Culver City Council votes to remove protected bike lanes
CULVER CITY, Calif. - Say goodbye to protected bike and bus lanes in Culver City.
The City Council on Tuesday voted to eliminate designated bike and bus lanes in favor of more car lanes to help improve traffic flow.
The 3-2 vote came down just after 2 a.m.
"Mayor @AlbertVeraJr and his 2 colleagues just voted to ELIMINATE THE PROTECTED BIKE LANE to add more car lanes despite electeds across the state, 32 organizations, 20 Culver City students, the threat of a CEQA lawsuit, and an avalanche of public comments urging him to lead," Bike Culver City tweeted.
The protected bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes were put in place in 2021 as part of the MOVE Culver City project, which aimed to prioritize safety and green transportation.
Culver City council called it a compromise, but those against the change call it a step backward. The 18 month pilot program was designed to get more people out of cars.
According to the project website, MOVE Culver City "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."
A little over one-third of the MOVE Culver City project featured shared bus and bike lanes along Washington Boulevard at the E Line and in areas where street width was not enough to accommodate both bus and bike lanes.
Map courtesy Move Culver City
"Thank you to everyone who showed up and spoke out, and to the advocates who did everything they could. You are heard and appreciated by your community. No matter the temporary setbacks, we know the future is on our side, and we will get there together," Bike Culver City tweeted after the vote. "Thank you to the members on that dais who spoke truth to power, and led with data, science, and empathy…. thank you to the elected officials who publicly declared their support for making Move permanent. We see you and we’re sorry the Council decided to disregard you."
Those elected officials mentioned by Bike Culver City included Holly Mitchell, Lindsay Horvath, and Katy Yaroslavsky.
It's unclear at this time when the lanes will be removed.