In a historic City Council vote that will help reduce traffic by giving people transportation options other than their cars, Councilmembers Mike Bonin and José Huizar led efforts to adopt a 20-year mobility plan Tuesday, Aug. 11. The plan puts an emphasis on safety, while encouraging and supporting increased pedestrian, public transit and bicycle use in the City of Los Angeles.
As chairmen of the City’s Transportation and Planning & Land Use Management committees, Bonin and Huizar worked with the City’s Transportation and Planning departments to develop and advocate for the 193 page report, which creates a Citywide planning and transportation plan that connects neighborhoods and thoroughfares utilizing a Complete Streets approach to safety improvements.
Councilmembers Bonin and Huizar are widely considered the City’s two biggest proponents of the type of Complete Streets solutions Mobility Plan 2035 proposes.
The Plan is the first comprehensive update of Los Angeles’ transportation policies since the 1990s and in addition to providing a policy framework for how the city will build streets in the future, the plan will be used to procure grants to help pay for improvements. The Plan went through a thorough public review process, which included interactive workshops, engagement with Neighborhood Councils and online town halls. Each specific project and street enhancement will additionally have its own public participation and approval process.
According to the plan, nearly half (47 percent) of all trips taken in Los Angeles are less than three miles, but 84 percent of those trips are taken by car. The Mobility Plan 2035 proposes developing a network of bike lanes, transit lines, and pedestrian-friendly streets to help encourage more people to choose to walk, bike or take public transit, taking cars off the road in LA neighborhoods.
For more information visit la2b.org.