September News

Hey everyone! Here’s what’s going on:

Citywide Parking Study Community Meeting (virtual)

This is TONIGHT at 6pm. We understand that this might not sound like a very exciting event, but it is an important topic that greatly affects the safety and comfort of our streets, the beauty of our city, and the viability of “alternative” mobility options for our residents. As we think about our city’s future, we need to continually think about the role of car storage. This mundane topic is often the fixed variable around which we design our streets, develop private land, and decide whether new housing and new businesses are allowed. Most of us CMABS people adhere to the approach to municipal parking management that is espoused by distinguished UCLA Professor Donald Shoup, which is summarized well here. We encourage you to call in tonight to bring balance to what is often a one-sided discussion: most people are only driven to this topic when finding parking spaces has become a source of constant frustration, and their knee-jerk reaction is to demand more of it. Give the article linked above a read and help us support some common-sense solutions. If you can’t make it to the meeting (or even if you can), be sure to send in a letter to parkingstudy@costamesaca.gov

Pedestrian Master Plan Community Meeting (virtual)

This will be next Wednesday, October 6th, at 6pm. This is another chance to make your voice heard by supporting investments into making our streets better. The more speakers we have and the more attendees in the meeting, the more the City knows that residents are taking this seriously. Save the date!

Merrimac Way

The City’s improvements to Merrimac Way are complete! Watch this cool video that they made to celebrate it. We see this as evidence that we as a city are beginning to turn the corner - from an approach that is almost exclusively concerned with the constant flow of automobiles to an approach that better considers the safety and comfort of everyone else on the streets.

Fairview Road

The City is finalizing some improvements to an important stretch of Fairview Road that includes new buffered bike lane striping (buffered with paint only), green conflict zone paint, and a new traffic signal, complete with a median (to prohibit dangerous left turns out of the Stater Bros. parking lot), a new highly-visible crosswalk, and a pedestrian refuge. Take a look:

Legislative Updates

There are several bills related to safe streets that are on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature.

AB 773 - Gives cities power over slow streets programs

AB 122 - Bicycle safety stop

AB 1147 - Active transportation program for Regional Agencies

AB 43 - Give cities flexibility in setting speed limits

AB 1238 - Decriminalizes jaywalking

It is very easy to voice your support for these. Visit this website here, and there is a drop down menu from which you can select a bill.

Articles

Here is some recent journalism for your reading pleasure:

• Let’s bust the myth: a car-friendly neighborhood isn’t a child-friendly neighborhood

• Car Dependency is a Spectrum

• Residents Overwhelmingly Support Slow Streets

• Germany: parking row brews as Green mayor plans to increase fees by 600%

• Making a 1960s street grid fit for the 21st century

• America’s Most Toxic Car Ads: Child Endangerment Edition

• The Liberation of Paris From Cars Is Working

• How to end the American obsession with driving

• Transport noise linked to increased risk of dementia, study finds

• Forget Low Traffic Neighborhoods, Planet Needs No Traffic Neighborhoods

• The Screen in Your Car is Beckoning

Thanks for reading and have a great week!