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# Slow your roll, Bauer
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/slow-your-roll-bauer-editor/
- Published: 2007-04-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:34:16.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Ocean Park, #archive-import

*By Bob Taylor, Jeff Jarow, Mary Hubbell Co-chairs, Ocean Park Boulevard Improvement Committee*

In reference to the Bill Bauer column of April 9 (“Expect more gridlock in the days to come”) and his comments opposing the necessary improvements to Ocean Park Boulevard, specifically west of Lincoln Boulevard: Should it be the primary function of this, or any other Santa Monica street, to function solely as a conduit for traffic from Venice or the Marina, or anywhere else, to pass through our neighborhoods en route to the other side of our city? And to do so quickly and without concern or consideration for the residents who make their home here? We don't think so. There are no commercial properties on the half-mile stretch of Ocean Park Boulevard between Lincoln (Boulevard) and Main Street and one should recognize that this is a residential street with our homes lining the street on each side. We live here.

Without reducing the existing number of traffic lanes, there are about two acres of excessive concrete and hard-scape in the stretch from Lincoln to Main, much of which can be recovered as permeable surfaces with landscaping. The bike lanes can be separated from the traffic lanes, forming a true bike path. In addition to the residences, there are three schools, and hundreds of children that walk to and from their schools on the very narrow sidewalks, with only one safe place (even that is questionable) to cross, at the Sixth Street signal.

Perhaps Mr. Bauer is simply unfamiliar with this street. It should be known, for example, that the street was widened about 40 years ago to provide access for high-rise towers that were projected to be built along the beach (a la Miami Beach). So, the street suffered a widening for a purpose that, gratefully, was never fulfilled. But, when widened, the street, and the traffic, was pushed into the living rooms of the homes making the front yard setback average only five feet, and in many cases zero feet, in lieu of the 20 feet required by the zoning code. You just have to love that Big Blue Bus, and the trash truck, idling and vibrating your house about eight feet from your living room.

As to the assertion that this is the major access to the beach and a major east-west corridor, this portion of Ocean Park Boulevard carries less traffic than Fourth Street in Ocean Park, and carries about half the traffic of Ocean Park Boulevard, east of Lincoln.Yet, in part due to the appearance of this street looking a lot like a freeway, the accidents average about 30 per year where speeding is the rule, not the exception, resulting in a higher ratio of accidents per 1,000 vehicles than on the east side of Lincoln or on Fourth Street. The police wrote 250 tickets on the handful of days they were on patrol last year, all at the Third Street intersection.

The only reason there are even any trees on this part of Ocean Park Boulevard is because the residents, working together with the Tree People and the city arborist, about 12 years ago, found grant money, and then went out and dug the holes and planted the trees themselves. These same residents spent three years working with the city traffic and planning departments, developing a new streetscape and traffic plan that the city supported in 1995, but has simply never funded.

Since a genuine concern for all of us should be the environment, and sustainability, why should the desire to provide less concrete and asphalt, with more trees and landscaping and permeable surfaces, and the opportunity to improve urban runoff mitigations, be so undesirable? So that those from outside of our community can save 30 seconds on their drive through our residential neighborhood? We don’t think so. Heal the Bay works hard to encourage the community and the city to reduce runoff pollution, and the city is working to be an eco-friendly city with its numerous efforts to improve sustainability, for all of us. We should all support and applaud these efforts, not criticize them.

So, be a good citizen, do the homework, understand the necessity of these suggested improvements and join the community in our now 14-year effort to get city funding and implementation. Come to the OPA meeting at Joslyn Park on April 22 and listen to a “Green Streets” presentation by Brett Horner from the City Open Space Management Department. Help improve the quality of life in our city instead of complaining that someone can’t get from Venice or the Marina to West LA fast enough.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 13, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041307.pdf?ref=smdp.com)