Say goodbye to designated bike lanes in downtown Culver City.
By a vote of 3-2 this week, the Culver City Council voted to end a controversial program that created protected bike and bus lanes on Culver and Washington boulevards.
The project, dubbed Move Culver City, was launched in 2021 to encourage walking, cycling and public transit use through the 1.3-mile downtown Culver City corridor.
A report released by the city’s transportation department this month indicates it did make a moderate difference.
Cycling activity was up 57% over pre-pandemic levels. Bus ridership was up 38%. “Micromobility trips,” such as electric scooters and skateboards, were up 68%, according to the report.
However, residents found the impact on vehicle traffic to be simply too disruptive as cars were limited to only one lane in each direction.
“As much as everybody is for bike lanes and improved pedestrian infrastructure, this particular project was so poorly designed and implemented that it had to be changed,” said Ali Lex, a cyclist and Culver City resident. “The negative impacts on residents and businesses have been really bad.”
A survey found 58% of Culver City residents opposed continuing the program.
“I try to avoid this [area] if I’m just running errands at lunch,” Brianna Dolcine told KTLA. “I’ll just walk, which is good for me, but I do it because Culver Boulevard is so crazy.”
The city is now planning to have cyclists share lanes with buses and bring back car lanes wherever feasible. It plans to revisit the council’s decision in two years.