1 David Yakobson
From: Caro Vilain <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 11:34 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Dear council,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A.
As a Santa Monica resident, I want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach our Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
As someone who lives at the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd and 15th St, I deal with the dangers and hostility of SM Blvd on a daily basis and have witnessed many crashes just on my block. And as someone who does not have the option to drive, it is very clear that the street I live off of isn’t meant to welcome me or anybody else outside of a car, either they’re walking, cycling, using a mobility device, taking transit,… despite providing access to a school, a library, parks, businesses, and many homes.
The improvements that are being proposed would improve this experience in some spots, but they would not make SM Blvd a safe corridor. It would continue to be a deadly, unwelcoming, and polluting corridor.
Many of you are in the position that you’re in because you care about the safety, accessibility, and enjoyability of our city. So does the staff working on these projects. Yet, we’re once again finding ourselves falling short of our ambitions. Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Blvd after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Blvd unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor. And while I cannot claim to be an engineer or have more knowledge than our hard-working and qualified staff, I know that we can and should do better as a city, which may require shifting priorities or rethinking our processes. This is a study. This means we should be in a position to evaluate all possible safety improvements, and yet, we’re choosing to be timid and to limit the scope of what’s possible.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug. It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community. The status quo isn’t working.
Thank you,
Caro Vilain
90404
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2 David Yakobson
From: Jason Mastbaum <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 11:23 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Cc: Ramon Batista; Elaine Polachek
Subject: Re: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Adding to the list of things that seem more important than hectoring cyclists instead of dealing with dangerous motorists, I find it hard to believe SMPD is so severely understaffed that they haven't had a chance to replace this temp license plate at any point since it expired six years ago. That first year it was expired was even before COVID. Yet I spotted them driving around like this just a few minutes ago coming out of Andrew's Cheese Shop.
When PD behaves like this it sends a very clear signal to other motorists that it's okay for them to do the same.
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3 Item 7-A
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4 On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 8:51 AM Jason Mastbaum <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear council,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A.
As a Santa Monica resident, I want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach our Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Blvd after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Blvd unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug. It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community.
I urge you to take our Vision Zero commitment seriously and to strive for more than spot improvements on this corridor, such as bus lanes that would make it safer and more accessible, improve emergency response, and help us reach our Vision Zero and sustainability goals. Council should also reject counterproductive recommendations contained in the agenda packet, such as the Nelson/Nygaard recommendation that "Bicycle and scooter crashes are overrepresented in serious injury crashes (55%) compared to all crashes (20%), and therefore safety improvements should support these users, including educational efforts to address high risk scooter and bike behaviors." Bicycle and scooter riders are overrepresented because when bad motorist behavior and bad street design causes a Item 7-A
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5 collision, the party not encased in thousands of pounds of steel is going to take the brunt of the collision!
A bicycle or scooter rider being hit by this illegally lifted truck would show up as a "serious injury crash involving a bicycle/scooter". Are we really going to say that the problem is the behavior of the bicycle/scooter rider?
What about when the bike lane is illegally blocked? Surely the effort should be an education and enforcement effort until motorists learn to stop doing this. But I suspect that instead Nelson/Nygaard would consider the cyclist exiting the bike lane due to the illegal blockage "a high risk cyclist behavior".
But unfortunately PD loves to park in the bike lanes too.
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6 And while we're here, cyclists and scooter riders are not the ones illegally plowing through the K71s to make illegal left turns in/out of the downtown parking structures.
Thank you,
Jason
90403
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7 David Yakobson
From: Dustin Shahan <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 10:44 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Dear council,
As a Santa Monica resident just a block away from SM Blvd, I'm generally very supportive of making safety improvements there. Virtually every time I cross it there's a car not paying attention, speeding by, ignoring crosswalks, or cutting off the bus. I was extremely optimistic about the results of this safety study, but frankly I'm pretty disappointed with it.
To start off simply, why weren't bus lanes even considered? You, the city council, provided explicit direction by unanimously approving Item 16.E of the February 2025 meeting. Aligning with WSCCOG's initiative for BRT is such an obvious step for this study and we've lost yet another opportunity to move towards the vision that you directed. Even as transit advocates, my wife is fed up waiting in traffic as she sits on the BBB 1 every day. Why are we letting the solution to traffic be stuck in traffic?!? More broadly, this study seems to be going down the same path that has routinely failed so many in this city for previous projects. Despite being a year away from our "Vision Zero", fatal and severe injuries continue to be a regular part of everyday life. The recent changes to Wilshire Blvd were very similar to what is being proposed, yet we have continued to have multiple incidents along there, including fatalities. Repeating that project would be a clear statement that the city is still happy with "Vision Many".
More specifically, the proposed right turn only treatments shown for 10th and 18th street are a great example of how we haven't learned. Those treatments along Broadway and elsewhere are constantly ignored by drivers who still have ample room to continue putting other road users at risk. The Stanford street option is slightly better, but incidents like at Ocean Park & 3rd in April show that's not enough either.
There are too many residents and businesses suffering along SM Blvd for it to continue to be such a hostile environment. We must BE BOLD to prioritize people over cars and stop kicking the can down the road with such a blurry vision.
I hope we do better,
Dustin Shahan
90401
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1 David Yakobson
From: Melissa Sweeney <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 10:01 AM
To: Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Dan Hall; Barry Snell; Lana Negrete
Cc: councilmtgitems; Armine Chaparyan; Rachel Kwok
Subject: Support for 7A
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis, and City Council Members, I’m writing to express my strong support for Staff’s recommendations for Agenda Item 7A (Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study).
I’ve lived in Santa Monica since 1980. I’ve always been a walker. In those 4+ decades, I’ve logged more than 41,000 miles on Santa Monica’s sidewalks.
Walking keeps me connected with Santa Monica’s diverse and vibrant neighborhoods and has given me a familiarity with the evolution of the commercial boulevards that support and link them. However, I have had to learn which streets and intersections to avoid in order to maintain my safety. My safety – and that of my fellow pedestrians who walk for pleasure, for health, to shop, to get to work, and get their kids safely to school – has diminished.
That is why I am thrilled to see meaningful pedestrian improvements on the table. We pedestrians acknowledge that enforcement is scant to non-existent and understand that it merely solves the pedestrian safety problem one bad driver at a time. With your commitment to those tangible improvements, we will be able to depend on tested infrastructure solutions to provide a secure and predictable environment for pedestrians.
I applaud the exhaustive work of City staff and consultants to bring these solutions to the table tonight.
Many thanks,
Melissa Sweeney
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2 David Yakobson
From: Cynthia Rose <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 9:52 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Dan Hall
Cc: Elaine Polachek; Anuj Gupta; Colleen E. Stoll; Jason Kligier; [email protected]
Subject: Support for Agenda item 7a Santa Monica Blvd Safety Study Attachments: 2025-06 CC Agenda Item 7a Support SM Blvd Safty Study-SM Spoke SaMoSSA .pdf
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis and City Council Members:
On behalf of Santa Monica Spoke and the Santa Monica Safe Streets Alliance please find attached our letter supporting staff recommendations for Agenda Item 7A: Santa Monica Blvd. Safety Study. We appreciate the tremendous amount of data and analysis collected and included in the report as well as the high level of community engagement and outreach that got us to this point. We are look forward to seeing these safety improvements implemented expeditiously as we know they will help reduce vehicle/pedestrian/bike/vehicle conflicts and make our streets safer for everyone. --
Cynthia Rose
Director
Santa Monica Spoke
SMSpoke.org
I acknowledge with respect and gratitude the Tongva, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples on whose traditional territory I live and work.
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A community group dedicated
to biking and walking in Santa Monica.
Working to make the
City of Santa Monica a
more sustainable,
bikeable & walkable place to live, work and play.
June 10, 2025
RE: Support for Agenda item 7a Santa Monica Blvd Safety Study
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis and City Council Members:
On behalf of Santa Monica Spoke and the Santa Monica Safe Streets Alliance we support staff recommendations and the supporting documentation for Agenda Item 7A: Santa Monica Blvd. Safety Study.
We appreciate the tremendous amount of data and analysis collected and included in the report as well as the high level of community engagement and outreach that we participated in –and helped to support– that included bilingual community surveys & outreach, a walk audit on the corridor as well as targeted engagement on and adjacent to the corridor with businesses along with engagement of McKinley school and parents.
We are excited to see safety improvements, which we know reduce vehicle/pedestrian/bike/vehicle conflicts, with the implementations that include proven safety of restricting right turns at 13 intersections, and 3 additional diagonal crossing intersections, (note: please limit vehicle right turns during pedestrian phase to make these true scrambles) along with pedestrian improvements that include curb extension, and refuge islands. We look forward to seeing the flexibility of more pedestrian improvements to come as outlined.
Bikeway markings crossing intersections is an awaited safety improvement that we are pleased to see finally realize.
We are also very pleased to see the bus travel timing improvements – with far side stop relocation and cue jumps. We appreciate and highlight that the implementations east of 26th Street leave room for the potential and phased implementation of bus only lanes. We understand that those would and should require a broader study of the potential impacts of pushing current vehicle commute traffic to adjacent parallel neighborhood (bike lane) streets. Broadway and Arizona are already burdened during commute times and could be further impacted if we were to propose the required removal of a travel lane to add a bus only lane on the corridor. We need to study the required mode shift to better understand viability. Robust and targeted collecting of data would be needed on the required level of mode shift along the corridor in conjunction with inter-jurisdictional coordination to explore treatments to improve bus travel times before reducing traffic lanes and the potential of pushing traffic onto adjacent neighborhood streets. These narrow neighborhood streets could become vulnerable to increased traffic on corridors where bikes currently enjoy a level of priority.* The Santa Monica Blvd. Safety improvements move us closer to an envisioned network of safer streets, not only supporting Santa Monica’s Vision Zero and the Climate Action and Adaptability Plan but also our environmental sustainability goals to reduce traffic volumes and encourage walking, biking and transit use by increasing safety and comfort on all corridors in Santa Monica and creating neighborhood connectivity to local destinations and schools. The message this project sends to current and future generations is that climate actions are made real with climate-sensible infrastructure for a resilient present and future while ensuring safe pedestrian movement for the most vulnerable road user. These Item 7-A
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proposed safety improvements have the ability to reinforce our collective community and city commitment for a more environmentally sustainable and resilient future where everyone has safe and easy access to public transit, and choices for healthy, active mobility to walk, bike or roll for recreation and for their daily needs.
Improving street safety for all road users and bus travel times is key and helps create a more diverse, equitable and safe transportation system. We support these first steps and thank staff and the consultants for their work.
We trust the council will move swiftly and vote to move this proposal forward expeditiously - the safety of our community and everyone who visits Santa Monica –indeed our lives– are at stake.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Rose
Director, Santa Monica Spoke Cris Gutierrez
Co-Chair, Santa Monica Safe Street Alliance Co-Chair, Santa Monica Safe Streets Alliance SMSpoke.org
SaMoSafeStreets.org
*Notes:
See Strategies to Increase Big Blue Bus Ridership by
Improving Travel Times and this Study by Streets For
All on bus delays where they recommend prioritizing bus lanes on SM Blvd in Los Angeles but show zero delays in Santa Monica. We acknowledge that there are
possibly some delays in SM during peak - various data
sources indicate no substantial delays.
LUCE:
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1 David Yakobson
From: Santa Monica Families for Safe Streets <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 9, 2025 8:27 PM
To: Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Lana Negrete; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Caroline Torosis
Cc: councilmtgitems
Subject: Comments on Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study from Santa Monica Families for Safe Streets[Item 7A]
Attachments: SMFFSS Santa Monica Blvd Safety Study.pdf
EXTERNAL
Hello Mayor Negrete and Councilmembers,The draft recommendations presented in the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety study are an essential step, but they feel too limited and reactive. They focus on spot improvements and minor fixes at problem intersections rather than embracing a broader vision for Santa Monica Boulevard as a safe, accessible, and vibrant corridor for everyone. The attached letter highlights some additional actions we think the Council should give staff as direction.
Sincerely,
Eli Gill, Juan Matute, Sirinya Matute, Boris Suchkov, and Caro Vilain Co-Founders of Santa Monica Families for Safe Streets
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Dear Mayor Negrete and Councilmembers,
The draft recommendations presented in the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety study are an essential step, but they feel too limited and reactive. They focus on spot improvements and minor fixes at problem intersections rather than embracing a broader vision for Santa Monica Boulevard as a safe, accessible, and vibrant corridor for everyone. This letter highlights some additional actions we think the Council should give staff as direction.
A holistic approach is needed to reimagine Santa Monica Blvd as a thoroughfare that serves all residents and visitors. The city should support a safe and people-friendly Santa Monica Blvd along its entire length, with foot traffic that can help businesses not just downtown, but along the whole length of the street. This can be done by treating the root causes of what the study already identified: speeding, especially in the eastern sections of the street; unsafe crossings; and lack of transit and bicycle access.
Create a New North-South Bike Option
Improving bicycle access is critical for the eastern part of Santa Monica Boulevard. The north-south bikeway map has a substantial gap between 17th St and Yale. Consider this opportunity to create a new north-south bikeway or bike-friendly street on Chelsea/Park Drive, as identified in the bike action plan’s bikeway network vision map.
Figure 2: Proposed Bikeway Crossing Improvements
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More Safety Interventions Needed East of Cloverfield and in College Streets Currently, the width of the street east of Cloverfield is nearly twice that of downtown. This excessive width encourages fast driving in an area that includes one of Santa Monica’s least advantaged elementary schools, making crossings dangerous.
Figure 1: Disparity in Street Width and Speeds
We appreciate the inclusion of the College Streets for the study of pedestrian crossing improvements (new crosswalk and flashing beacons) and ped refuge islands. But we are concerned that it does not go far enough. In a situation with multiple lanes in each direction, it remains stressful to cross - one car could stop, but then another passes it and hits a pedestrian crossing. And it’s still too challenging for children to navigate - a barrier that impacts the culture we aim to create, encouraging children to walk and bike independently to school.
Creating Safe Streets While Coordinating Regionally on Bus Lanes Thank you for preserving a bus lane option east of 26th Street. However, keeping the wide right-of-way for a bus lane will do little to slow the high existing travel speeds. The City’s study found that travel speeds between McKinley Elementary and the City limit routinely exceeded the speed limit by as much as 63%.
As an interim policy solution, the Council should direct the Director of the Santa Monica Department of Transportation to work with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to install an Automated Speed Enforcement System on Santa Monica Boulevard between Centinela and Bundy. This speed enforcement system will be a visible deterrent to operating 2 Item 7-A
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vehicles at excessive speeds through the corridor. Assembly Bill 645 (2023) allows the City of Los Angeles to install and operate 125 automated speed enforcement systems throughout the city. The City of Santa Monica did not participate in the legislative process for AB 645 and cannot install its own speed enforcement systems.
Additionally, We are asking council further to direct the Director of the Department of Transportation to Monitor the legislative process for SB 720, which would allow a city to install a red light enforcement camera at intersections where data indicates that there is a heightened safety ris, which could include intersections in the segment between Cloverfield and Centinela Avenue. Santa Monica Families for Safe Streets, along with Santa Monica Spoke and the Santa Monica Safe Streets Alliance, are registered supporters of this bill. As of the date of this letter, the bill has cleared the Senate and is awaiting consideration in the Assembly.
Figure 4: Hardened Centerlines from NACTO Design Guide
In the Long term, please coordinate with the Westside Council of Governments on their priority bus corridors, which include Santa Monica Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard through Santa Monica.
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Figure 3: Westside COG Priority Bus Corridors Include Santa Monica Blvd Thank you for your attention to this critical opportunity to reshape Santa Monica Boulevard into a corridor that reflects our city’s values and future.
Sincerely,
Eli Gill, Juan Matute, Sirinya Matute, Boris Suchkov, and Caro Vilain Co-Founders of Santa Monica Families for Safe Streets
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2 David Yakobson
From: Jason Mastbaum <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 8:51 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Dear council,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A.
As a Santa Monica resident, I want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach our Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Blvd after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Blvd unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug. It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community.
I urge you to take our Vision Zero commitment seriously and to strive for more than spot improvements on this corridor, such as bus lanes that would make it safer and more accessible, improve emergency response, and help us reach our Vision Zero and sustainability goals. Council should also reject counterproductive recommendations contained in the agenda packet, such as the Nelson/Nygaard recommendation that "Bicycle and scooter crashes are overrepresented in serious injury crashes (55%) compared to all crashes (20%), and therefore safety improvements should support these users, including educational efforts to address high risk scooter and bike behaviors." Bicycle and scooter riders are overrepresented because when bad motorist behavior and bad street design causes a collision, the party not encased in thousands of pounds of steel is going to take the brunt of the collision! A bicycle or scooter rider being hit by this illegally lifted truck would show up as a "serious injury crash involving a bicycle/scooter". Are we really going to say that the problem is the behavior of the bicycle/scooter rider?
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3 What about when the bike lane is illegally blocked? Surely the effort should be an education and enforcement effort until motorists learn to stop doing this. But I suspect that instead Nelson/Nygaard would consider the cyclist exiting the bike lane due to the illegal blockage "a high risk cyclist behavior".
But unfortunately PD loves to park in the bike lanes too.
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4 And while we're here, cyclists and scooter riders are not the ones illegally plowing through the K71s to make illegal left turns in/out of the downtown parking structures.
Thank you,
Jason
90403
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1 David Yakobson
From: Connor Webb <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 8:00 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Needs More
Attachments: WSCCOG Bus Corridors.jpg; WSCCOG MS Wilshire.png
EXTERNAL
Dear Council,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A. The proposed improvements to Santa Monica Boulevard fall far short of what is needed to meet our Vision Zero safety goals and ignore important regional mobility initiatives. As a MidCity resident, I am directly affected by this project and painfully aware of the failures of the recent Wilshire Boulevard improvements. I fear we are on the verge of repeating those same mistakes, and I’d like to point out what I believe are some of the most glaring omissions.
Wilshire’s Safety Failures
The recent tragedies on Wilshire are sobering reminders of how vulnerable pedestrians remain when crossing our streets.
While the changes may have improved safety for drivers, two critical elements remain missing for pedestrian safety: (1) slower vehicle speeds and (2) higher driver yield compliance at crosswalks.
Unfortunately, the proposed spot upgrades for Santa Monica Boulevard at unsignalized crossings mimic the designs used on Wilshire: curb extensions, pedestrian refuge islands, and Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons (RRFBs). While wellintentioned, these measures have proven inadequate on our multi-lane arterials. Frankly, crossing Wilshire remains one of the most hostile, unpleasant, and dangerous parts of my daily life.
Missing Interventions: Raised Crossings and Intersections One key missing intervention is the use of raised crossings or raised intersections which can simultaneously reduce vehicle speeds and improve yield compliance. They function as gentle speed tables, naturally focus driver attention to the crossing, and encourage instinctive yielding by bringing drivers up to pedestrian level. Yield rates at raised crossings approach those of signalized intersections, but without the delay or congestion that signals can introduce.
When paired with the RRFBs, refuge islands, and curb extensions, raised crossings/intersections could make Santa Monica Boulevard truly safe to cross. They also more easily facilitate crosswalks on all four legs of an intersection, avoiding the current practice of forcing pedestrians to cross multiple legs of traffic to reach their destination.
Staff may raise concerns about drainage, or ironically claim that speeds and volumes are too high for raised crossings.
The Fire Department may cite a 6-second delay in response times. Yet cities that have successfully achieved Vision Zero routinely deploy raised crossings on major arterials. These challenges are solvable, and the tradeoffs are worth it.
Lane Widths Encourage Speeding
Even after the proposed changes, outer lane widths, especially at crossings, remain excessively wide, ranging from 13 to 20 feet. This design encourages speeding. To improve safety, lane widths should be narrowed to no more than 10.5 feet throughout the corridor. At the very least, edge lines should be implemented as an intervention where full narrowing is not feasible.
Pedestrian Scrambles and Signal Timing
I support the proposed pedestrian scrambles at 5th, 6th, 7th, and 20th Streets. However, it is essential to shorten signal cycle lengths to reduce pedestrian wait times. Compliance is low at existing scrambles like 4th & Colorado because the wait for a pedestrian phase is too long. This reflects a signal timing system designed for cars rather than people. I commend staff for including “No Turn on Red” provisions for the new scrambles, which is a necessary improvement that is missing from some current DTSM scrambles.
Chelsea Signal: Protecting a School Zone
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2 At Chelsea Avenue, it is critical that the new signal at the park be either pedestrian- and bike-only or include a right-turnonly restriction for vehicles. Without these restrictions, the new signal will encourage more cut-through traffic near McKinley Elementary, particularly when combined with the upcoming signal at Chelsea and Wilshire.
Disregard for Regional Transit Plans
The 2020 WSCCOG Mobility Study, a SCAG-funded, data-driven, inter-jurisdictional study, included plans for bus lanes on Wilshire from Ocean to Centinela (Image Attached). Despite regional agreement (including from Santa Monica representatives), staff ignored these recommendations and made permanent infrastructure changes that now likely preclude implementation.
With Wilshire off the table, WSCCOG has again recommended new east-west bus lanes, this time for Santa Monica Blvd (Image attached). Yet again, it has been ignored in the City's proposal. Bus lanes not only improve transit performance, they also enhance safety for all road users, enable short segments of safe bicycle access to Santa Monica Blvd destinations, and support emergency vehicle access. It is essential that we implement these wherever feasible, even if it means travel or parking lane removal.
Other transit improvements
For non-bus lane transit improvement options, I would also like to see in-lane bus stops investigated in addition to the proposed far-side stops and queue-jumps. These have the added benefit of serving as mild traffic calming and create space for additional stop enhancements like improved shelters. Finally, 26th St should be a far-side stop.
This is an incredibly important opportunity to address one of our most dangerous roads, and I urge you to require more transformative changes to Santa Monica Blvd. The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 cannot be ignored, and we must implement the most effective solutions that exist.
Sincerely,
Connor Webb
90404
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From: Auguste Miller <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 9, 2025 11:59 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Safety so-called ‘Improvements’ , must go further
EXTERNAL
Dear council,
How this finds you well.
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A.
Dedicated bus lanes and protected bike lanes make streetscapes safer for all road users. Also they make them more efficient, more sustainable, and more appealing to spend time around. No brainer:
these should be at the forefront of any design changes on SM Blvd.
As a Santa Monica adjacent resident, I want these streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
Right now when I ride BBB, bike down, or even walk SM Blvd I don’t feel safe.
Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Blvd after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Blvd unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug. It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community.
I urge you to take our Vision Zero commitment seriously and to strive for more than spot improvements on this corridor, such as bus lanes that would make it safer and more accessible, improve emergency response, and help us reach our Vision Zero and sustainability goals.
Time to take action is now. We want results.
Thank you,
Auguste MILLER
Sent from my iPhone
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2 David Yakobson
From: Eli Gill <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 9, 2025 6:06 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Do More and Slow cars down for Santa Monica Blvd Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Dear council,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A.
As a Santa Monica resident, I want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach our Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Blvd after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Blvd unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor.
Speed is the biggest issue here. Please direct staff to bring options that will reduce speeds to 20-25 mph throughout the corridor.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug. It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community.
I urge you to take our Vision Zero commitment seriously and to strive for more than spot improvements on this corridor, such as bus lanes that would make it safer and more accessible, improve emergency response, and help us reach our Vision Zero and sustainability goals.
Thank you,
Eli Gill
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025
1 David Yakobson
From: Christopher Michel <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 9, 2025 4:53 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Dear council,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A.
As a Santa Monica resident, I want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach our Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Blvd after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Blvd unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug. It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community.
I urge you to take our Vision Zero commitment seriously and to strive for more than spot improvements on this corridor, such as bus lanes that would make it safer and more accessible, improve emergency response, and help us reach our Vision Zero and sustainability goals.
Thank you,
Christopher Michel 90292
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025
1 David Yakobson
From: Colin Warn <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 9, 2025 4:20 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A – Santa Monica Blvd Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica Council,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding item 7A.
As someone who uses the streets of Santa Monica often to walk and bike, I want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach our Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Blvd after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Blvd unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug. It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community.
I urge you to take our Vision Zero commitment seriously and to strive for more than spot improvements on this corridor, such as bus lanes that would make it safer and more accessible, improve emergency response, and help us reach our Vision Zero and sustainability goals.
Thank you,
Colin Warn
90292
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025
1 David Yakobson
From: Jacob Wasserman <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 9, 2025 10:40 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 7A: Better Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Improvements
EXTERNAL
Councilmembers,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding Item 7A.
As a Santa Monica resident, voter, parent, driver, biker, and pedestrian I want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes of transportation, and I want us to reach our Vision Zero goals. While I appreciate the improvements proposed in this plan, it falls short of what’s truly needed.
Just as fatal and severe injury crashes have continued to happen on Wilshire Boulevard after similar changes were made, they will continue to happen on Santa Monica Boulevard unless we make meaningful changes to this corridor.
The 435 injury crashes that occurred between 2015 and 2024 should not be brushed under the rug.
It is your duty to implement the solutions that already exist. While resources may be limited, we must rethink how we tackle the traffic violence crisis that is affecting our community.
I urge you to take our Vision Zero commitment seriously and to strive for more than spot improvements on this corridor, such as bus lanes that would make it safer and more accessible, improve emergency response, and help us reach our Vision Zero and sustainability goals.
To that end, I ask for both bus lanes and protected, separate bike lanes on the length of the corridor.
Thank you,
Jacob Wasserman
90403
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025
Item 7-A
June 10, 2025