It's been a little while since we talked about road diets, but we're here today to announce another victory in the fight against them. The road diet that was proposed for 6th street near The Grove has been killed.
Councilman David Ryu announced yesterday that there will be no changes to 6th street between La Brea and Fairfax. Here's the announcement he sent out:
"Safety along 6th Street for residents, commuters, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike continues to be a priority for me and my office. In early 2016, my office, along with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and multiple community stakeholders embarked on a comprehensive review of the road’s configuration, crash data, recently completed speed surveys, and available mitigations to address the collisions we’ve been seeing.
Based on that work, the City’s Department of Transportation (LADOT) developed a series of potential improvements for 6th Street between Fairfax and La Brea Avenues which were presented at a community open house on Saturday October 21st, and then in an open survey released by my office to gather input from community stakeholders. The full survey and final results can be viewed here.
Of the 712 responses received, approximately 60 percent of respondents stated their support for a variety of intersection-specific road improvements, including continental crosswalks, left-hand turn pockets at 6th Street and Hauser Avenue, improved visibility and peak-hour turn restrictions. Roughly 37 percent expressed support for a proposed “road diet” (the above listed improvements as well as reduction of eastbound and westbound vehicle lanes; installation of eastbound and westbound bicycle lanes). Nearly 85 percent of respondents stated that a car is their primary mode of transportation, and more than 50 percent noted that congestion on 6th Street between Fairfax and La Brea Avenues is their primary concern.
Any collision, or potential for a collision, is something we want to eliminate. According to crash data obtained from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Department of Transportation, there have been nearly 250 reported collisions on 6th Street between Fairfax and La Brea Avenues over the last 10 years, three of which were fatal. The challenge is to ensure any road improvements that are made address the conditions that led to the collisions in the first place. The proposed improvements listed below do precisely that.
Based on an evaluation of the collisions that have taken place over the last 10 years, 34 percent, including two of the three fatal collisions that occurred, were caused by unsafe left turns. Unsafe vehicle speeds were determined to be a factor in less than 10 percent of accidents, compared to roughly 25 percent for the city as a whole. Based on this data, intersection and incident-specific improvements – including the installation of left turn pockets at 6th Street and Hauser Avenue, continental crosswalks, and leading pedestrian interval phasing – will have the greatest impact on pedestrian, cyclist and motorist safety.
My office will be moving forward with the following list of road improvements:
- 6th Street, between Fairfax Ave and La Brea Ave – street resurfacing.
- 6th St and Fairfax Ave – installation of continental crosswalks on all three segments.
- 6th St from Fairfax Ave to Curson Ave – extension of single eastbound vehicle lane; installation of approximately 18 new parking spaces.
- 6th St and Ogden Dr – extension of westbound left turn pocket.
- 6th St and Curson Ave – installation of continental crosswalks on all four segments.
- 6th St and Hauser Ave – installation of eastbound and westbound left turn pockets; continental crosswalks on all four segments; removal of peak-hour left turn restriction.
- 6th St and Burnside Ave – installation of continental crosswalks on all four segments; installation of peak-hour left turn restrictions.
- 6th St and Cochran Ave – installation of continental crosswalks on all four segments.
- 6th St and Detroit Ave – installation of continental crosswalks on all four segments.
- 6th St and La Brea Ave – installation of continental crosswalks on all four segments.
The following changes will require further study once the initial road improvements have been made, but I’ll be working to put them in place as soon as possible:
- Leading Pedestrian Interval Phasing at all crosswalks on 6th Street between Fairfax Ave and La Brea Ave.
- 6th St and Spaulding Way – new mid-block signalized pedestrian crosswalk.
- 6th St and Hauser Ave – installation of protected / permissive left turn signals.
Over the next few weeks, my office will be working with LADOT, LAPD and the Bureau of Street Services (BSS) to finalize the list of recommended roadway improvements and begin installation. I would like to thank you for your input and patience throughout this process. It is incredibly important that transparency, accountability and the needs and views of all Council District Four residents be included in the decision-making process.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with any further questions or concerns."
David Ryu