1. Western Segment – Envisioned as one or more multi-modal connections around and/or through the Santa Monica High School campus and Santa Monica civic center, to the beach.
2. Central Segment – Envisioned as a place-making neighborhood-oriented streetscape enhancement area along Michigan Avenue.  Improvements may include traffic calming, sidewalk and open space enhancements, new lighting, landscaping, and/or new bike facilities.
3. Eastern Segment – Will create a new multi-modal connection across 20^th Street, eventually linking to Stewart Street.
4. The Wiggle – Envisioned as a place-making neighborhood-oriented streetscape enhancement area that “wiggles” from Michigan Avenue to Delaware and Virginia Avenues and up to Stewart Street. Similar in character to the Central Segment.

About the Project:

The Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway will create an inviting shared street space along Michigan Avenue and adjoining streets within Santa Monica.  The “Greenway” concept was born from the City’s Land Use and Circulation Element and Bike Action Plan, and it will prioritize pedestrians and bicyclists along the corridor.  The three-mile greenway will provide residents and visitors with a safe and comfortable place to walk, interact with neighbors, play, travel, and be. It will connect the community to key destinations and neighborhoods.

The greenway will also improve the mobility and accessibility through the Pico Neighborhood. Proposed improvements will favor local automobile trips over cut-through traffic, which is better suited for the major thoroughfares flanking Michigan Avenue to the north and south (Pico and Olympic Blvds).  With the arrival of the Expo Line in 2015, the greenway would provide a link from the neighborhood, to new Expo stations and some of Santa Monica’s most significant attractions – the beach, downtown Santa Monica, the Civic Center and Bergamot Station. The Michigan Ave Greenway would also provide safe a link for kids to walk or bike to many of the local schools. Additionally, the greenway would offer a key connection to the broader bicycle network both in the City of Santa Monica and to the surrounding Los Angeles region.

The greenway – currently in its initial phase of planning – consists of four segments through the City of Santa Monica: Western, Central, Eastern and the Wiggle.

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SAVE THE DATE: January 7th 2014, evening
IMPORTANT MANGo Meeting

The City and Consultant Team will host this last Community Meeting to go over the concepts and plans for the Michigan Ave Neighborhood Greenway: MANGo!
Whether you have participated in the past or this is your first view of the project – we urge you join us to provide needed support for the project with your attendance and input.

This is the last public community meeting scheduled on the project before it is presented to Council on February 11. We would like to invite you to join us in support of this major community investment and hear first hand the benefits and concepts it proposes for the Pico Neighborhood, place making for people, connectivity for bikes and a grand benefit our Community at large.

For more information, please visit http://www.smgov.net/michigan or contact Jason Kligier, AICP at 310-458-8341 or jason.kligier@smgov.net

Place: Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Avenue
Day: Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Time: 7 pm to 8:30 pm

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Meeting updates: 

Jason from the City of Santa Monica and Amber from the consulting team gave a presentation summarizing the project and the results of the POP-UP MANGo event at each of the last 2 meetings. It was suggested at the December 9th meeting that the city may be considering turn restorations instead of traffic diversion at 11th & Michigan Ave. The small yet vocal contingent in PNA gave a brief talk of on a survey they circulated against any traffic diversion and Barbara Filet (who lives on Michigan Ave) gave a brief talk on her results of the same survey that overwhelming supports traffic diversion. This survey which has no explanation of what traffic diversion is, how it could be accomplished, or its intended results – (how ever well intentioned) we considered flawed and biased and against any traffic diversion even to test – I believe these opposing results support our claim that the survey is biased and we should put more weight on the results collected at MANGo by the professionals tasked to collect informed and balanced community input. A least a couple people at the 12/9 meeting thought the different results of the surveys collected by PNA and BF raised questions about the validity of the survey. There were at least 2 marketing professionals at the meeting that agreed the survey is flawed. 

There was a good attendance by the local bike community.
A number of people did speak eloquently in support of more safety for peds and cyclists — including a student from Samohi
Grace Phillips of Bike it Walk it & SM Walks, made the point that the city and council should prioritize public safety and health above the convenience of drivers. 
Dr Scott Reiter (SMSpoke) spoke out for public health and safety – GO Scotty! 
Barbara Filet gave a great pitch for the necessity of creating a safer Michigan, and the dream she found many share – to see Michigan Ave become a true asset for the community.
Kent Strumpell spoke and praised the set of options the city had identified, including diversion. He voiced his satisfaction of the pop-up MANGo event and how this gave people a chance to actually see the proposed modifications, ask questions and learn about them and how polling at MANGo found 55% support for diversion.
Oscar de la Torre (PNA & School Board) spoke in support of finding solutions and collaboration – possible traffic mitigations could be coordinated with SRTS planning around SAMOHI – like more drop off zones (on Olympic Dr).

Also resurrected conversations about replacing the 7 Street bridge across the 10 FRWY – but at best that is a ways off. 

A few sparks did fly as those in opposition to traffic diversion are taking our challenge to their survey and input to support to al least test traffic diversion as attacks on them personally.
Not intended –

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Presentation and Feedback on MANGo, Meeting Dec 9th, 7pm

Second opportunity on a presentation of the initial results from the MANGo POP-UP Greenway!

Additionally your support and input is needed to balance efforts of a small yet vocal group from within the Pico Neighborhood Assoc. who are attempting to derail efforts to any experiment of traffic diversion. The input collected from mostly residents during MANGo supports traffic diversion by 55%. It would seem inappropriate to not even entertain this option that received so much support. Traffic diversion is widely accepted as a excellent tool to reduce traffic volumes, congestion and pollution on neighborhood streets and can be accomplished with minimal disruption to those that live in the area. If the neighborhood is willing to accept diversion as a tool (as is indicated in the MANGo results) to help eliminate cut through traffic and move toward having safer healthier streets with less traffic it should at minimum be allowed to be implemented as a test.
………

Diverters restrict auto access in order to reduce cut-through traffic. They can allow bicyclists full access. Diversion may be necessary if we are to lower traffic counts on Michigan, between 11th and Lincoln, from an outrageous 4200+ cars per day to the more neighborhood scaled 1,000 or less cars per day. With less than 1,000 cars per day, pedestrians, most people on bicycles, including children, can comfortably share the road and result in a quieter, safer and healthier neighborhood.

Santa Monica city staff will present an update on the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway. The project will enhance Michigan Avenue and nearby streets to become a safe walk/bike route to the beach for this neighborhood and the community.

   

Videos from the Sept. 21 MANGo Pop-Up Street event:

Pop-Up MANGo Tactical Urbanism                  MANGo Greenway

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Local Update Meeting, December 7, 2013: MANGo, BIKE SHARE, BAP & MORE

We invite you to join us, City Staff and our special guest, Santa Monica’s former Mayor, Assemblyman Richard Bloom who will give an update about regional Bike Share, Santa Monica’s leading roll and his commitment and leadership for a successful and truly regional system. Also we will get a peek at initial results from MANGo Pop Up Greenway, first event of its kind in the region (Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway project).

Presentations on projects aimed to create more  livable streets and improve the environment for pedestrians and bikes. Get inofrmed and give your input on prioritizing and projects that are important to you at anytime during the meeting via post it and written ballots.
……..
11:00 am Presentations will start 

• Bike Share, Assemblyman Richard Bloom
• MANGo results, Jason Kligier
• Samohi Safe Routes to School SRTS, plus integration to MANGo, Francie Stefan
• Bike Action Plan, implementation, prioritization, GREEN LANES, Lucy Dyke
• Esplanade, Cycle tracks, intersection improvements,  Joanna Hankamer
• Pedestrian Action Plan Community outreach survey, Santa Monica Walks, Grace Phillips

We will invite the SMPD bike liaison to attend who can address questions and clarification you may have regarding enforcement and ticketing.

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POP-UP MANGo, Temporary Greenway Installation and Community Festival!

Videos from the event:
Pop-Up MANGo Tactical Urbanism                  MANGo Greenway

Saturday, September 21st
11:00am – 3:00pm
On Michigan, between 9th & Euclid

The Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway is intended to create an inviting streetscape along Michigan Avenue and adjoining streets. The potential, three-mile Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway (MANGo) would connect residents to schools and community destinations via an inviting streetscape of sidewalks, calm roadways, increased trees and landscape. Spanning from Stewart Street to the beach, the Greenway would provide residents and visitors with a safe and comfortable place to walk, bike, interact with neighbors, and just be. The project will make it easier to get around Santa Monica without a car, enhance the livability of the neighborhood, and improve environmental quality.

Held along the central portion of the Greenway on Michigan Avenue, this unique family-friendly workshop will present a number of temporary installations that are representative of possible measures for the three-mile corridor. Examples of the temporary installations that participants should expect to see came out of input and ideas gathered from the community and include curb extensions, enhanced landscaping, places for impromptu neighborhood interactions, wayfinding signage and traffic calming measures.

Community members will be encouraged to visit each installation by foot or by bike. Santa Monica Spoke will lead two bike rides during the event that will start at the festival and preview the entire route of the proposed greenway project. Participants will be asked to provide their feedback and project team members will be available to answer questions.

Planning and outreach for the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway is funded by a Caltrans Environmental Justice Grant.

DOWNLOAD EVENT FLYER HERE

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JOIN US MARCH 16TH / ACOMPÁÑENOS 16 DE MARZO

PLACE: Virginia Ave. Park   /  LUGAR: Parque Virigina Ave.
DAY: Saturday, March 16   /  DIA: Sábado, 16 de marzo
TIME: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm  /  TIEMPO: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Join us for this first of two Community Workshop to envision and explore the possibilities of the
Michigan Ave Neighborhood Greenway: This Saturday, March 16, 9:30am -12:30pm
We are excited to hear a presentation on the project, and help collect input from the residents and the community.

Help us re imaging … A street for people, a place where motor vehicles drive slowly and 
carefully, where sidewalks are comfortable and inviting, where bike riders can travel safely, where neighbors can socialize and interact.

Your voice can help make this happen!
After the presentation there will be walking and bike audit tours on Michigan Ave to help get ideas. You can choose to join the walking tour or bring your bike if you would like to join us on the bike tour.
Additional information can be found here:

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