L.A.’s Big Plans for Biking and Walking Spark Fears of Gridlock

Change is not coming easy to the car-dominated streets of Los Angeles. Ian Lovett reports for the New York Times that a sweeping municipal plan to create hundreds of miles of lanes reserved for bikes, walkers and buses has sparked gridlock fears. That’s because some streets would become off-limits to cars.
Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council aim to transform one of America’s most car-loving cities into a pedestrian paradise. The Mobility Plan 2035, as the initiative is called, is designed to encourage motorists to consider cleaner alternatives, the article says.

Some residents fear the worst: total meltdown on the streets. This is, after all, a city already known for miles-long traffic jams. Lawsuits aimed at blocking the plan are in the works, the Times notes.

Garcetti counters that the car-centric days of old, when L. A. could be quickly traversed by automobile, are over. He’s encouraging “self-contained” neighborhood development that offers residents a wide selection of shopping and entertainment without straying far from home. 


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This article originally appeared on Citiscope. Citiscope is a nonprofit news outlet that covers innovations in cities around the world. More at Citiscope.org.