Dear Editor,
We have been Culver City residents since 1995, residing in the 10000 block of Culver Boulevard. We are greatly affected by the traffic jam the lane reduction has caused that makes it extremely difficult to get in and out of our homes into traffic for a good part of the day.
Per Move Culver City: “The project envisions a reimagining of our streets as public spaces and prioritizes moving people over cars in the design of the street. Bus riders, cyclists, and emergency vehicles will all benefit from increased speeds, ease of travel, and reliability of connections to key destinations. The new street configurations will help Culver City reach its 2028 zero emissions goal.”
Although their statement boasts of the benefit for people over cars, they don’t recognize that there are many more people in those cars who do not benefit, many who reside in Culver City. Move Culver City (MCC) is a temporary pilot project to be evaluated after one year. We must all, as concerned residents, provide feedback to the city so they know that it isn’t working for Culver City residents.
I work at home. I walk to the grocery store, local shops and restaurants. I still need to drive for other errands and to visit my family. How do we effect change within the community without making it unbearable?
We recently received a post card concerning a proposed project called “Screenland Arts & Apartments” at 9763 Culver Boulevard, (next to the Kirk Douglas Theater). This proposed project will add 34 residential for-rent units and a ground floor arts space. Four of these units will be targeted to “Very Low-Income tenants”, 22 units are junior studios and 12 are one-bedroom units. The crazy part is that the project will have NO ON-SITE PARKING. No parking for tenants or visitors to the ground floor arts space. As I figure it, there could be up to 46 vehicles if there are multiple tenants in the one-bedroom units and zero in the 4 very low-income units. It is ludicrous to consider that all potential tenants will not have cars. Where will they park?
Parking is already a problem in Culver City for residents and those who work here. Older apartment buildings have more units than they have parking spaces and many of the tenants have multiple cars per unit. We rely on street parking by permit as residents. Proposals for increasing housing to multiple units on lots where there are now single homes will require additional parking as well. Where will they park?
How can the city approve these projects without taking into consideration the parking requirements and the additional traffic?
Send your Email regarding your concerns for the proposed apartment project to the Screenland Arts & Apartments: [email protected] with a copy to the Culver City Planning Department or via Contact Culver City on the Culver City website. Visit Move Culver City at https://moveculvercity.com and provide your feedback.
Thank You
Carolyn Sanders
Culver City has removed all the street parking so there is very limited access for handicapped persons. I don’t believe Culver City is ADA COMPLIANT anymore.
The “City” thinks everyone is going to ride a scooter and that somehow the City will become some utopian paradise. Well, that boat has for sure sailed. Soon, very soon, this little wonderful city that people wanted to live in won’t be. It will feel just like living or visiting downtown LA. Won’t that be a wonderful utopian place to live and work?
Why is housing for cars more important than housing for people, given our housing crisis? Requiring expensive off-street parking makes affordable housing unaffordable.
I agree, these are difficult problems. We need more housing, more low-cost housing, help for the homeless, more parking, better traffic handling, encouragement for not driving, preserving the character of our community. Clearly not all of these things can be solved at once. I just hope our community sticks together in spirit as we try to address them.