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TO:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM:Ryan Smoot, City Manager
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to select and approve a design concept for pedestrian improvements on Coke Avenue between Artesia Boulevard and the south City Limit.
DATE:May 11, 2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Receive input from the City Council on two separate design concepts related to pedestrian improvements on Coke Avenue between Artesia Boulevard and the south City Limit following communications with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) regarding the use of LADWP property for the purpose of constructing a portion of the Coke Avenue sidewalk.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve one of the two design options presented for installation of sidewalk on Coke Avenue between Artesia Boulevard and the south City Limit; or 2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total cost of construction, including design and inspection, is preliminarily estimated at $900,000, however a final estimate will not be available until the construction plans are finalized. Currently, $550,000 is available in Account No. 011-51611-9000 (Pedestrian ROW Improvements) for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27, and $1,360,000 per each fiscal year for the next two years is available in Account No. 145-51603-9000 (Annual Local Street Resurfacing Project).
DISCUSSION
At the January 26, 2026, City Council meeting, Public Works staff presented two design options to City Council for pedestrian improvements on Coke Avenue. At the time, City Council directed staff to consult with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) about the feasibility of obtaining an easement on LADWP property on the west side of the street. This easement would provide the necessary room to construct a portion of the proposed sidewalk on LADWP property that would allow for Design Option 1 without reducing the existing travel lanes’ widths for north/south traffic. -1-
stafJeport
Staff Report – Coke Avenue Pedestrian Improvements Concepts May 11, 2026
DISCUSSION – Continued
On April 21, 2026, City staff and representatives from Willdan Engineering spoke with members of the LADWP Real Estate Division about the proposed project. LADWP staff pointed out two significant issues. First, their design criteria does not allow for construction within 50 feet of LADWP transmission towers and the proposed sidewalk project would not meet this requirement. Second, LADWP staff informed us that the timeline for approval of such a request would take anywhere from 30 to 36 months (2½ to 3 years) from the time plans are submitted. Given the LADWP construction requirement and estimated timeline, it does not appear that an easement can be obtained for a portion of their property in a timely manner.
Based on the information from LADWP, Public Works staff recommends that the two original design options presented in January be discussed with the intent of selecting one of the options in order to initiate design of the project.
Design Option 1
This option is consistent with the existing conditions on Coke Avenue where vehicles travel in both directions (north/south) and there is on-street parking on both sides of the roadway. By incorporating a five (5) foot wide sidewalk on the west side, the drive aisle will be reduced from 20 feet down to 17 feet. While this will create a narrower drive aisle, it would be similar to the drive aisle widths that exist on Cedar, Ramona and Rose streets. Finally, it is unlikely that pedestrian bulb-outs can be constructed under the two-way traffic scenario at each intersection as the aisle width will not be wide enough.
Design Option 2
The second design option would be to convert the existing two-way traffic flow into a single direction (one-way) traffic operation. As proposed in this option, vehicles would enter Coke Avenue from Artesia Boulevard and travel in the southbound direction only to Rose Street. South of Rose Street, Coke Avenue would convert back to normal two-way traffic flow. On-street parking will continue to be available on both sides of Coke Avenue and pedestrian bulb-outs at each intersection could be installed.
Coke Avenue Pavement Condition Index (PCI)
Every 5 years, all City roadways are evaluated to determine their current pavement condition (PCI). In 2024, the PCI rating for this segment of Coke Avenue was 49 out of 100. The city-wide PCI average for this type of street is 83. A street with a PCI rating between 20 and 60 is recommended to have an overlay done. As part of this project, staff recommends that the design include an overlay component of Coke Avenue as opposed to the application of a slurry seal.
Following comments received from City Council, Public Works staff will work with Willdan Engineering to complete the PS&E documents and prepare the project for bidding.
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