With an aggressive round of seven community open houses officially done, I am proud to report that they were a smashing success! Upwards of 300 community members across our seven partnering cities joined us to share their knowledge and experiences as both cyclists and motorists in the South Bay.
We heard about the various challenges that we all face on our streets. Workshop participants ranged from the experienced and confident to the hesitant and skeptical; and thus we collected a broad range of opinions. Our consultant, Alta Planning + Design, will spend the next few months compiling all the data collected, analyzing our streets and subsequently proposing a series of interconnected bikeways across our region. A DRAFT of the master plan with associated policy language and signage will be available at the end of April. A second round of workshops featuring the draft will occur in May.
Next to getting 300 people to enthusiastically spend a weekday evening learning about a bike plan, drafting the plan will be one of the most challenging aspects of the project. We’ve learned the community is passionate about the use and purpose of their roads. Even those who demand more prominent and consistent bike infrastructure are torn in their preference for Class I (path), Class II (lane) or Class III (route) facilities. As such, authoring a thoughtful, viable, effective and ultimately implementable plan is no small fete. Luckily, we have a practiced consultant, supportive cities and an informed community to help us get it done and done well.
If you missed our workshops you can read all about them in the Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach Patch.com. If you attended, you should check out these articles anyway…you may be one of the participants that were photographed or quoted!
If reading about the workshops and all their success just isn’t enough to quell your need for bike planning input and education, you can join us at February’s SBBC general meeting where we will learn about the Metro Green Line Extension and will also have the regional map available for any last minute comments. The meeting will be on Tuesday February 15th at 7:00pm in the Beach Cities Room on the lower level of the Beach Cities Health District at 514 N. Prospect Ave in Redondo Beach. Until then, stay informed and involved!