Category Archives: S.A.F.E

Safer Streets item 16C Unanimously Approved

Thank you Councilmember Zwick, Torosis and Mayor Davis for Agenda Item 16C presented on the November 14th City Council Agenda to strengthen Santa Monica’s Vision Zero commitment to eliminate all preventable fatal and severe-injury crashes from Santa Monica’s roads. This action came on the heels of the recent fatal crash on Idaho Ave. October 27th where 69 year old Tania Mooser — our neighbor, mother, sister and retired teacher — was struck and killed while riding her bicycle. Two weeks later another bicyclist was struck and injured at the same intersection.
See more info here on the agenda item HERE

Councilmember Zwick, Torosis and Mayor Davis
Public Testimony

Adjournment in honor of Tania Mooser

Happy Bike Month: Week #1

Join us in Celebrating May, Bike Month in Santa Monica!

Click here to sign up and add your Bike Month Event, Promotion or Bike to Work Day Pitstop or HandleBar Happy Hour #HBHH!
Check back for new events being added!


Our first Bike Month HandleBar Happy Hour is this Thursday at Gilbert’s El Indio

bike_local_sticker

Every week during Bike Month we get together for fun, support local businesses, and to celebrate all things bike.
Always fun, always family friendly!

Socialize, talk bikes, give input ….

If it’s on your way don’t forget to pass the Bike Counter!


Big thank you to all our Bike Month #BuyLocalSM #BikeLocalSM #HBHH venues: Week #1 Gilbert’s El Indio, Week #2 Thömus, Week #3 Santa Monica Brew Works, Week #4 Solidarity and last Week #5 TBD


Bike it! Walk it! Bus it! Week! May 1st to the 6th

Bike It! Walk It! Bus It! week encourages kids to be active, by getting to school using alternative modes of transportation. National Bike to School Day is coming up on: Wednesday, May 3rd…an exciting event aimed at promoting eco-friendly and safe transportation options for students.


Click here to view Map on line

Council Meeting May 26, Recommended Restoration of City Services?

The Staff Report released Friday, May 22nd, provides an Update on City Restructuring and Council Authorization to Restore Priority Programs in the areas below as directed by Council on May 5th, all of which we supported and many of which we specifically requested.

On the agenda for the May 5th, Santa Monica City Council meeting, devastating cuts in response to the catastrophic budget shortfalls created by the Covid-19 crisis were proposed and later approved. As we shared in previous communications, we felt (and still feel) strongly that without active and engaged Council direction these cuts will surely unwind decades of progress and community hard work toward a city where everyone can move safely, with or without a car, and where we protect our most vulnerable citizens. These are, without a doubt, unprecedented and difficult times. Difficult decisions and devastating cuts will need to be made. We must continue to demand our leaders be creative in finding solutions that maintain our city values and as many essential programs as possible as we rebuild our economy, and our community from the Covid-19 crisis. 

We are grateful that on May 5th Council directed staff to consider the following areas as priorities for continuing services, funds permitting:  

  • Food security for our most vulnerable community members through restoring funding to Meals on Wheels and the Westside Food Bank
  • Keeping people in their homes through increased support for the Preserving Our Diversity senior housing subsidy program and restoring funding to the Legal Aid Foundation 
  • Funding for youth-related programs, such as after-school programs and mental health support services
  • Resources for outdoor health, such as playgrounds and fields, including the Playground Partnership program with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District  (SMMUSD)
  • Mobility programs with an emphasis on providing safe, sustainable, affordable and accessible transportation choices
  • Sustainability with an emphasis on community resilience

We need Council to stay engaged directing the priority of creative solutions. We must insist our leaders continue to be strategic and thoughtful with “restructuring” that reduces costs and bureaucracy while retaining essential capacity to build confidently on the foundation and programs that define what we love about Santa Monica — including safe bike lanes, sustainability efforts to address climate change, after school programs, community gardens, libraries, and social services for those most in need. We are pleased to see some of these essential programs have been recommended for at least partial reinstatements. Programs like these are needed to keep neighborhood streets safe and calm, and provide ways for kids, seniors, low-income families, and car-light/carless households to keep moving.

Congestion management is only possible with these programs; when stay-at-home orders are lifted the congestion will be back in weeks, with additional drivers who used to ride transit.

Even in the most difficult of times we must retain our values and prioritize these programs or we slide backward decades, putting essential outcomes out of reach:

  • Safer Streets 
  • Climate Action & Adaptation Plan air quality and emission reduction
  • LUCE congestion mitigation and neighborhood traffic calming
  • Vehicle trip reduction necessary for new housing capacity
  • Bike Action Plan health and active trips targets
  • Pedestrian Action Plan injury and fatality reductions

This Community has worked hard to build a brighter future – a vision for an economically, environmentally, equitably and socially sustainable community.

Please join us in supporting solutions outlined in the Staff Report and ask Council to keep prioritizing creative solutions to retain more essential services and staff:  HERE

#TransportationMatters #SafeStreets

CALL TO ACTION: Email City Council on Severe Transportation Budget Cuts that Threaten our Safety

The streets we travel on make up over 20% of our city, and are one of our biggest assets. â€‹Our streets move people, goods, and services and are essential infrastructure for our economic and social recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.​ It is crucial how we manage and use this public asset, at the core of economic resilience, social equity, health and environmental sustainability.

Read our full letter HERE
#TransportationMatters #SafeStreets

How we manage our streets – or ignore them – will move us either toward environmental justice, economic recovery and climate resiliency or away from those vital community and city goals. Our goals must be prioritized, clearly, in all plans and efforts to create solutions appropriate to equitably resolve the budget crisis caused by Covid-19.

Please join us and share your support with Santa Monica City Council.
Information, email addresses and template 
can be found HERE.

While the City suffers catastrophic shortfalls, we should not use a sledgehammer where a scalpel is needed to balance new budgets. Let’s be strategic and thoughtful with “restructuring” that reduces costs and bureaucracy while retaining essential capacity that builds confidently on the foundation and programs that our public roadways and investments afford us as they advance us to a vibrant and full recovery.

Use any of these images or your own to share this message on Social Media #TransportationMatters #SafeStreets

Action Alert: Stewart / Pennsylvania Bike & Pedestrian Project

Your input is needed!

Hello friends, interested in road safety?
We invite you to take this short survey now on the much needed and innovative improvements proposed for Stewart Street & Pennsylvania Avenue. The project is under attack for some of the needed safety improvements.

• You will be prompted to click on each icon in the navigation on the left.
• At the bottom of each element, there is a + with the name of the project.
• Click to take survey.
• Fill in comments, then submit. You only get once chance, so make it count.
• Move down the list to the next of the 4 element of the project to give your opinion.

City planners have designed a very innovative project and clearly worked extremely hard to design the best possible project incorporating community and local business input and feedback for the fewest tradeoffs and losses to parking. In addition to two Community Open Houses, local business and stakeholders have been engaged for input during the design process. This project is also identified as part of the Land Use and Circulation Element, the Bike Action Plan, the Bergamot Area Plan, and the Pedestrian Action Plan

It appears the project is being attacked by one of the local businesses that has taken a dislike to the project due to a (minimal) loss of on street metered parking, and a median that restricts left turns. These changes mitigate the current rather serious traffic conflicts and congestion by improving traffic flow and safety for all road users. The business has chosen to use a hot button issue to solicit push back on this safety improvement project – THIS PROJECT IS ABOUT SAFE AND EQUITABLE ACESS and IMPROVING OVERALL STREET SAFETY FOR EVERYONE! We love and support our local businesses, but we are extremely disappointed in this one for this smear campaign. Parking must NEVER, EVER outweigh safety improvements. 

This project exceeded our hopes for Stewart & Pennsylvania as it was identified in the Bike Action Plan and the Pedestrian Action Plan. WE LOVE IT. It will finally provide a needed north/south bike connection, pedestrian improvements, improved – safer north/south connections to EXPO and improved safe routes to schools, parks and local businesses! There are almost always tradeoffs when streets are reimagined to incorporate and improve equity and safety as a priority. Please join us in support of this project by taking the short survey – it really only takes a few minutes. 

About:

Stewart & Pennsylvania Safety Enhancement

The City of Santa Monica’s Stewart & Pennsylvania Safety Enhancement Project will enhance safety and access to/from the Expo 26th Street/Bergamot Station, and address safety issues identified as part of the City’s Take the Friendly Road campaign. The project seeks to enhance the safety and comfort for pedestrians and bicyclists along Stewart Street between Colorado and Kansas, and Pennsylvania Avenue between 26th Street and Stewart Street The safety enhancements include:

  • Enhancement of the existing bikelane to a protected bikeway along Stewart Street from Kansas to Colorado/Yale. 
  • Intersection safety enhancements at Stewart Street/Colorado/Yale and Stewart/Nebraska making crossings easier to navigate for pedestrian/bicyclists 
  • Add new sidewalks and pedestrian scale lighting along Pennsylvania Avenue, between 26th Street and Stewart Street
  • Add Curb Extension and new curb ramps

This project is part of an on-going citywide effort to enhance safety for people that walk, bike, or take transit. 

Please do let us know if you have any questions. Stay tuned for future updates and Action Alerts!
Thank you in advance!