Thank you for the opportunity to write today. I am a Slow Streets Volunteer for "Mar Vista Slow Streets" representing St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. I am writing the following testimony as an individual.
I urge you to support this motion and to encourage the Department of Transportation to quickly respond with steps forward for Slow Streets Communities and communities wishing to become Slow Streets communities.
During the Stay at Home Order and through until today, the Slow Streets program has been a good program in Mar Vista. With a minimal investment from the city, and countless volunteer hours from residents, Slow Streets signs were put up and maintained. In addition to creating safe places for people of all ages to recreate, it created confidence among community members to take advantage of the space to get creative with unofficial community events including weekly "Lite Brite Bike Rides", a "Socially Distanced Halloween" Map and bicycle themed fundraisers for the local school.
However, ever since LADOT reorganized the Slow Streets program so that it now falls on the district offices for next steps, the program has pretty much vanished city-wide. In Mar Vista, we decided earlier to scale back the program a little, leaving us with extra signs we can deploy for events such as the upcoming Halloween weekend and our volunteers remain engaged. However, we are told that the city is no longer moving on "permanent slow streets" as promised in late 2020, no longer fulfilling sign replacement requests, no longer taking requests from Slow Streets communities to expand or modify their program and no longer taking applications for new Slow Streets programs.
I write this testimony from two POV's. One one hand, of course I want the permanent Slow Streets for our neighborhood. Portions of Mar Vista that have the program don't have sidewalks or marked street crossings. Other parts have trafficked (both motorized and non-motorized) areas between Richland Avenue School and St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. Bringing the permanent Slow Street promised to fulfillment could mean great things.
As a former editor of Streetsblog LA, I want every community to experience the success that we had in Mar Vista. Anything the city can do to bring back this low-cost, extremely popular program to improve safety and increase access to our public spaces is much appreciated.
