Written Comments — Santa Monica City Council, March 21, 2023

1 Vernice Hankins
From: Caro Vilain <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2023 6:27 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Mayor and Councilmembers,
As a Santa Monica resident, I strongly support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request to improve safety on our community’s streets. This includes prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks (“scrambles”) and identifying at least 10 priority intersections where pedestrians will not need to push a “beg button” to cross and pedestrians will be given an opportunity to begin crossing before cars begin turning.

I personally cannot think of a good reason not to approve this request.

Everyone is a pedestrian at some point, including people with mobility devices, and people who chose to drive everywhere they go, so these safety measures will benefit all Santa Monica residents and would be a great step forward.

I never understood why right turns on red are allowed on our diagonal crosswalks, they’re quite confusing for all road users. We’re once again putting vulnerable road users at risk for the sake of making things faster and more convenient for cars, aka the thing that is responsible for over 43,000 deaths each year in the US alone, along with many other issues.

Right turns on red shouldn’t be allowed anywhere if you ask me, and preventing them also makes LPIs even more beneficial.

Regarding the removal of beg buttons and introduction of more LPIs, this change also sounds like a no brainer to me, especially now that AB 2264 has passed and requires LPIs to be programmed on all state‐controlled intersections. It will also benefit cyclists once AB1909 takes effect on Jan. 1 2024 and allows cyclists to cross on pedestrian walk signals (if you’re shocked that this isn’t already legal, so am I, it seems like common sense).

Let us please move towards making beg buttons a thing of the past, and make our streets work for people, not cars.

All of these changes will improve the safety of our communities' streets, protecting residents, families, and children from stress, injuries, and possible fatalities.

Thank you,
Caro Vilain
Item 16.B
03/21/23
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2 Vernice Hankins
From: Jacob Wasserman <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2023 2:09 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets, Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Mayor and Councilmembers,
As a professional transportation planner and Santa Monica resident, I support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis' request to improve safety on our community’s streets. This includes prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks ("scrambles") and identifying at least 10 priority intersections where pedestrians will not need to push a "beg button" to cross and pedestrians will be given an opportunity to begin crossing before cars begin turning. All of these changes will improve the safety of our communities' streets, protecting residents, families, and children from stress, injuries, and possible fatalities. I walk in the area regularly with my baby, and these improvements would make me feel much safer. I hope this is a first step to ending right turns on red and beg buttons citywide.

Jacob Wasserman
1027 11th Street, Apartment C
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Item 16.B
03/21/23
2 of 32 Item 16.B
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3 Vernice Hankins
From: Leonora <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2023 11:03 AM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

Item 16.B
03/21/23
3 of 32 Item 16.B
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Clerk Mailbox
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 9:32 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: FW: City Council 3/21/23 item 16B automobiles and children deaths From: jim gerstley <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 6:43 AM
To: Clerk Mailbox <[email protected]>; Council Mailbox <[email protected]>; Gleam Davis <[email protected]>; Oscar de la Torre <[email protected]>; Phil Brock <[email protected]>
Subject: City Council 3/21/23 item 16B automobiles and children deaths

EXTERNAL
I would like to offer some suggestions and insights from experience I see parents setting bad examples to children: walking across Wilshire on a red pedestrian light; bicycling throurgh stop signs and even red traffic signals without stopping are examples 1] If not already being done, schools should be teaching children pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Assuming they have the right of way is not enough. They need to be taught to be pro-active in their own safety [this goes for adults too!]. This includes dismounting to cross streets if bicycling on sidewalks so drivers can see them in a timely manner. Include night time safety. In other words, children [and adults] need to be visible to the driver in a timely manner so the driver can take evasive action. NO TURN ON RED is not enough, in my opinion
2] Bicycles being used to go to school should be checked for safety features including lights and reflectors. Should also have bells if bicycling on sidewalks for pedestrian safety 3] scramble intersections should have pedestrian stripes for at least part of the intersection in all directions, including the diagonals, so pedestrians etc can readily distinguish scramble from regular intersections. As is now, it is easy for a pedestrian to forget the intersection is/is not a scramble intersection [I almost got hit on 5th St because I thought I was at 4th St once] 4] Pedestrian walk signals should come on automatically. Pedestrians otherwise just walk when the traffic signal is green.
5] The sequencing of the scramble walk signals matters! Pedestrian WALK should come after the major boulevard green and before the cross street. Current sequencing is the opposite.

For example at Wilshire & 3rd, sequencing should be: Wilshire/pedestrian WALK/3rd [traffic].

Currently Wilshire/3rd [traffic]/pedestrian WALK. Wilshire in this case is the most dangerous street to cross on a red pedestrian signal, yet many pedestrians don't wait for the pedestrian signal, probably assuming it isn't going to change that cycle. Pedestrian safety can be increased by changing the sequencing so the pedestrian signal is before the 3rd St traffic signal. Same is true at 4th and Wilshire. Would give pedestrians time to catch a waiting bus on 4th St. With the current Wilshire/4th St/ pedestrian WALK sequence, a pedestrian could miss a waiting bus and have to wait another15-30 Item 16.B
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2 minutes; so may try to run across Wilshire to catch the bus. Changing the sequencing is a cheap cure to make the city more pedestrian friendly.
6] Night safety: street lighting is not great for protecting pedestrians. Yet pedestrians, while having the right of way, still act as though they are visible to drivers--both in downtown and residential areas.

Also true of bicyclists. Many pedestrians wear dark clothing . Pedestrians can see cars because of headlights; the reverse is not necessarily true.

A] improve lighting at crosswalks
B] educate people on the dangers of J-walking downtown [saw several at night crossing 4th St-- very hard to see at night due to poor lighting]
C] Distribute and convince use of arm/leg reflectors for night walking D] convince pedestrians to use the side walk rather than the street at night [seen several on Montana after dark using the street as "their sidewalk" E] Stress importance of bicycle safety after dark: stopping at stop signs; front and rear lights or at least reflectors so visible front,rear, and side. Also dangers of coming off sidewalks into crosswalk after dark as drivers probably won't see them coming--dangerous enough during the day.

F] dangers of bicycling on sidewalk in residential area as cars coming out of driveways may not be able to see their approach in time

7] Another issue is pedestrians and bicyclists who come up alongside the passenger side of a driver waiting to make a right turn. Can usually see a pedestrian waiting to cross. But bicyclists can come out of nowhere and suddenly appear in front of the driver as he turns. This can happen because the bicyclist is traveling faster than the line of cars waiting to turn. Plus the line of cars can hide the approach of a bicyclist, and the driver's attention is also on other traffic. This can be an issue day or night. How do you increase safety here?
Bottom line: pedestrians have the right of way but need to be proactive to give drivers the opportunity to see them in a timely manner. This includes adults.

I'm actually surprised there aren't more accidents.

Jim Gerstley
Santa Monica 90403
Item 16.B
03/21/23
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Leah Pressman <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 8:16 PM
To: Council Mailbox; councilmtgitems
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor and Council members,
I write in support of Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request to improve safety on Santa Monica streets.

This includes prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks (“scrambles”) and identifying at least 10 priority intersections where pedestrians will not need to push a “beg button” to cross and pedestrians
will be given an opportunity to begin crossing before cars begin turning.

All of these changes will improve the safety of our communities' streets, protecting visitors, workers, residents, families, and children from stress, injuries, and possible fatalities.

It is past time to turn away from our poisonous legacy of car culture. It is not healthy for children and other living things.

We must make it safe to walk and bike and take transit.

The IPPC - a highly conservative body - has made an announcement of the dire state of the climate crisis and stated plainly and clearly that it is of utmost urgency that we make drastic cuts to our emissions. Safe streets is an important part of getting people out of their cars which is an important part of cutting emissions.

Sincerely,
Leah Pressman and Jeff Schwartz
(Jeff is a city employee in Santa Monica who has worked their for over 20 years - we are both former residents) Item 16.B
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6 of 32 Item 16.B
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2 Vernice Hankins
From: Brodsky, Michael <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 8:12 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: 16B - Safer streets

EXTERNAL
Dear Council Members,
My grandfather was killed at the corner of Wilshire and 10th by a driver who did not stop for him as he walked across the cross walk.

I speak from the heart when I say we need to do everything we can to prevent such needless tragedies.

I support all efforts to reduce collisions resulting in injury or death between people who drive a car, ride a bicycle, or walk.
“No right turns on scrambles” and “pedestrian recall” with “leading pedestrian intervals” are simple no‐brainers.

Sincerely,
Michael Brodsky
Santa Monica
Item 16.B
03/21/23
7 of 32 Item 16.B
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3 Vernice Hankins
From: Josh Hamilton <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 8:07 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

Josh Hamilton
Member, Housing Commission
310.968.3037 mobile
Item 16.B
03/21/23
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4 Vernice Hankins
From: Diana Williams <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 7:08 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; councilmtgitems
Subject: 3/21 Item 16B - public comment

EXTERNAL
Councilmembers,
I'm a Santa Monica resident and homeowner. My one car household includes an elementary‐aged child, an octogenarian, and a regular expo line commuter. We all are passionate about public transportation and making our streets safer for vulnerable road users, which includes everyone not riding around in a 2 ton metal box.

I'm therefore extremely excited about the changes proposed in Item 16B like banning right turns on red in scramble intersections and implementing leading pedestrian intervals at major intersections ‐‐ these are all things that have been proven to keep pedestrians, especially children, safe. I appreciate Councilmembers Zwick and Torosis for their leadership in this regard and look forward to supporting even more bold safe streets initiatives in the future.

Please support this motion so we can make Santa Monica a safer place to walk.

Best,
Diana Williams
90403
Item 16.B
03/21/23
9 of 32 Item 16.B
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Babak Mozaffari <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 11:08 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

Item 16.B
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2 Vernice Hankins
From: Sarah Starks <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 9:46 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; councilmtgitems
Subject: 3/21 Item 16B - public comment

EXTERNAL
Councilmembers,
I'm a Santa Monica resident and I'm excited about the changes proposed in Item 16B like banning right turns on red in scramble intersections and implementing leading pedestrian intervals at major intersections ‐‐ these are all things that have been proven to keep pedestrians, especially children, safe.

Please support this motion so we can make Santa Monica a safe place to walk.

Best,
Sarah Starks
Sunset Park, 90405
Sent from my phone.

Item 16.B
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3 Vernice Hankins
From: Julian Abbott Billings <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 8:48 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

Julian Billings
90403
Item 16.B
03/21/23
12 of 32 Item 16.B
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4 Vernice Hankins
From: gillian grebler <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 8:42 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Mayor and CouncilmembersI support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request to improve safety on our community’s streets. This includes prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks (“scrambles”) and identifying at least 10 priority intersections where pedestrians will not need to push a “beg button” to cross and pedestrians will be given an opportunity to begin crossing before cars begin turning. All of these changes will improve the safety of our communities' streets, protecting residents, families, and children from stress, injuries, and possible fatalities. These are among a number of important pedestrian safety improvements that need to be made, including enforcement of stop signs at intersections along Pearl St. where there was a horrific accident earlier this month. Santa Monica streets, large and small, are a pedestrian’s nightmare.

Thank you,
Gillian Grebler, Rene Grebler, Robert Hull and the 2507 28th Street Homeowners Association Item 16.B
03/21/23
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 8:06 AM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

Sent from my iPhone
Item 16.B
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2 Vernice Hankins
From: PATTY ODA <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 7:44 AM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

Sent from my iPhone
Item 16.B
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3 Vernice Hankins
From: Daniela Morato <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 5:09 AM
To: Anuj Gupta; Caroline Torosis; David White; Susan Cline; Christine Parra; Gleam Davis; Jesse Zwick; Lana Negrete; Oscar de la Torre; Phil Brock
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Mayor and Councilmembers:

I support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request to improve safety on our community’s streets. This includes prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks (“scrambles”) and identifying at least 10 priority intersections where pedestrians will not need to push a “beg button” to cross and pedestrians will be given an opportunity to begin crossing before cars begin turning.

All of these changes will improve the safety of our communities' streets, protecting residents, families, and children from stress, injuries, and possible fatalities.

Thank you!
Daniela Morató
Item 16.B
03/21/23
16 of 32 Item 16.B
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4 Vernice Hankins
From: Laurene von Klan <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 11:56 PM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Mayor and Councilmembers
Please support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request to make our streets safer and more pedestrian friendly.

Vision Zero can be achieved through initiatives like these Thank you
Laurene von Klan
Sent from my iPhone
Item 16.B
03/21/23
17 of 32 Item 16.B
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Joanne Leslie <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 8:30 AM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Mayor and Councilmembers
I support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request to improve safety on our community’s streets. This includes prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks (“scrambles”) and identifying at least 10 priority intersections where pedestrians will not need to push a “beg button” to cross and pedestrians will be given an opportunity to begin crossing before cars begin turning. All of these changes will improve the safety of our communities' streets, protecting residents, families, and children from stress, injuries, and possible fatalities. Honestly, except for a true emergency, we don't need to be in such a hurry as drivers. I understand the impatient feeling but it is much better to make sure that pedestrians are safe. All of us are both drivers and pedestrians.

Thank you,
Dr. Joanne Leslie
1351 Grant St., Santa Monica
Item 16.B
03/21/23
18 of 32 Item 16.B
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Mike Terranova <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 9:58 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Item 16B Comment : Enhancing the Vision Zero Plan with Safety-Improving Signal Changes and Community Involvement

EXTERNAL
Dear City Council Members,
I am writing to express support for the proposed council member item 16B (2023/03/21 Council Meeting) by Councilmembers Zwick and Torosis, which aim to augment the city's Vision Zero plan with safety-enhancing signal phasing improvements at SM intersections. Given the alarming statistics on automobile-related deaths among children ages 5-14 in LA County, it is crucial that we take urgent and effective measures to increase safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all.

According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics’s National Vital Statistics Mortality database, motor vehicle traffic-related accidents and injuries in Los Angeles County are the #1 injury-related cause of mortality in children 5-14, only second to certain cancers, but ahead of all other diseases and the more recently tracked firearm-related deaths. This highlights the urgent need for our city to take action in improving pedestrian safety.

The proposed pilot program to ban "Right on Red" at scramble intersections, reprogram traffic signals to operate on "pedestrian recall,” and use Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) is a step in the right direction.

Jurisdictions such as San Francisco have improved pedestrian safety by having pedestrian signals default to show pedestrian crossing when traffic lights are indicated green for traffic, and eliminated the need for pedestrians to push a button to cross. This change helped ensure that pedestrians have the right-of-way without requiring them to take any extra action.

Implementing pedestrian recall at intersections should reduce lengthy waiting periods for pedestrians, encourage more people to walk and ultimately promote a safer, healthier, and more sustainable city. SM Traffic Mgmt Division should also consider enhancements to limit pedestrian wait intervals to no more than 60-80 seconds. Requiring pedestrians to push a button and wait for over a minute is unreasonable and discourages walking in our city. It also leads drivers at red lights to get frustrated and inattentive with long waits and draws attention to other things inside their vehicles like the more common touch displays or checking texts, which leads to accidents like auto vs. ped collisions when a driver looks up, finally sees a green, and starts driving before thoroughly checking blind spots e.g. the A-pillar of the vehicle, front of vehicle with ever-increasing vehicle heights.

While the installation of curb extensions in places like Pico Blvd can help reduce crossing times and increase pedestrian visibility, the Council should consider providing direction to give reports on cross timing, particularly for diagonal scrambles, to accommodate children and older individuals who require more time to cross safely.

In addition to the proposed pilot program and enhancements, it is essential to involve the community in making changes to traffic phasing and roadway design. I recommend the Council to direct staff to organize community workshops and create a report with options for the Council to consider and give direction on. This approach would ensure that residents have a say in shaping their neighborhoods and foster greater acceptance of the implemented measures.

I fully support the pilot program proposed by Councilmembers Zwick and Torosis, and I strongly encourage the City Council to consider giving City Staff the additional direction to come back with suggestions to further Item 16.B
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2 improve pedestrian safety and ways in which the City can involve the community in the decision-making process. Implementing these measures will not only contribute to the success of the Vision Zero plan but also create a safer, more inclusive, and more sustainable city for all residents.

Thank you for your attention to this critical and ultimately life safety issue.

Sincerely,
Mike Terranova
Sunset Park Resident
Item 16.B
03/21/23
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3 Vernice Hankins
From: Rebecca Benefiel Bijur <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 9:57 AM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
Thank you for all you do for our city and community!
As a parent of three kids in our SMMUSD schools and a resident of the Pico neighborhood, I am writing to ask you to support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request to improve safety on our community’s streets. This includes prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks (“scrambles”) and identifying at least 10 priority intersections where pedestrians will not need to push a “beg button” to cross and pedestrians will be given an opportunity to begin crossing before cars begin turning.

It would be particularly great if one of these priority intersections was 20th and Delaware, where my kids and I have long experienced a particularly short pedestrian opportunity to cross 20th on our way from our apartment to Virginia Avenue Park, especially if we have not hit the button first.

All of these changes will improve the safety of our communities' streets, protecting residents, families, and children from stress, injuries, and possible fatalities.

Thank you!
Sincerely,
Rev. Rebecca Bijur
Item 16.B
03/21/23
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Perry Holmes <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 10:27 AM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems
Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

I appreciate your consideration, thank you!
Item 16.B
03/21/23
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Michael Feinstein <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 10:53 AM
To: Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre
Cc: [email protected]; councilmtgitems; David White; Susan Cline; Anuj Gupta Subject: Please Support Safe Streets Item 16B

EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Davis, City Councilmembers and City Staff
I support Councilmember Zwick and Torosis’s request in item 16Bnto improve safety on our community’s streets.

Regarding prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks/scrambles intersections ‐ it was originally myself (when I was on the City Council), in concert with then Planning Director Suzanne Frick and then Resource Manager Jeff Mathieu, that informally came up with the idea of making Ocean Ave./Colorado a scramble intersection — and idea which later came to and was approved by the City Council ‐ the first scramble intersection in the city.

At that time, there were some in the community who were concerned that implementing a scramble intersection at Ocean/Colorado would lead to great public opposition/blowback from north/south drivers along Ocean Ave. Instead it seems that the scramble intersection has been a great success in our community, is seen as something natural and sensible in an area with so many pedestrians, and its success has led us to adopt scramble intersections elsewhere in Santa Monica.

The new request by Councilmembers Zwick and Torosis to prohibiting right turns while pedestrians are crossing at our downtown diagonal crosswalks/scrambles intersections seems to be a very sensible enhancement to our existing policy, that will only further facilitate ability of pedestrians to cross in a safe and timely manner.

For that reason, I fully support it and encourage you to do the same.

Thanks
Mike Feinstein
Ocean Park
Item 16.B
03/21/23
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Natalya Zernitskaya <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 11:09 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Gleam Davis; Christine Parra; Oscar de la Torre; Lana Negrete; Phil Brock; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis
Cc: David White
Subject: City Council Agenda 3/21/2023- Item 16B Public Comment

EXTERNAL
Good Morning Mayor Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Negrete, and City Councilmembers, I urge you to support item 16B on today's City Council agenda for the City Council to move forward with ways to improve our Vision Zero efforts and pedestrian safety by:
 Banning Right on Red at all “scramble” intersections
 Reprogramming traffic signals to operate on "pedestrian recall" (i.e. eliminating "beg buttons")  Utilizing a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) at 10 priority intersections as determined by data from Santa Monica’s high‐injury network, as well as data on frequency of pedestrian use.

Improving our City's pedestrian network will lead to a better and safer experience for all people using our streets, regardless of their method of transportation.

Banning Right on Red at Scramble Crosswalks
Just yesterday, I saw a delivery vehicle in downtown Santa Monica making a right on a red light at a scramble crosswalk without even slowing down while there were still pedestrians in the crosswalk. Banning right turns at red lights will help protect pedestrians and enhance our pedestrian infrastructure. It is a common‐sense measure to make our City a safer place.

Ending Beg Buttons
Buttons that pedestrians have to push to request to cross a street, colloquially known as "beg buttons" prioritize cars over people and penalize pedestrians and bicyclists. Beg buttons also carry potential risk of fomite transmission of illnesses. They frequently violate ADA guidelines as they may be placed in a manner that would be inaccessible or difficult to access by people with disabilities. Reprogramming our traffic signals to operate on "pedestrian recall" and eliminating beg buttons would be a great step toward making our community safer and more accessible.

Leading Pedestrian Intervals
Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) give pedestrians a few extra seconds to begin crossing before a traffic signal turns green for cars. There are several intersections near where I live that use LPIs and I feel much safer crossing at those intersections than many others in my neighborhood. Per the US Department of Transportation (https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven‐safety‐countermeasures/leading‐pedestrian‐ interval#:~:text=A%20leading%20pedestrian%20interval%20(LPI,to%20turn%20right%20or%20left.), LPIs provide the following benefits:
 Increased visibility of crossing pedestrians.
 Reduced conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles.
 Increased likelihood of motorists yielding to pedestrians.  Enhanced safety for pedestrians who may be slower to start into the intersection.

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2 Additional Pedestrian Safety Measures‐ Daylighting
Although it is not mentioned in this 16 item, I would also recommend that the City Council further enhance our pedestrian infrastructure by improving sightlines at crosswalks and intersections by prohibiting vehicles from parking or stopping at the curb within twenty feet of a marked crosswalk or intersection, a pedestrian safety measure colloquially known as "daylighting." AB 413, introduced by Assemblymember Alex Lee would enact this measure statewide, but we can choose to proactively do this in Santa Monica. As the City Council, you can also voice our City's support for AB 413. I understand that as this specific item is not on the agenda, it would likely not be able to be considered this evening, but I urge you to please consider enacting Daylighting and supporting AB 413 at a future City Council meeting.

Santa Monica has been a leader in enacting safety reforms for a more walkable and bikeable community. Let's live up to our reputation.

Sincerely,
Natalya
Natalya Zernitskaya (she/her)
[email protected]
Item 16.B
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Daniel Hall <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 11:51 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Item 16B - Banning Right on Red at Scramble Intersections and Implementing LPI

EXTERNAL
Mayor Davis, Mayor Pro Tempore Negrete, Councilmembers, I am writing to support Item 16B on tonight's agenda. Santa Monica's reputation for a walkable city is one of things I most enjoy about our community and will frequently brag about to my family and friends. My partner and I share a single car ‐ it's one of the ways we have changed our lifestyle to be more environmentally friendly, and, frankly, a version of mobility we have sacrificed in order to afford living in such an expensive housing market. When I travel about town, I go by bike, Big Blue Bus, or my own two feet. You can find me running with my dog, Hudson, every morning up and down Arizona Ave. I've been so happy to see the new protected bike lane improvements being made on 17th Street; I would love to see a similar investment made in our pedestrian safety, especially in Downtown, where I have personally witnessed drivers make 'rights on red' into scramble intersections that are active, always with near misses.

Leading Pedestrian Indicators (LPIs) are now required by law upon installation or replacement of lights due to the passing of AB 2264 last year, authored by our very own Assemblymember Bloom. In the bill's analysis, Caltrans contended "that LPIs 1) increase pedestrian visibility; 2) reduce conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles; 3) increase the likelihood of motorists yielding to pedestrians; and 4) enhance safety for pedestrians who may be slower to start into the intersection. Additionally, costs for implementing LPIs are very low, since only minor signal timing alteration is required. This makes it an easy and inexpensive countermeasure that can be incorporated into pedestrian safety action plans or policies and can become routine agency practice. Caltrans also indicates that LPIs can reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes by approximately forty percent." LPIs are already in use in numerous places, including elsewhere in California. Multiple professional traffic and transportation organizations such as the National Association of City Transportation Officials, the US Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, and the Transportation Research Board consider LPIs to be best practice. I'm excited for this possibility in Santa Monica to be piloted at our top 10 high-injury intersections, and urge you to support this item to maintain our leadership in walkability in the region.

As always, thank you for your consideration,
Dan Hall
Mid‐City Neighborhood Resident
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1 SANTA MONICA ALLIANCE FOR THE FUTURE
www.futuresantamonica.com
March 21, 2023
Santa Monica City Council
c/o City Clerk
1685 Main St., Room 250
Santa Monica, CA 90401
RE: Agenda Item 16-B (Safe Streets Measures)
Dear Hon. Councilmembers,
On behalf of the Santa Monica Alliance for the future, I am writing to urge you to support the common-sense safety measures under consideration as part of Item 16-B on tonight’s agenda.

Studies have found a direct correlation between “right on red” bans and improved pedestrian safety.1 Furthermore, as discussed in the attached Los Angeles Times piece, the underlying justification for allowing “right on red” turns is flawed.

Likewise, pedestrian recall and leading pedestrian interval features are also wellunderstood methods of improving roadway safety.2 For these reasons, we hope you will support item 16-B.

Best,
Ellis Raskin
Chair, S.M. Alliance for the Future

1 See, e.g., this pilot program in Washington D.C.:
https://ite.ygsclicbook.com/pubs/itejournal/2022/may-2022/live/index.html#p=41 2 See, e.g., https://www.calbike.org/leading-pedestrian-interval-puts-people-walkingfirst/.

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OPINION
Column: Is turning right on a red light your California birthright? Absolutely not! California first allowed drivers to turn right on red lights in 1939. (Associated Press) BY ROBIN ABCARIAN | COLUMNIST
NOV. 13, 2022 3 AM PT
It’s dangerous out there on the mean streets of, well, just about any city where cars and pedestrians interact.

Over the last decade, all U.S. traffic deaths have increased by 13%, according to the Governors Highway Safety Assn., but pedestrian deaths have risen by a whopping 54%.

And no one knows exactly why.

In an attempt to reverse the deadly trend, cities are seeking ways to intervene. One promising change that’s catching on: prohibiting drivers from turning right on red lights.

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OPINION COLUMNIST
Robin Abcarian
Read more from Robin Abcarian
Last week, Berkeley joined the effort with an initial City Council vote. It follows San Francisco, San Jose, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Washington, D.C., all of which have taken steps to reduce the risk of cars crashing into pedestrians and cyclists by, to one degree or another, outlawing rights on reds. “Policies like eliminating right on red are smart and easy ways to begin the process of deprioritizing car use in Berkeley and placing lives above driver convenience,” Berkeley Councilmember Terry Taplin wrote in his proposal.

So far, the data are promising.

A study of a pilot program testing the ban in Washington, D.C., found that the number of times drivers failed to yield to pedestrians when the light was red dropped dramatically, according to Route Fifty, a website that covers tech and innovation in states and cities. Weirdly, the study also found that 30% more drivers encroached on the crosswalk as they inched forward trying to turn right. That, said the study authors, was probably because those drivers started to turn at the red light but then realized it was illegal and got stuck in the crosswalk. …
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CALIFORNIA
Berkeley may ban cars from making right turns on red lights. Here’s why Nov. 9, 2022
“As a pedestrian, you have a light to cross the street, but you have a driver who’s inching out into the intersection looking in exactly the opposite direction to see if there are any cars coming,” Colin Browne of the Washington Area Bicyclist Assn. told Route Fifty. “So you have to decide: Is this person going to see me or not?”
Personally, I think the ban is a good idea and would love to see it enacted in Los Angeles.

I bet I’m not the only driver who feels a twinge of anxiety when the light turns red as I approach a right turn.

There’s a lot of information to absorb. Is someone crossing the street in front of me? Is a cyclist coming up behind me on my right side in the bike lane? Are the drivers who are stopped behind me getting antsy because I haven’t turned yet? And why does this all feel so intense? When I see a sign prohibiting a right turn on a red light, I am relieved. One less stress point in my life behind the wheel.

Although all states allow right turns on red lights, many Californians in particular consider the practice their birthright. Perhaps we claim the rule as our own because California was probably the first state to embrace the practice, in 1939.

CALIFORNIA
Hundreds died in L.A. traffic crashes in 2021. Is Vision Zero a failure? Jan. 9, 2022
During the energy crisis of 1973, when drivers lined up to buy gas on specified days, traffic engineers came up with the dubious (to me, anyway) proposition that allowing right turns on red lights would save fuel. The federal government codified the practice in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 when it required states to permit right turns on red lights in order to receive federal assistance for mandated conservation programs.

That seems pretty dumb in retrospect, and yet another example of how the automobile has always been prioritized over pedestrian safety in our car-obsessed culture. “Permitting right turns on red has always been a dangerous idea, which is why, when the first traffic lights and traffic laws rolled out, it was not allowed,” Jessie Singer told me in an email Thursday. Singer literally wrote the Item 16.B
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Copyright © 2023, Los Angeles Times | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | CA Notice of Collection | Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information book on how “accidents” happen in America. “It is no coincidence,” she continued, “that in New York City, the most pedestrian-dense city in the U.S., right on red has long and largely been disallowed.” The practice is inherently dangerous to pedestrians because, as Singer puts it, it “leaves the sanctity of the crosswalk and the life of a pedestrian in the hands of a fallible driver.”

CALIFORNIA
Jaywalking is decriminalized in California under new law Oct. 1, 2022
In Singer’s book, “There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster — Who Profits and Who Pays the Price,” she argues that the tragedies we consider “accidents” are almost always preventable. “In the so-called ‘accident-prone’ areas of our lives,” she told me, “we can protect people by reducing their exposure to harm. One way that harm is introduced is when we take a safe system, like the rule that red means stop, and modify it to serve feelings like convenience or desire — suddenly the rule is a matter of opinion and judgment, a choice about feelings of safety to be made again and again by individual drivers, and whim to their mood, their needs, or the quality of their day.”
Berkeley’s ban awaits another funding vote before the city starts posting “no right turn on red” signs at all its intersections with lights. The council members are braced for “pushback,” but they’re right: Outlawing rights on reds is an easy, cost-effective way to save lives.

Los Angeles, are you listening?
@AbcarianLAT
Robin Abcarian
Robin Abcarian is an opinion columnist at the Los Angeles Times. She writes about news, politics and culture. Her columns appear on Wednesday and Sunday. Twitter:
@AbcarianLAT
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Santa Monica City CouncilMarch 21, 2023

Santa Monica City Council
March 21, 2023