The
Mayors of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills joined
Jack Weiss in presenting a
“virtual one-way” plan for Pico and Olympic Boulevards.John Fisher of the Los Angeles
Department of Transportation was also present.The plan is not theoretical.It is being implemented. (LADOT
Plan Summary) (Full
Plan)
The plan would restrict left turns onto
“minor” streets, restrict parking during peak travel hours
and also change the number of lanes on both streets to
encourage a counter-clockwise flow throughout the area.
The proposal came
as a complete surprise to just about everyone as there had
been no activity, at least public activity, on the
Pico/Olympic one-way plan for months.Several months ago Jack Weiss
had formed a Pico/Olympic task force to review the issues
involved with making changes to the two major streets.None of the task force members,
homeowner associations or neighborhood council members were
consulted before the current plan was announced.
(click images for large version)
When asked about public input, the elected
officials stated:
We
used the public input from the previous proposal so
there was public input.
We
intend to seek input from homeowners and residents.
The
signs are currently being fabricated.
According to John
Fisher and Sean Skehan of LADOT, the proposal will displace
the Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS) on Pico and
Olympic.ATCS currently monitors existing
conditions and reacts by changing the amount of green time a
flow of traffic has based on the number of cars approaching
an intersection.It reacts to existing traffic.The new proposal will be
proactive instead of reactive. It will attempt to change the
driving behavior of West L.A. residents as opposed to
reacting to it.In doing so, LADOT and the
elected officials hope to improve the flow of Pico and
Olympic.
Many questions
abound.Among them:
Will
the counter-clockwise flow create increased traffic on
Motor to the 10?
Will
Rancho Park visitors be forced into the neighborhoods to
get home from the park?
What
will the impact be on Beverly Glen, Westwood and other
north/south streets? Will increased north/south
traffic make ingress/egress into Tract 7260 streets and
Beverly Glen residences more difficult/dangerous?
Will
the parking restrictions impact businesses and schools
on Pico?
How
will the proposal interact with the proposed Expo light
rail concept?
What
“minor” streets will no longer have left turns?For instance, will there be a left turn from
Olympic onto Prosser?Pico onto Prosser?
How
will Century City workers get to the 10?With a counter-clockwise flow, won’t cut-through
be encouraged?This includes streets between Olympic and Pico as
well as Motor Avenue.
What
does this do to all previous traffic studies that were
completed for other projects?Many assumptions were made and intersection
capacity bonuses were granted based on the
implementation of ATCS.
What
will the impact be on Robertson?Will parking be restricted there (or on other
north/south streets) as well?
Will
current mega-development be allowed based on theoretical
benefits of the plan BEFORE the results are in?
How
will the counter-clockwise flow impact people’s ability
to get to the 405?
Have
the health impacts of having two virtual freeways so
close to homes been studied?
Also noted:
There
will be left turns from westbound Pico to Motor Avenue.The number of lanes is unknown at this time.
The
left turn from westbound Olympic to southbound Overland
will be metered such that only two cars can turn at a
time.
