There was the MOVE project; protected bike lanes running through downtown Culver City from Duquesne to La Cienega. Then there was the backlash, which brought about both the council ‘s decision to modify the project, and a lawsuit against it for adding a lane of car traffic back onto the map. With multiple bike lane projects already in process, the city rolled things forward.
At the Jan 22, 2024 Culver City Council meeting, a contractor’s bid was approved for merging the bus and bike lane on the MOVE project by a three to two vote, and engineering services were approved to develop plans for new bike and/or bus lanes along Robertson Boulevard between Venice and Washington, and another plan for a bike lane on Culver Boulevard between Duquesne and Elenda.
The bike lanes that run along Culver Boulevard currently end at Elenda and begin again at Duquesne, leaving the almost two mile stretch to fold cars and bikes into the same space. Like many bike lanes through the city, the abrupt “start here” and “stop here” patterns leave local cyclists with a randomly unconnected route, forcing them to merge into traffic, often at busy intersections.
The council awarded the contract to reconfigure MOVE to Sterndahl Enterprises for $1,465,075. The modifications, which were initially approved by the council in September 2023, were held up when the the only bid for the work was rejected. Three other subsequent bids were received, and the city chose to award the project to Sterndahl.
In two separate agenda items, council voted unanimously to award a $91,000 traffic engineering services agreement to Willdan Engineering for the Robertson Boulevard Bike Lane project.
The agreement will develop specifications to construct a separate bikeway and a bus only lane, or bus bays along Robertson Boulevard between Venice and Washington. This area has been a high priority problem for years, since the construction of the Ivy Station took up every inch of space on the lot, leaving pedestrians and cyclists only the curb to navigate through a very busy stretch of street and a crowded intersection. With the proximity to the Expo Station and several major bus routes, pedestrians have been in constant danger, particularly at night.
Council also voted unanimously to approve traffic engineering services for the Culver Boulevard Bike Lane Project, between Duquesne and Elenda with Michael Baker International, for $113,455. Creating a continuous bike lane, rather than one that starts and stops intermittently, will be a benefit for both cyclists and traffic.
Judith Martin-Straw
1 Trackback / Pingback
Comments are closed.