Written in response to the Wendy Paris Opinion piece dated November 27,2023 titled "Santa Monica needs better public transportation, not more rules."
Hearing about your ex-husband’s crash was devastating. I’m truly sorry that your family had to suffer through that and glad that he survived. The crash that he experienced was not an accident and could have been prevented. It was a direct consequence of unsafe road design and prioritizing vehicle speeds over everyone’s safety.
You rightly pointed out that the bike lane on 16th Street abruptly ends at Pico Boulevard. Due to this gap in the network, users of the bike lane are forced to go from a low traffic street with designated space for cyclists into a high speed, high traffic road with no space for cyclists or room for error for drivers.
The solution is not to make it easier to drive, or put everyone in tiny on-demand buses, it is to fix the bike network. In Los Angeles, nearly 50% of all car trips are three miles or less. Every person that walks or rides a bike on a short trip is one less person driving and causing traffic and pollution. Shouldn’t we encourage this?
As you pointed out, biking and walking is not safe. Traffic violence is an epidemic in this country and it is getting worse. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children in Los Angeles, exceeding gun violence. In 2022 more than 300 people were killed by cars on LA streets. This was an increase of 28% over historical averages. The United States ranks dead last in high income countries when it comes to protecting its citizens from traffic deaths. You are at least five times more likely to die from car violence in the US than you are in the safest high income countries.
Poor road design and unsafe speed is what sets us apart. In the United States we have been prioritizing the speed and throughput of vehicles above all else for going on 75 years. In Santa Monica, we have begun the hard and complicated process of fixing this. We are using international best practices to redesign our street environment to reduce car speeds and conflicts. Santa Monica is taking all road users into account to make this a safer place to walk, bike, and drive.
In your opinion piece, you stated that “The narrowing of roads further complicates commuting and creates delays” and that it’s “Absolutely maddening if you need to use your car to get somewhere on time.” These minor inconveniences you experience are by design and absolutely necessary.
The speed limits and road designs in our city need to change if we actually care about protecting the lives of our children, friends, and neighbors. The research is clear, cars need to slow down.
Eli Gill, resident of Santa Monica
