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Work to restore Vista del Mar traffic lanes to begin soon – Beach Reporter

Posted: August 11, 2017 at 6:48 am

Crews will begin restoring two traffic lanes and removing street parking on Vista del Mar starting Aug. 21, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.

Work on a 1.5-mile stretch of the beachfront thoroughfare north of Imperial Highway is expected to take two to three weeks to complete and will include temporary lane closures.

Crews will make every effort to minimize construction-related delays, but at times lanes will need to be closed temporarily to accommodate implementation, the agency said in a statement. Occasional full street closures will occur during night hours only.

LADOT advised drivers to plan ahead and use alternate routes, including Imperial Highway and Westchester Parkway to travel east and west, and Pershing Drive, Lincoln Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard and the 405 Freeway to go north and south.

Officials also warned that a separate Bureau of Engineering construction project may intermittently restrict southbound traffic to one lane daily before 3 p.m.

Lower parking fees

Parking will be available in lots along Dockweiler State Beach and fees will come down in the near future.

Although the details havent been finalized, preliminary figures would lower the all-day parking rate at the Imperial Highway lot to $3 on weekdays and $5 on weekends for the first 300 visitors, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

RELATED:LA City Councilman 'truly sorry' for closing traffic lanes on Vista Del Mar

The current summer parking rate is $8 on weekdays and $13 on weekends.

The department should know late next week when exactly the lower fees will take effect, said public information officer Nicole Mooradian.

The restriping comes after two months of public outcry and litigation over a road diet that was suddenly implemented along Vista del Mar just before Memorial Day weekend to prevent pedestrian deaths, like one that cost the city a $9.5 million settlement in April.

The road was reduced to one lane in each direction and parking was reconfigured into 400 angled spaces on the west side of the street.

The changes, which coincided with similar reductions on other major streets in Playa del Rey, resulted in gridlock and uproar from commuters. South Bay city leaders began discussing legal action and a group of condo owners filed its own lawsuit in July. A grass-roots opposition group, Keep L.A. Moving, gathered thousands of online petition signatures and started crowdfunding for its own lawsuit. The backlash even launched an effort to recall Westside Councilman Mike Bonin.

Next steps

In a video posted July 26, one day before Manhattan Beach was to consider pulling the trigger on a lawsuit, Bonin acknowledged most people outright hated the changes and he apologized for the traffic headaches. He then announced Vista del Mar would be restored to four lanes.

He also announced traffic signal improvements and the formation of a task force to address the road diets on Culver, Jefferson Boulevard and Pershing.

County Supervisor Janice Hahn was credited with making the Vista del Mar lane restorations possible by arranging to make more affordable parking available in the county-run beach lot to satisfy the California Coastal Commission.

RELATED: Manhattan Beach mulls legal action of Vista del Mar lane closures

Keep L.A. Moving leader Karla Mendelson said her group is almost ready to file its lawsuit.

Bonins office is set to share details soon about the Playa del Rey Road Safety Task Forces next steps.

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Work to restore Vista del Mar traffic lanes to begin soon - Beach Reporter


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