City Council voted on several new motions this week. Below are several issues critical to the Westside’s Council District 11, which includes Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Venice, among other neighborhoods.

L.A. Council to Restrict Oversized Vehicles from Overnight Parking on Certain Streets in Council District 11.

The L.A. City Council on Wednesday approved a resolution from the Transportation Committee to prohibit the parking of oversized vehicles that are in excess of 22 feet in length or over seven feet in height between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on certain streets in Council District 11.

According to the Resolution, there is an increased problem with oversized vehicles parking along several street segments where large vehicles are often parked overnight and constrict travel lanes, thereby creating dangerous situations.

The streets included are:

• Both sides of Barrington Avenue between Sardis Avenue and Brookhaven Avenue
• West side of Barnsley Avenue between 83rd Street and 85th Place
• Glencoe Avenue between Venice Boulevard and Zanja Street. Both sides of Lindblade Street between 11891 Lindblade Street and 11805 Lindblade Street
• Both sides of Millenium Drive between Village Drive and Westlawn Drive
• Both sides of Westlawn Avenue between Millenium Drive and Bluff Creek Drive
• Both sides of Hurricane Street between Pacific Court and Canal Court
• Both sides of Pacific Avenue between Mast Street and Northstar Street
• Both sides of Pershing Drive between Manitoba Street and Waterview Street
• Both sides of Bluff Creek Drive between McConnell Avenue and Village Drive
• Both sides of Kiyot Way between Villosa Place and Pacific Promenade
• Both sides of Pacific Promenade between Seabluff Drive and Para Way
• Both sides of Playa Vista Drive between Jefferson Boulevard and Pacific Promenade

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) will post signs giving notice of a “Tow away, no parking” restriction for oversized vehicles, with the specific hours detailed, at the above locations.

City Council Wants to Regulate Mobile Storefronts on Abbot Kinney in Venice 

The Transportation Committee approved a motion from Councilmembers Traci Park, who represents Council District 11, and Heather Hutt regarding a parking enforcement program regarding vehicles utilized as mobile storefronts in Venice.

The motion instructs the Department of Transportation and the City Attorney to report on the feasibility of a parking enforcement program regarding vehicles utilized as mobile storefronts along Abbot Kinney Boulevard, between Venice Boulevard and Main Street. It also wants information included on best practices in other cities and wants to exclude food trucks, which are already regulated under Los Angeles Municipal Code 80.73.

Abbot Kinney is popular with both residents and visitors and is lined with shops, small businesses, restaurants, and galleries.

According to the motion, box trucks have been using on-street parking spaces for hours at a time to sell their merchandise and physical goods, creating a host of impacts. This includes taking up spaces along this parking-scarce corridor, impeding coastal access; obstructing the roadway and creating unsafe conditions, preventing customers from patronizing local businesses, as well as selling clothing in front of clothing stores

Council Approves Motion to Explore Implementation of More Bicycle Lanes Along Stretch of Venice Boulevard

The Transportation Committee approved a motion, again brought forth by Councilmembers Park and Hutt, instructing the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) to report on the feasibility and costs of implementing Class I or Class IV protected bicycle lanes along Venice Boulevard, between Arlington and Fairfax Avenues. The motion was originally brought forth at the December 1, 2023 meeting of the City Council.

“Venice Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare that connects the beach communities to Downtown Los Angeles,” reads the motion. “This roadway is also part of the City’s High Injury Network and one of the roughly six percent of streets that account for over 70 percent of severe and fatal injury collisions.”

The council wants the Department of Transportation to conduct a study evaluating various bicycle infrastructures that include a public outreach plan and an analysis of the potential impacts of such improvements, as well as a report on the feasibility and costs of implementation.

Council to Explore Extending Ballona Creek Bike Bath

On Wednesday Council approved a motion regarding the Ballona Creek Bike Path extension project. The Westside Ballona Creek Bike Path parallels Ballona Creek and extends seven miles from Syd Kronenthal Park in Culver City to the Pacific Ocean in Marina Del Rey.

The City has been working to explore the feasibility of extending the bike path to two additional miles into South L.A. neighborhoods of Baldwin Hills and West Adams, and according to the motion, the feasibility study is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2024 and will provide the foundation for the project to seek future grant funding.

The feasibility study examines design challenges, right-of-way jurisdiction, utility conflicts, and permitting requirements, as well as pathway alignment, public space opportunities, as well as cost alternatives.

The feasibility study report also consists of a comprehensive report containing community analyses for the area surrounding the proposed extension, assessments of mobility in the surrounding area, an overview of the study’s community outreach, participation, and feedback processes, conceptual pathway alignment, analyses of property ownership, permitting needs, and potential utility conflicts in the pathway right-of-way, preliminary conceptual design for pathway amenities and green spaces connected to the pathway, supplemental analyses of potential project impacts, estimates of probable project construction costs, and strategies for phasing and grant funding, according to a report by SWA.

The motion instructs the Bureau of Engineering in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to include the Ballona Creek Bike Path extension project in the City’s application for the 2024 Cycle 7 Active Transportation Program Call-for-Projects.

Photo by Chloe Harris from iStockphoto.com