New city transportation plan could cut traffic, Greuel says

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New city transportation plan could cut traffic, Greuel says
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

City Councilmember Wendy Greuel addressed the need for L.A.’s new transportation-focused strategic plan at the January 23 meeting of Neighborhood Council Valley Village held at Colfax Avenue Elementary School. The plan, unveiled in December, would set guidelines for transportation projects in Los Angeles over the next 20 years.

“We think it’s so critically important that we have a document that says, ‘here are our priorities,’” said Greuel, 2nd district representative and Chair of the City Council’s Transportation Committee.

A cohesive plan would benefit not only community members, she said, but also unite the City Council itself, whose 15 members each hold different views on the issue.

Greuel outlined the city’s three-phase approach to the strategic plan process, beginning with the initial stage of gathering community-wide feedback at neighborhood meetings and via the second council district’s website.

Phase two will require an assessment of current traffic conditions and future traffic needs – focusing on areas of job concentration and projections of growth. Phrase three will see through the strategic plan’s implementation.

Greuel discussed a list of objectives the city wants reflected in the plan, such as upholding environmental sustainability – a goal toward which city government has already started preliminary work with the Environmental Defense Fund. Other goals include safety and reliability, and quality of life issues in neighborhoods.

The reduction of traffic congestion on the flow of goods and services would also promote economic growth by encouraging major industries to do business in Los Angeles, she added.

The councilmember emphasized the creation of a “seamless” system – a goal that may prove difficult since it involves reorganizing a disharmonious public transportation system already firmly in place.

She admitted it’s even difficult for her to get to the Universal MTA stop from her home near Laurel Canyon and Moorpark, to take the subway downtown. The MTA unwisely limited parking at the Universal station in order to encourage all around public transportation use – a decision that did not take into account the lack of efficient connections.

Greuel stressed that all levels of government must contribute to finding a solution to traffic and transportation problems.

“[The city is] responsible for your roads and streets; we’re responsible for your DASH buses, commuter express, for your signalization, for your speed humps – those are the kinds of things that we have,” she said, noting that the city does not have control over the freeways or the MTA, but has “to coordinate and be part of a solution with those other levels of government.”

After the discussion, Greuel was asked to stay and swear in a newly elected board member, as well as listen to a group of discontented Morella Avenue homeowners opposed to new developments in their neighborhood.