Third phase of pedestrian improvements on hold
The second phase of a project to make Santa Monica’s streets safer for pedestrians will be completed this month.
City Hall has spent $7.5 million to date on the project, which has focused largely on upgrading crosswalks and installing medians in local roadways.
Construction has taken place on Montana and Ocean avenues, Neilson and Barnard ways, Wilshire, Santa Monica and Ocean Park boulevards, Pearl and 26th streets, and Broadway.
Mayor Richard Bloom said the long-term goal of the project is to make the streets safer and more attractive for everyone.
City Hall over the years has embarked on a series of “traffic calming” measures intended to slow traffic downtown, said Beth Rolandson, a senior planner. But these projects are different. They’re aimed at making the streets more usable for pedestrians.
Some local businesses and residents say the changes are a waste of money.
323,“Every time they do this, our business goes down 30 percent,” said Samim Chowdhury, co-owner of Marty’s Liquors at 1736 Ocean Park Blvd.
Chowdhury said the new crosswalk adjacent to his store, which juts a few feet into Ocean Park Boulevard, eliminated an essential parking space. About 80 percent of his customers drive to his store, he added.
Bloom said much of the distaste for the projects is an understandable resistance to change.
“What I’ve seen on the whole is that people adapt to the traffic measures very quickly,” he said. “And after a period of time, I think everybody gets to like them.
“They’ve beautified the streets,” Bloom added. “They’ve made the roads safer for pedestrians and motorists, and they’ve enhanced the business environment on every street where they’ve been installed.”
But that does not appear to be the case for Mike Howell, owner of Santa Monica Lock and Safe Co. at 2208 Pico Blvd.
Though the construction on Pico Boulevard was not part of the current project, it did have some pedestrian improvements, Rolandson said. One of those is the medians installed four years ago in what was then the center lane.
“We despise them greatly,” Howell said Friday, adding that accident rates are up while traffic has slowed to a crawl in front of his store.
“It frustrates people,” he said. “People stay off of Pico. What used to take us, to get around Santa Monica, minutes, now takes two to three times longer. It’s bad for business.”
Howell, whose shop has been on Pico Boulevard for 31 years, said for the past four years his walk-in business has been cut in half. And during the six-month construction period sales were down more than 20 percent, he added.
However, not everyone is against the improvements.
Rick Faurot, a 15-year resident of Ocean Park, said Friday that although some of the changes will complicate the situation for drivers, there don’t appear to be any drawbacks for pedestrians.
“It’s kind of a weird restriction on an old neighborhood street,” said Faurot, who was walking down Ocean Park Boulevard with a grocery bag in each hand. “But in many ways, it’s a lot safer.”
While pedestrians and local businesses sound off on the project, Bloom said any further work is in a holding pattern until more funds become available. Though some money was budgeted for it earlier this year, much of it was used to help plug what was a $16 million deficit the city faced.
What’s left is next to nothing and no specific area of town has been chosen for a future contract, Rolandson said.
City Hall will wait to hear from the City Council on what improvements to make next, Rolandson said. The projects typically include restriping, curb cuts, installing flashing lights at crosswalks and installing medians.
Mike Howell
Owner, Santa Monica Lock and Safe Co.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 2, 2003. Read the original PDF.