UPDATE:
As of October 12, after publishing their agenda, the PICO NC has removed the item, claiming they need to now do outreach in Spanish!
We encourage you to call into the meeting on Oct 14 and make public comment about the issue. Encourage them to add it to the agenda for their next meeting, and ask that they support the project as it clearly has overwhelming support in the community.
Here’s a summary of the current situation:
In July, we presented the San Vicente bike lane to the PICO NC land use committee, and was told more outreach had to happen before the committee could take it up. We then spent time presenting to various neighborhood associations within PICO NC:
- Carthay Square on July 1 (voted unanimously to support, letter attached)
- Faircrest Heights on August 25 (voted unanimously to support, letter attached)
- Redondo Sycamore (didn’t vote, but we did present)
On August 27, we presented the San Vicente bike lane to the PICO NC land use committee, and a motion was forwarded to the full board.
On September 9, we were going to present to the PICO NC full board (and 40+ people were waiting to make public comment on it), but the board spent 45 minutes debating if they were going to even take the issue up, and decided to table it, saying we needed still more outreach.
Between September 10 and today, October, 12:
- Wilshire Vista Neighborhood Association (the NA most impacted by the project) sent out a survey (letter attached):
103 in favor (73%)
35 against
- Streets For All created a survey that has been filled out by 135 people in 90019 (the main ZIP code of the PICO NC), with Destination PICO helping to distribute it, as well as people distributing fliers door to door on San Vicente (results attached):
Counting only 90019 votes:
110 in favor (83%)
25 against
- PICO NC created its own survey, results unknown.
If this project were to move forward, LADOT would be doing their own outreach process anyway. This is not the end of outreach, only the beginning.
The attempts by the board to not even take this up are transparent. It is undemocratic to not give the public a vote on an issue so many in the area care about. If the board goes against it, so be it - it will be going against what the majority of its constituents want. But, we ask that the board stop playing games and take it up. Let people give public comment. Consider the survey results. And then take a position, whatever that position may be.
The PICO neighborhood council will consider a motion supporting a road reconfiguration and addition of a protected bike lane on San Vicente Bl. between Fairfax and La Brea when the street is repaved in December. If you live in the area, please call in and make public comment in support:
https://zoom.us/j/91699554518