000 allocated for additional parking along Lincoln Boulevard

Boulevard Masterplan Studies

$550,000 for boulevard masterplan studies of Sepulveda, Olympic, Pico, Santa Monica, and Venice boulevards. Masterplans, which include mass transit, land-use planning, and streetscape studies, link transportation and planning to create livable boulevards.

Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plans

$200,000 for bicycle and pedestrian transit plans in Council District 11

Rosendahl said he was pleased to offer a combination of tangible, relatively quick improvements, such as left-turn signals, while spending money to lay the foundation for the mass transit necessary for the Westside.

"We cannot continue to band-aid the traffic problems in this City," Rosendahl said. "Our transportation infrastructure is a real problem that calls for vision, for bold thinking and long-range planning."

Rosendahl also used the occasion of the press conference to tout the considerable progress city officials have made on transportation issues in the past two years. The list of achievements, which Rosendahl supported, includes:

*Completion of the 405 HOV Lane Project
*Establishment of FlyAway service from Union Station to LAX.
*An MTA study of light rail along the Harbor Sub-Division Right-of-Way
*New "commuter incentive" programs

Rosendahl's spending proposals will need formal council approval, but given that e money can be spent only in the coastal region, little opposition is expected.