Ask the L.A. mayor candidates: What about L.A.’s crumbling sidewalks?
During separate video interviews with the Los Angeles Times last month, candidates for L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel responded to questions from individual voters.
Among them is Alissa Walker of Silver Lake, who asked: What do the candidates plan to do about L.A.’s crumbling sidewalks? Walker, a pedestrian advocate, adds that L.A.’s streets are too wide, and “there are far too many” pedestrian collisions on city streets.
Here’s the video of what Garcetti had to say to Walker.
The answer from Greuel, who responded to Walker’s question in writing, is below:
Every member of our community has a vested interest in improving sidewalks — it improves mobility, reduces lawsuits, increases property value, reduces traffic congestion and improves access. As mayor, my administration will make it a priority to implement a robust sidewalk improvement and pedestrian safety program.First, the L.A. Department of Transportation has a pedestrian coordinator in place, but we need to give that office the resources and attention to take it to the next level.
Second, I’ll also explore bringing back the “50/50” sidewalk program that I pioneered in my council district, as one more option to help us get closer to being a truly walkable city. When I served on the City Council, we repaired more than 35 miles of sidewalk in my district.
And third, I would look directly at the city’s resources, building codes, streetscaping, and facilities to ensure we are supporting cyclists and pedestrians as part of a truly multi-modal transit system. We need to find ways to make cycling more viable. Throwing some paint on our roads to create bike lanes is a great start — but we can’t stop there. We need more.
I will make sure we implement the city’s bike plan. There is no reason a city with snow should be more bike friendly than L.A. As mayor, I’ll ensure that all those who use Los Angeles County’s roads are able to do so safely, no matter their form of transportation.
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