From: Brianna Egan
To: CityClerk; Bill Brand; Nils Nehrenheim; Todd Loewenstein; Paige Kaluderovic; Zein Obagi; Scott Behrendt Subject: Public comment on Item N.1
Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2023 6:52:54 PM
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Hello Mayor Brand and City Council,
I'd like to provide a public comment on Item N.1. See below:
The Marvin Braude bike trail is a gem of bike and beach access along our coast. In addition to providing recreational use for locals and visitors, many people use the trail to commute via bicycle to jobs in El Segundo, Venice, Santa Monica, and the Westside. Redondo's portion of the bike trail provides a crucial connection to nearby beaches and reduces car traffic along surface streets. We should be incentivizing and encouraging the use of the bike trail for these uses, rather than actively discouraging it.
One question I have for council and staff is, what is your goal and what is the reason behind these measures for the bike trail? Has there been an increase in bike crashes or bike-pedestrian incidents? The informal understanding of bike users at the Redondo pier has been that people can ride their bikes continuously through the pier in the internal path, but must dismount at the South end where the trail joins with pedestrian areas. I have not heard of any documented increase in incidents.
Staff's recommendations to place chicanes and physical barriers within the parking lot portion of the pier, and the recent "Walk Bikes" signs and electronic signboards threatening fines all create an ugly, hostile environment to people on bikes. People still bike through Hermosa's chicanes, and their weaving through creates more hazards rather than reducing them. This is not what I want Redondo's bike path to be known for. I largely agree with Jim Hannon's and Jim Light's recommendation letter and their specific recommendations over the staff report.
Better signage, green paint, clear crosswalk markings, and programmed lights, would enhance the path, provide better safety, and still maintain flow. Additionally, I would ask the city to look into installing an electronic bike counter at the path at the upper boardwalk area to quantify and measure the number of cyclists for data-gathering purposes. We should be celebrating and enhancing our bike facilities, not undercutting and diminishing them.
Think DESIGN over fines, barriers, and policing. Thanks. --
Brianna J. Egan, MPH, RDN