Asphalt to Art Reduces Car/Pedestrian Collisions

The Asphalt Art Initiative aims to improve pedestrian safety by painting eye-grabbing murals on street pavement, they will award grants grants of $25,000 to 19 European cities for this work.   The project supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and  The Aspen Institute was announced on Monday in Amsterdam at a CityLab summit. 

An art project in Kansas City MO reduced traffic crashes 49%, adding color to curbs in Baltimore Maryland reduced traffic speeds by 45% (Bloomberg CityLab Article). The street safety record in Europe is far better than the United States (Bloomberg City Lab).

More examples of Street Art are found here. 

These Art interventions could improve Laguna's atrocious traffic safety record. Would the city of Laguna Beach be so bold? Would the Laguna developers adopt philanthropic projects like Bloomberg?

-LS

Streets As Art Part I

Planitizen: "The space per capita devoted to cars exceeds the space devoted to inhabitants."

Brookings: "America’s vehicle population has been increasing even faster than its human population ... For the time being, the only relief for traffic-plagued commuters is a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle with a well-equipped stereo system, a hands-free telephone, and a daily commute with someone they like."

"Congestion has become part of commuter's daily leisure time, and it promises to stay that way. "

The Laguna Beach "Village Entrance"

Laguna's policy makers may choose to adopt this outcome from experts, or strive for better urban land planning than the inevitable because "it promises to stay that way."

Whether expert's land use models are right or wrong, the urban space devoted to public art competes with the public space for roads and infrastructure. Here's how public art copes in other cities around the world. (Click to enlarge)

Street Art

Street Illusions

Participatory Art

 

 -LS

 

 

 

Promenade IV Street Art

 What-if the new Promenade IV offered Street Art? 

 -LS

Petition for Multi-use Path Laguna Canyon Road

The Village Entrance features a 150-foot long multi-use path serving the Laguna Pageant and Farmers Market motorists.  A petition to extend the path to serve pedestrians and bikers was submitted to City Council on Monday 14 March. The petition from Laguna residents requests extending the existing path from the Village Entrance to Canyon Acres and Act V. The extension would serve Canyon residents and Act V visitors to walk/bike/trolley to town without driving, consistent with reducing parking and traffic congestion in LB.

From the Pageant to Canyon Acres is roughly 6/10 of a mile long with an existing sidewalk. Built as a community project a multi-use pathway could feature some inspiring artwork to welcome visitors to the downtown area:

• Street Art (examples)
  
• Poetry Readings
• Rest Area Seating (examples)
• DIY Bike Service Station
  

UPDATE: 12 March 2024 Les Miklosy submitted an ACTION REQUEST FORM to the Parking Traffic and Circulation Committe to foster the Multiuse Pathway. The action request was rejected, the response received indicated this proposal was NOT IN THE JURISDICTION OF THE LAGUNA BEACH PTC.

UPDATE: 10 May 6:00pm Les Miklosy spoke to the LB City Council during PUBLIC COMMENT to remind the city the petition was not recorded in the public record despite previous attempts to do so.  In the 10 May Agenda there is no record of the comment, the petition for a Multiuse Pathway remains DOA - as planned.

UPDATE: In the 26 April City Council meeting this petition was noted by city staff as "Public Comment (received after Agenda posted)", most odd since the petition was submitted for Public Comment on 15 March 2022. The Petition was not recognized by council members during public session.

UPDATE: As of the 12 April LB City Council meeting no mention of the public petition appears on the city agenda for Public Comments. 

UPDATE: This petition with 56 residents participating was submitted to LB City Council and City Clerk on 15 March 2022.

-LS

San Clemente City Council test bike riding in Long Beach

Last Saturday city council members from San Clemente took bicycles to Long Beach to "pedal, ponder, and probe the possibilities of a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly Spanish Village by the Sea."

Long Beach has figured out how to create places people want to be and how they want to get there by having a balanced, multi-modal transportation network for all. Motor traffic is calmed, locals bask in sidewalk cafes, pedestrians stroll, bicyclists pedal, businesses thrive and everyone has a smile on her face. That's why the San Clemente City Council, GPAC, and staff pushed the pedals Saturday.

Councilmember Lori Donchak said it all with this observation: "Long Beach was a real eye-opener about how cycling can be a valued transportation choice in a community. Whether on foot, on bicycle, or in a car, people moving around the city were respectful of each other, and it worked. An added bonus: abundant public art especially appreciated by those on two wheels. It was good to see the Complete Street concept in action," she said. Full story in the San Clemente Patch.

The Great Buy-In

Have you ever sat motionless in Laguna traffic wondering where the guy in front of you is from? You might have thought if he wasn’t driving a car Laguna’s streets would be a little less crowded, or you thought “he’s one of those 6 million summer visitors.” Well here is a surprise, moving-citation data from the LB Police Department shows the guy in front of you is 94% likely to be from California, 43% likely from Laguna or our closest 5 neighbor cities, and 26% likely to be a Laguna resident. So don’t blame traffic on visiting Oklahoma drivers, the problem is us.

Naturally most people get around Laguna by driving because the alternatives to driving are oh so “inconvenient”. How inconvenient is sitting in traffic motionless? Let me deliver the final clue now, ever consider yourself as part of the problem? If your answer feels like a confession that’s good, press on.

So how did we arrive here today with a transport system that shows it’s inadequacies despite years and years of refinements, paid consultants and re-designs? Since the 1950’s Laguna Beach like so many other cities around the nation has experienced an erosion of city infrastructure caused by the automobile. Erosion begins with little bites first: one-way streets, bigger intersections, road widening, straightened roads, faster speeds, greater LOS (an engineering term I call Level of Suffering). Then come the desperate bites swallowed whole: the by-pass road, the expressway, the toll road, the mega-transfer lot and the smartcard-activated  underground robot parking garage (made in Germany).

Building automobile infrastructure is in direct opposition to what I’ll call “transit infrastructure”, bus lanes, crosswalks, bike-paths, and pedestrian sidewalks. The preponderance for automobiles causes a dynamic effect, the more space provided cars in cities, the greater becomes the need for cars.  Still more space is allocated for them, both when they are moving and when they are idle. Laguna has not been immune from automobile infrastructure, look at an aerial photograph of the Art Festival grounds and you will be astonished to see 80% of the livable space is paved over for parking spaces and Laguna Canyon Road. The actual Festival Buildings  are packed into the remaining 20%.

Irvine development is planning 5000 more homes near the Great Mall. Guess what those folks drive to the beach? Automobile erosion no longer works as a single mobility solution for us, Laguna needs a new attrition plan for the private automobile and working alternatives. Complete Street Policy is a solution with a working track record, every person you see walking, biking or busing means one less car on the road and another free parking space. If you recognize that further automobile erosion is unworkable in Laguna Beach, you are ready to complete the streets. The Task Force for Complete Streets meets the second Tuesday of each month at 5:00, Senior Center. Come join the discussion.

San Clemente Adopts Complete Streets into General Plan

Dedicated train-cars for bicycles, bike lanes, pedestrian benches, and connecting infrastructure. Some cities are making the sustainable shift to a multi-modal transport system and recognize the value in this shift. San Clemente leads the way, on Wednesday night the San Clemente Planning Commission adopted and approved a framework for their Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The Plan will become an integral part of the San Clemente city General Plan.

Some highlights of the comprehensive Eighty-Eight point framework:

• The City shall adopt recreational off-road facilities to the on-road transportation network.
• We shall incorporate bicycle accommodations into all land use plans and capital improvement projects.
• The city will encourage public pedestrian improvement projects such as public art, fountains, street trees, lighting and directional signs. 
• (The city shall) include skateboarding as a legitimate form of transportation as a policy, and include program to evaluate and revise ordinances as necessary to accommodate safe skateboard use.
• Support the creation of comprehensive safety awareness programs for pedestrians, skateboarders, cyclists and drivers.
• Expand the Safe Routes to School program and encourage all schools to get involved.
• Develop a (city sponsored) city-wide bicycle map
• City to sponsor bike-to-work week and month
• The city shall measure non-motorized trips and vehicle trip reductions, especially at local schools, so as to monitor mode share goal progress.
• The City shall prioritize smart-growth principles, public transit connections, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction by ensuring safe, convenient, contiguous, non-motorized access to destinations such as employment centers, schools, parks, the beach, businesses, natural amenities and residential areas.
• We shall establish mode-shift/share goals. 

-LS

Downtown Specific Plan Update

VE showing reduced vehicular access, pedestrian crossing, 200-yard multiuse path

On October 4 the LB Planning Commission will hear updates to the LB Downtown Specific Plan and design recommendations affecting the Village Entrance and Laguna Canyon corridor presented by MIG Consulting.

Accompanying map for MIG Recommendations

 Highlights of design recommendations concerning vehicular circulation in Task 2.7 DOWNTOWN PARKING MANAGEMENT PLAN AND VILLAGE ENTRANCE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VEHICULAR, BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION (starting on page 52 of agenda bill) are:

• Construct a pedestrian walkway from Canyon Acres Drive to Act V (west side)
• Complete pedestrian walkway from 2 to 4 (figure)(east side)(corrected)
• Complete a Class 1 "bike facility" from Canyon Acres to 2 (east side)
• A multi-use pedestrian path will complement the Class 1 "bike facility"
• Reduce vehicle access to Forest Ave Parking Lot from two to one
• Reducing vehicle access improves bicycle and pedestrian safety
• LCR Task Force did not choose a roadway configuration preference (huh?)
• MIG does not recommend a roadway configuration (of 5 alternatives)
• MIG recommends a street tree pallet
• Develop a four-foot permiable shoulder and stormwater swale
• Improve signal timing at the LCAD pedestrian crosswalk
• Install a way-finding program to promote Civic Art District branding
• Eliminate uncontrolled pedestrian crossings (at LCR)
• Create innovative solution for increased northbound vehicle volume

These design recommendations were denied:

• No transit hub
• No support for transit
• No support for rail 
• No compliance with Caltrans Department Directive 64
• No compliance with Complete Streets Policy 

The plan submitted does not conform to a balanced mobility plan, it remains car-centric and guarantees more auto congestion due to inland community growth.  The DSP ensures the Village Entrance remains a parking lot.

Find the full 68 page Planning Commission agenda bill here. 

NOTE:

MIG specifies east and west using Laguna Canyon Road Hwy 133 as a reference running north and south bound. This adds confusion since areal views show the 133 highway also oriented east and west.

Low Cost Housing for Laguna

Laguna Canyon Nada

Good news for car owners, soon you won't need one. In San Diego's Little Italy a new development has eliminated parking requirements in order to encourage car-free living and reduce the cost of rents.

In WSJ Ester Fong's endeavor to show both sides of the argument she is very successful, so thorough we completely loose the purpose for building low-cost housing. Rather we take the parking-brawl outside for a street-fight in the Commentary section because when it comes to urban planning, everybody is an expert.


So far 61 experts wrote commentary because every writer knows their piece of the elephant. Some writers remark how such a lefty progressive idea couldn't possibly work in Houston, others write how relaxing parking requirements failed in Portland. Yet others say let market forces determine housing densities so "keep-a you hands off my kaaa".  If free-market forces are such a good thing, why does Laguna suffer under the summer traffic congestion it experiences now? Maybe existing regulations and free-market forces - the availability of cars-on-the-cheap have something to do with it. In 2013 a quarter of US renters spent half their monthly income on housing made less affordable due to parking requirements.

Commentary can be misleading. The statements following Fong's piece distract the reader from the central idea: how relaxing parking regulations benefit affordable housing. If Ester Fong combined Complete Streets Policy with urban planning, then a community of low-cost housing connected by transportation free of parking costs would emerge.  Low cost housing development is sorely needed by the art community in Laguna Beach, in neighborhoods long ignored. 

-LS