Irate commuters threaten a lawsuit over narrowed streets in Playa del Rey
South Bay commuters looking to avoid the 405 Freeway have long taken an alternate route through Playa del Rey, passing the coastline and the Ballona Wetlands to reach Santa Monica.
The route is popular — with more than 24,000 vehicles per day — but some residents complained that harried commuters speeding through the neighborhood put pedestrians and children at risk.
The friction came to a head this month, when Los Angeles officials eliminated 9.4 miles of traffic lanes and added 4.3 miles of bike lanes in an effort to reduce collisions.
The restriping led to bumper-to-bumper traffic, sending drive times and tempers soaring. Opponents have drafted an online petition calling on City Councilman Mike Bonin to reverse the “one-lane madness,” as well as a fundraising campaign for a formal appeal to the City Council — and a lawsuit to reverse the project, if it comes to that, organizers say.
The fight offers a glimpse of future battles as Los Angeles officials roll out dozens of similar projects over the next decade. Two sweeping initiatives — Vision Zero and Mobility Plan 2035 — call for reducing traffic deaths and improving transit and bike infrastructureacross the city, changes that will frequently come at the expense of travel lanes on major thoroughfares.