LA's Strangest Road-Widening Rule #urbanplanning

#shorts on a little-known planning practice in #losangeles that often requires patchwork road widening whenever new housing is built...and why the policy is dangerous/illogical

[lej_explains]

Extra BG: 2 years ago, LA's Council *directed* agencies to create an ordinance which would end this road-widening rule, and mandated they come back with a draft *within 2 months*.

But the whole thing fell into a black hole typical in LA politics, and the ordinance still hasn’t been released. So, just shows how little our current council actually cares about pragmatic fixes to our unsafe streets and getting more housing built.

[liamhodgson]

As an engineer…this is bonkers. Wtf are they thinking. Even if we conceded a future wider ROW, why would they pave it before it is going to be used? Dumb on so many levels especially with stormwater, tf

[filanfyretracker]

Why remove a sidewalk? Just forces people to walk on the road.

[kaymart]

As an Angeleno who walks regularly, I find this to be truly mind-numbing and absurd to the max. Especially when you consider that the city + county are evidently still (laughably, ineffectively) pursuing some of their Vision Zero plans... 🤯

[mariusfacktor]

I think LA thankfully did stop spot widenings in 2023. Look up "L.A. Public Works Committee Approves Motion to End Automatic Road Widening"

They should do the exact opposite. When more people move in, they should make the street MORE walkable to encourage people to walk instead of drive everywhere. We should start a movement in the city to change the spot widenings that were already done into pocket parks with benches and trees and a small playground.

EDIT: Saw your comment! Thanks! Yeah this practice needs to end immediately. Completely insane.

[Rickzolo]

HATE IT!!!

When I was young, we used to have the last two single family homes in our block, and when they got redeveloped for apartments, they widened the road. Especially our sidewalk being narrow and no tree shade.

[TheRamenCat_]

Some of those widened areas are places I go running, and I find it so annoying when the side walks curve like that.

[Leons-mane]

This bill is now passed and signed into law. This problem is not just with LA, years ago I tried to build another house on a 10 acre land in unincorporated Sacramento. The county wanted me to pave a new lane for the entire frontage of my property, which is surrounded by rural farmlands. The road would’ve costed more than my home. These local officials have lost their damn mind.

[davidlloyd]

Heaven forbid that they would offer more public transport

[davidlloyd]

Heaven forbid they should increase public transport

[matmoome]

Half the city is narrowing roads to get drivers to slow down while the other half is widening roads to add more lanes

[SK-zisr]

In Australia we use those for parking not to later widen to road,

[chazzerbox]

As a European this seems a cocked idea but instead of using the space for an extra roadway it would be great to have more green space in cities separating the pedestrian and roadways via greenway would be great for the environment, health of the city and safety

[lifeofeap]

They should do what many other cities already do. Plant trees and plants that aren’t endangered incase they need to be removed. Don’t need to pave that part of the road until it’s a least a whole block of few. Also adding trees slows down cars.

[chaimileage]

I visited LA in 2016. I was blown away by how backwards that city was. What I noticed immediately was that there were almost no secured green left turn arrows at the intersections. I waited through several stop light cycles waiting to make left turns. Oh and parking was insane, no idea how on earth anybody lives there.

[jonny-b]

My city makes new houses build sidewalks in front of their house. It's a suburb. 100k of nothing but houses and only commercial at major road intersections. But it didn't really work out.... some places they've finished it. But most roads it's just 6 existing older houses with no sidewalk, 2 new ones with sidewalk, 1 old one with none, another new house with sidewalk etc. And it just stops at the property line, obviously.

[Ilia_Karamfilov]

Hope it ends. This suburb road is as wide as our town's main boulevard! And it has 4 lanes with a median!

[EdwardM-tp]

As someone who has visited L.A. only once and never saw a street with a pocket widening I find this practice to be utter madness!

[robbrewster]

All of these ridiculous regulations only increase home prices.

[drisblones]

They don't actually do this anymore. They just make you dedicate your land and it stays a sidewalk until they can assemble all the land then they have the right to claim the land and make it a road