City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: May 12, 2026
Agenda Item: 4.I
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Christopher Dishlip, Director of Public Works, Mobility Division Subject: Approval of Revisions to the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study and Adoption of the Plan
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemptions pursuant to Section 15262 (Feasibility and Planning Studies) and Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Approve revisions to the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study and adopt the plan; and
3. Direct staff to proceed with the phased implementation of the Safety Study recommendations.
Summary
Santa Monica’s Department of Public Works (PW) is advancing safety improvements to support the City’s Clean Streets and Safe Neighborhoods priority and its Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries. Based on prior plans, Santa Monica Boulevard was identified as a high-priority corridor. With funding from a Caltrans Sustainable Communities Grant, the City launched the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study in October 2024. Staff and consultants analyzed 10 years of crash data and incorporated community input to develop safety and transit recommendations for the corridor from Ocean Avenue to Centinela Avenue. Recommendations were initially presented to City Council in June 2025, outlining phased improvements and a strategy to pursue funding for near-term (Phase 1) and long-term (Phase 2) implementation. On February 24, 2026, Council requested revisions to further prioritize pedestrian safety 2 of 7
and reduce speeding; this report presents those requested revisions for adoption consideration.
Background
On March 9, 2023, staff applied to Caltrans for the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Enhancement Study to evaluate collisions and identify targeted safety enhancements along the Santa Monica Boulevard corridor. The application was prepared based on the priorities of the City Council’s adopted plans and programs. On August 31, 2023, the City was awarded $522,327 in grant funds, and on November 14, 2023, the Council adopted a resolution to accept the awarded Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant with a required $67,673 in matching funds from Transportation Impact Fee (TIF) revenues, for a total project cost of $590,000.
On June 10, 2025, city staff conducted a study session for the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study and presented preliminary recommendations to City Council. Council direction supported the approach for a final open house community meeting, hosted on September 6, 2025 at the Santa Monica Family YMCA, before returning to City Council for final adoption.
On February 24, 2026, staff presented the final safety study for adoption. City Council directed staff to revise elements of the plan to prioritize pedestrian safety and implement solutions to further slow drivers along the corridor. Staff was directed to return within 60 days with an update to the plan for consideration of adoption. The updated plan is included as Attachment C.
Discussion
The Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study was revised to include the following:
Corridor-Wide Improvements
Travel Lane Widths (p. 36, 42-56, and Appendix E: 185-199) 3 of 7
• General travel lanes are planned to be 10’ wide, with a maximum width of 11’. • General travel lanes that host transit are planned to be a maximum width of 12’ to accommodate bus service.
• City and Metro buses can be up to 11 feet wide, including extended mirrors, depending on the model. Bus Only Lanes are planned to be 12’ wide, with a maximum width of 13’.
• Markings near intersections and next to parking lanes have been revised to better delineate the new preferred travel lane widths.
Pedestrian Signals / Phasing (p. 37)
Pedestrian signals will be on recall (i.e. activated automatically) in both directions from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM along Santa Monica Boulevard.
Transit Improvements
Bus-Only Lanes (p. 37, 43-47, 54-56, and Appendix E: 185-190, 198-199) The Safety Study will incorporate the recommendations outlined in the Westside Cities Council of Government’s Bus Lane Project to improve bus travel times and reliability.
These recommendations include:
• Peak-hour bus-only lanes in both directions from Centinela Avenue to Harvard Street, where the parking lane will be used as a bus only lane during peak hours. • Full-time bus only lanes in both directions from 14th Street to Lincoln Boulevard.
One travel lane in each direction will be repurposed for bus only lanes. Most onstreet parking is expected to remain, with limited removal in select areas to address visibility and bus lane tapering.
• Extending the eastbound transit plaza/bus only lane from 5th Street to Lincoln Boulevard. One eastbound vehicle travel lane will be repurposed for this bus only lane.
• Creating a new curbside transit plaza (block long bus stop) along Santa Monica Boulevard between 6th Street and 7th Street, in the westbound direction. The onstreet parking at this block will be repurposed for the transit plaza. 4 of 7
Farside Bus Stops (p. 38, 43, 46-47, 53, and Appendix E: 189-190, 196) • Relocate the nearside, eastbound bus stop at 26th Street to the far side location.
All other improvements at this intersection shall remain, including the proposed eastbound curb extension to support in-lane boarding and alighting. A new bus zone curb extension for the nearside, westbound direction will also be added to support in-lane boarding and alighting (deboarding).
• Farside placement of bus stops will increase from 52% to 80% along the corridor.
The remaining stops will remain on the near side due to other constraints such as driveways.
Intersection Improvements
Raised Crossings & Vertical Deflection (p. 37, 41, 49, 56) City staff reviewed guidance from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to assess the technical feasibility and applicability of vertical deflection treatments, such as raised crosswalks and speed tables, along Santa Monica Boulevard.
Based on this initial review, Santa Monica Boulevard generally falls outside the typical context in which general guidance supports widespread use of vertical deflection.
However, such treatments will be evaluated in further detail during the design phase of implementation. Staff therefore recommend that, in addition to the traffic calming measures identified in the Draft Safety Study, vertical deflection elements on Santa Monica Boulevard be evaluated at select locations with high pedestrian crossing volumes, near key destinations, and where other traffic calming measures may be insufficient. Intersections to be considered for vertical deflection elements during the engineering design phase include 16th Street (p. 49), 21st Street (p.41), 22nd Street (p. 41), Chelsea (p. 52), Princeton Street (p. 54) and Franklin Street (p. 56). These intersections are all on the eastern portion of the corridor where speeding is most prevalent and up to three intersections will be targeted for further improvement. 5 of 7
Other Revisions (p. 45, and Appendix E: 188)
The following concrete curb extensions were removed due to turning buses along the route.
• Santa Monica Boulevard and 10th Street – the northeast corner curb extensions conflicts with BBB Route 44 bus turning movements.
Plan Phasing and Prioritizing Improvements based on Safety Benefit • Phase 1 elements that could be advanced during the next 6-12 months include signal timing adjustments, Lead Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs), pedestrian recall, turn restrictions, and farside bus stop relocations, which are indicated with an asterisk in Section 7.2 Potential Phasing (p. 32, 61-67) • A Capital Improvement Project (CIP) request for the Phase 2 capital improvements along Santa Monica Boulevard and at Santa Monica Boulevard & Chelsea Avenue/Park Drive will be submitted for evaluation/funding consideration during the FY26/27 CIP budget process.
• The City will apply the Counts+ evaluation approach currently being developed by Caltrans to better understand the before and after performance of safety improvements, including but not limited to: yield compliance, speed reduction, roadway user satisfaction, transit performance, etc. (p. 40) Next Steps
If adopted, staff will seek local funding sources and opportunities (e.g. Measure K, Measure M, Transportation Impact Fees (TIF), Local Return, etc.) to implement elements of the study with a focus on a) items that can be advanced during the next 6- 12 months, b) the remaining Phase 1 improvements alongside the planned repaving of Santa Monica Boulevard with an anticipated completion prior to the Olympic & Paralympic games, and c) high impact improvements at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard & Chelsea Avenue/Park Drive with anticipated completion after the Olympic & Paralympic games. As design progresses for this priority intersection, staff 6 of 7
will continue to coordinate with the immediate stakeholders to finalize scope and schedule of the improvements.
In a parallel effort, staff would prioritize recommended Phase 2 improvements for future grant funding opportunities including the Caltrans Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 8 due in late June. As with most grant program requirements, adoption of a project study, such as the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study, by City Council is an essential step for securing grant funds.
As staff advances the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study recommendations, staff would continue to provide project updates through the Take the Friendly Road newsletter as well as the City’s website and social media channels.
Environmental Review
The Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15252 (Feasibility and Planning Studies) which exempts feasibility and planning studies for possible future actions that the agency, board, or commission has not approved, adopted, or funded. The study identifies potential future safety enhancements through analysis and outreach. Implementation of the improvements identified in the study would be subject to future environmental review and approval. Therefore, the study is exempt pursuant to Section 15262. Additionally, the future safety enhancements identified in the study are exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the CEQA Guidelines. Section 15301 exempts Class 1 (Existing Facilities) projects from CEQA, which includes the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The safety improvements, which include but are not limited to pedestrian signals, striping, and raised curbs, would not result in any modifications to existing maintenance facilities and would not expand or materially change existing maintenance operations or increase the City’s fleet of transit buses. Therefore, the 7 of 7
safety study is categorically exempt as set forth in Section 15301 of the CEQA guidelines.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
6/10/2025
(Attachment A)
Study Session to review draft analysis, findings, and
recommendations of the Santa Monica Blvd Safety Study,
funded by a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning grant.
02/24/2026
(Attachment B)
Receive and Adopt the Santa Monica Blvd Safety Study,
funded by a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate additional financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Staff will return to Council with specific budget actions associated with the implementation of the phased recommendations in the future.
Prepared By: Carlos Hernandez, Senior Transportation Planner - Bicycle Program
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. June 10, 2025 Staff Report (Web link)
B. February 24, 2026 Staff Report (Web Link)
C. Santa Monica Blvd. Safety Study
D. Written Comments