Culver City Adopts Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan
Culver City recently adopted its first-ever Bicycle and Pedestrian
Master Plan which will serve as an official guideline for developing policies, programs
and facilities needed to support walking and biking in the city.
The document proposes a bicycle network of 36.88 miles of bikeways — 6.5 miles of bike
lanes, 9.73 miles of “Shared Roadway Bicycle Marking,” 5.61 miles of bike routes and 14.62 miles of
potential bike friendly streets — and pedestrian zones and corridors that include extensive streetscape
and landscape improvements. The development of the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan was funded by a Department of Public
Health PLACE grant.
What is the Vision of the Culver City Initiative?
The Vision of the Culver City Initiative is three-fold: 1. To create a city where residents,
workers, businesses, schools/colleges, transit systems are interconnected 2. For residents of all ages to walk and
bicycle safely and comfortably in their community and 3. To make walking, bicycling, and transit everyday modes of transportation.
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How will the PLACE Initiative help the City Achieve its Vision?
Policy Change: Culver City is using PLACE Program
funds to develop the City’s first complete Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. This plan
intends to improve the conditions for cycling and walking citywide by implementing policies,
programs, and streetscape improvements that encourage safe biking and walking.
Physical Project:
Accompanying the Master Plan is a cyclist- and
pedestrian-friendly connector route that will link
downtown Culver City to the nearby Expo light rail line,
set to reach Culver City in 2010. With a station located
just three blocks from downtown Culver City, local
residents will be able to commute to downtown Los
Angeles in only 30 minutes. The
bike-and pedestrian-friendly connector route will make it easy to access the station without a car,
increasing physical activity and public transit use among Culver City residents and visitors. |
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Who are the Initiative’s Partners and what are their Roles?
Initiative Coordinator: John Rivera, a Senior Management Analyst with Culver City's Department
of Public Works, is the Initiative Coordinator for the City of Culver City Initiative. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the initiative.
Alta Planning + Design: As a leading bicycle, pedestrian,
and trail planning design firm, Alta is coordinating the day to day operations of Culver City’s initiative.
They are responsible for drafting the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, organizing community meetings to seek
resident input, conducting needs assessment activities, organizing bicycle and walk “audit” tours to identify areas
of improvements needed, and providing additional support to the Public Advisory Committee (PAC) members.
Los Angeles County
Bicycle Coalition (LACBC): LACBC is a community-based organization with nearly a decade of experience
advocating for bike-friendly policies and projects in Los Angeles County. The LACBC’s role in the Initiative is
to provide assistance in policy development and implementation as well as conduct community outreach.
Culver City Public Advisory
Committee (PAC): A unique feature of the Culver City Initiative is the establishment of a Public Advisory
Committee (PAC), a group of 20 enthusiastic and proactive community stakeholders appointed by the City Council. They
represent homeowners and community groups, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Their main role is to provide
stakeholder input throughout the City’s process of developing the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. They also serve
as community liaisons and carry out outreach efforts to solicit input from a broad segment of the community. This
outreach involves making presentations to organizations such as parent clubs and senior centers and distributing
flyers at local community events. PAC’s established relations with Culver City community members are instrumental
in publicizing the initiative and its goals. The Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition and Alta have provided training to
PAC members on topics such as the design of bike and pedestrian improvements.
What has the Initiative Accomplished So Far?
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Community Workshops: A major component of the initiative
is soliciting input and feedback from Culver City residents regarding the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
The initiative has hosted several community workshops to solicit ideas from stakeholders about how to improve
current conditions for biking and walking. During these interactive forums, community members and the PAC
Committee identify particular streets and intersections that need improvements and discuss how to design
potential bikeway corridors for heavier bike use and better transit connections. A local newspaper, the
Los Angeles Wave, featured a photo of
an attendee from one of the community meetings, a 78-year old
bicyclist, who offered her support for the City’s efforts.
Bike and Walk “Audit” Tours:
Alta Planning and City staff led small groups of Culver City residents, including PAC members, on several
bicycle and walking tours at various locations throughout Culver City. The purpose of the tours was to
identify potential physical improvements that were needed throughout the City to slow down traffic and make
sidewalks more attractive to support walking and biking. As part of the tours, Alta Planning presented
possible design solutions to participants.
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Identifying Existing Conditions and Potential Improvements:
In addition to holding community workshops, Culver City and its partners have done much to identify how the
city could improve street and community design to encourage biking and walking. Alta Planning prepared a
report on “existing conditions” which documents some of the current challenges facing cyclists and pedestrians,
as well as existing bike and pedestrian-friendly features throughout the city. To capture ideas for improving
the pedestrian and bicycle network, the initiative has compiled results of an online survey, conducted bike
and walk audit tours with residents and prepared a summary “needs analysis report” that
synthesizes ideas and findings from all these activities.
The Culver City Bicycle and Pedestrian Initiative Website
is a communications tool to notify community stakeholders about past and upcoming events related to developing
the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Community members can also access relevant documents relating to the
progress of the Initiative and submit personal feedback on this website. Additionally, a commuter website survey
is available on the site to gather comments about walking, biking, and transportation concerns. The Initiative is
also requesting community feedback by asking residents to complete comment cards, which are available in both
electronic and printed forms.
How will the Initiative Know more People are Biking and Walking in Culver City?
Bicyclists and Pedestrian Counts:
The goal of the bike and pedestrian counts is to capture the level of biking and walking throughout Culver City
during peak hours of travel. These Counts are used as a baseline measure to assess whether levels of walking and
biking have increased as the City gradually implements changes to promote non-motorized means of transportation.
Alta and the City trained 30 volunteers to participate in the bicycle and pedestrian counts and plan to conduct
annual counts in coming years.
What Technical Assistance has the Initiative Received from the PLACE Program?
A transportation planner with expertise in the design of bicycle and pedestrian-friendly communities
provided an eight-hour training to City staff on street design to promote biking and walking.
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Lilley
Planning, a professional facilitating consultant, has been hired to lead all the community workshops to ensure that meaningful input is
solicited from community members.
In addition, a transportation planner assessed several city streets to determine the feasibility of installing
roundabouts to slow traffic and encourage more biking and walking.
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Who should I contact if I want more information about the Culver City Initiative?
For more information about this initiative, please visit the Culver City Bicycle and Pedestrian Initiative website or
email John Rivera, Initiative Coordinator for the City of Culver City PLACE Initiative: john.rivera@culvercity.org.
