Improving Safety on San Vicente

Wilshire Vista residents: your feedback is requested!

A local organization called Streets For All would like to propose that a protected bike lane be implemented on San Vicente between Fairfax and La Brea avenues. WVNA has been asked whether or not we would support the proposal, so the WVNA Board is asking for your feedback.

For more information, Michael Schneider of Streets For All has prepared a presentation which you can view here. Michael also gave this presentation via Zoom on September 28, 2020, and a recording of his presentation is available below.

Background Information

The City of Los Angeles will be repaving San Vicente Boulevard between Fairfax and La Brea in December 2020. This street is on the City's 2035 Mobility Plan with a protected bike lane, protected by parked cars or bollards. When repaving the street, the City has an opportunity to implement the Mobility Plan.

The San Vicente protected bike lane would:

a) provide a first/last mile solution to help people get to and from the Purple Line station or local trips without having to drive;
b) move traffic and pollution away from homes on San Vicente;
c) maintain current level of accessibility for emergency vehicles through the area;
d) maintain driveway access.

The end result would maintain two vehicle traffic lanes (the same configuration as streets like La Brea, Fairfax, Olympic, Pico, and most other major streets in Los Angeles), parking, and the median as is, while adding a curb side bike lane. It would also reduce the likelihood of speeding cars on San Vicente.

Traffic Stats

As an example, Pico has two vehicle traffic lanes in each direction whereas San Vicente has three currently. If San Vicente went down to two, the street would still serve fewer cars at rush hour than Pico.

From a traffic count in the last few years:

At peak, Pico (at Burnside) carries 1,870 cars per hour Westbound and 1,759 cars per hour Eastbound
At peak, San Vicente (at Hauser) carries 1,622 cars per hour Westbound and 1,470 cars per hour Eastbound