Walking it out in town
OCEAN PARK In a car-dominated culture, Michelle Murillo is somewhat of an anomaly. Rather than drive to the market or to her jobs in Venice and Santa Monica, Murillo, a funky 20-something with dreadlocks and a nose ring, hops on her skateboard and hits the streets.
Murillo doesn’t even own a car, ditching her ride six months ago in favor of a more healthy and an eco-conscious lifestyle.
“People think that if they drive, they can get to where they want to go faster,” Murillo said, as she stood in the doorway of her Ocean Park apartment on Sixth Street, near Raymond Avenue. “But that’s not true. Driving actually takes you longer here because of all the traffic and the time it takes you to find parking.
“It’s faster just to walk or ride my skateboard.” Lucky for Murillo, she lives in a very pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. According to a Web site (www.walkscore.com) that measures a given area’s walk-ability, Murillo can pretty much get everything she needs without a car. There is good public transit and a host of establishments less than a mile from her apartment, including coffee shops, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, schools, parks and medical care.
Murillo’s neighborhood is essentially a walker’s paradise, but what about the rest of Santa Monica?
For the most part, residents and city planners say “yes,” pointing to the pedestrian-friendly aspects of city streets such as wider sidewalks, green medians and lighted crosswalks, all of which make stepping out that much more enjoyable.
“I walk everywhere in Santa Monica,” said Nancy Ross, as she put one foot in front of the other en route to Wild Oats on Montana Avenue. “I walk because I like it, and because I have a baby, and because it’s fun … It’s part of why we moved here, everybody walks in this area. It’s like old California.”
Many people take strolls there because North of Montana is very walkable, according to Walk Score. The area around 14th Street and Montana Avenue receives a walk score of 82 out of 100, similar to Ocean Park. There is a library, movie theater and a bookstore located within a mile of most residents there, making it a highly desirable location for those who prefer to travel on foot.
City officials have worked diligently over the last decade to render Santa Monica more pedestrian-friendly, a response to an increase in traffic injuries involving pedestrians and a call from residents to reduce the reliance on automobiles.
In the late ’90s, City Hall initiated a series of street improvements aimed at increasing pedestrian safety, specifically by installing crosswalk improvements where needed and upgrading disabled access at each intersection. Curb extensions were also added, along with the creation of medians to give pedestrians a safe haven if they are unable to make it all the way across a street before the traffic light changes. Roundabouts and lighted crosswalks were also part of the plan.
In Downtown, Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway were transformed and enhanced through the Transit Mall project that widened sidewalks and added attractive tree plantings, transit information kiosks, shaded bus stops, street furniture and street art.
City staff said not only did those improvements enhance pedestrian safety, they also made the walking experience more enticing.
“We’d like to make the whole city more walkable, and I think having the city be more walkable means more of a community place where people can see each other and interact,” said Lucy Dyke, City Hall’s transportation planning manager. “That means people don’t have to be stuck in traffic … We are always looking at places all over the city and are thinking of ways we can make it more walkable and enjoyable.”
In addition to physical changes to streetscapes, the City Council has approved changes to the zoning code to encourage more attractive, ground-floor retail and have paved the way for restaurants to come into Downtown without having to provide a lot of parking. The theory being that without ample parking, people will be forced to, and ultimately choose to, walk instead of drive.
City Hall is also sponsoring a citywide initiative encouraging people to walk. Known as the WALK Santa Monica campaign, residents are being asked to walk 10,000 steps a day to help them be more active and maintain a healthy lifestyle. As part of the initiative, City Hall developed a map featuring six routes one can take around the city. They include a walk down San Vicente Boulevard, Palisades Park, through Downtown, around Clover Park and through Mid-City.
The Big Blue Bus has also expanded service to neighborhoods as part of its Mini-Blue program. The new routes were designed to appeal to more neighborhoods instead of just those residents living along the major corridors.
It also helps that Santa Monica is only 8.3 square miles and that most of it is flat with streets laid out in a grid rather than winding roads with cul-de-sacs, a feature of urban sprawl.
TREADING CAREFULLY Despite Santa Monica’s compact neighborhoods and the efforts made by City Hall, there are still areas where it is difficult to find the things one needs on foot, namely Sunset Park and the Pico Neighborhood.
Cindy Pudlicki, who lives on Oak Street near Clover Park, said she rarely walks to run errands, preferring to take her car instead. That’s because there are not many businesses nearby. There is the business park on Ocean Park Boulevard, but it does not have a grocery store.
“I wish they’d build a Whole Foods over here. That would be nice,” Pudlicki said as she walked her dog to the groomers, one of the few stops she makes on foot. “There’s a small market on 17th (Street), but it’s too expensive if you are shopping for a lot of things. If you just need some butter or something small, then yeah, I’ll walk, but more often than not, I drive.”
Pudlicki’s neighborhood received one of the lowest scores from Walk Score, a 60, which means there are some walkable locations, but many everyday trips still require a car.
Those living near Santa Monica College also must have a car to do most of their errands, according to Walk Score, which gave the area a 67.
There is also the challenge of getting people to see walking as a mode of transportation instead of just something one does for leisure on a Sunday afternoon.
“If I’m going somewhere, I’ll drive, but I walk around the neighborhood, or to the grocery store once a day,” said Melody Molen, who lives near Highland Avenue and Ocean Park Boulevard.
Molen said she is trying to walk more and gives Santa Monica a “thumbs up” for its walkability. Her only worry is busy intersections like Lincoln Boulevard and Ocean Park.
“I do worry walking with children,” she said. “Lincoln scares me.”
There have been a series of accidents this year involving pedestrians attempting to cross at intersections, including three fatalities. The most recent collision involving pedestrians occurred last Saturday, when two elderly women were struck while crossing Wilshire Boulevard at 25th Street.
Residents have long complained about the city’s lighted crosswalks not functioning properly, lending a false sense of security to those on foot.
A stretch of Ocean Park Boulevard, near John Adams Middle School, has proven particularly hazardous, prompting city officials to conduct a traffic study of the area in the wake of public outcry.
Stephen Islas, who works at 3301 Ocean Park Boulevard, said only certain parts of the city are walkable, mainly those areas close to the beach. When one gets closer to the east side of town, there are fewer options.
Wilmont resident Jacqui Knapp falls into the recreation crowd. She said she walks everywhere, “not because I have to, but because I want my ass to look good.
“If I don’t move, I get depressed,” Knapp said. “If you had to, you could get everywhere you need to be in this area.”
Erin Nadel, a student at Santa Monica High School, falls somewhere in the middle. A resident of Wilmont, Nadel said he walks to the grocery store with his parents or to restaurants for dinner, but it’s more for pleasure than anything else. If he’s got to get things done, he drives.
“I’d never be able to walk everywhere for necessity,” he said. ‘Walking to Samohi would be awful.”
It all boils down to convenience, residents said. If what they need is close by and they’re feeling like getting some sun, they’ll walk, but when they’re strapped for time or need to run several errands, it seems cars still trump the feet.
Residents suggested better mass transit, such as smaller shuttles that drive through neighborhoods regularly. Others suggested community bicycles like in Amsterdam, where residents share bikes, leaving them at racks when they’ve completed their errands.
“I just think convenience really is the issue,” said Rena Waters, who lives in the Mid-City area near the corner of 20th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, where she is close to hospitals and fast food restaurants, but is surrounded by car dealerships.
“People, for the most part, don’t see walking as exercise, but rather something you do if you want to relax and check out the scenery,” Waters said. “To get people to walk more, we’re going to have to invest more in public transit and just make it so easy to get around on foot that it will be a no-brainer. Until then, I think people are going to stay in their cars.
“I mean, I love my car and I just don’t see myself giving that up.”
Daily Press Intern Emily Skehan contributed to this report.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 21, 2007. Read the original PDF.