After being removed from the agenda of the August 9, 2021 Culver City Council meeting, the issue of opening the Jackson Avenue gate of the Ballona Creek bike path to the public will be the subject of a special meeting scheduled for this coming Monday, August 23.
From the City,”Opening the entry to the La Ballona Creek Multi-Use Path at Jackson Avenue for use by the public is expected to increase usage of the path, would provide an additional access point along the Path for emergency responders, and offer a less physically challenging entry/exit point at the same elevation as the path.
“The La Ballona Creek Multi-Use Path offers a protected route for students and parents, commuters, and visitors to travel within the City, assists in relieving heavily congested areas of traffic by providing a travel alternative, and facilitates an environmentally friendly method of traveling.
There are currently five La Ballona Creek Multi-Use Path public openings into residential neighborhoods in Culver City. The gate to the path at the east end of Jackson Avenue is currently closed and used only for maintenance access. Community members throughout Culver City have requested the gate be opened for general public use.”
This is not a recent development. Requests to open the gate for public use have been made to the council for the last decade, with many of the path’s regular users noting that the locked gate is a hindrance to the community’s full access, and that CCUSD students in the neighborhood are forced to deal with automobile traffic in order to get to the gate from a location that allows them to use the path to get to school.
The community has continued to request that the gate be unlocked, but some residents in the neighborhood have made comments on social media, framing the access as too much pedestrian and bike traffic for the quiet cul-de-sac.
On May 13, 2021, after discussing the issue at previous meetings and receiving community comments in support and against, the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee requested that the City Council agendize and approve opening for public use the gate entrance to the Path at the east end of Jackson Avenue.
On June 22, 2021, the Mobility, Traffic & Parking Subcommittee discussed the possible opening of the Jackson Avenue gate and received community comments in support and against. The Subcommittee subsequently recommended that the full City Council agendize and approve a pilot opening of the Jackson Avenue gate for public use.
Note that the special session will begin at 5:30 pm, rather the usual meeting time of 7 pm, and City Council will discuss the proposed opening of the gate entrance to the path at the East End of Jackson Avenue for public use as the sole agenda item of the evening.
As with all current city meetings, access will be online. To watch or participate, see the instructions from the city at CulverCity.org, under ‘City Meetings’ on the home page.
Judith Martin-Straw
Be the first to comment