LADOT Supports LAUSD Students' Return to In-Person Learning

LADOT is committed to getting students back to school with reliable and safe transportation options as LAUSD resumes in-person learning. To assist students in their return to school, LADOT’s DASH-to-Class program will provide free transit for K-12 and post-secondary students, and crossing guards will be placed at designated intersections to ensure safe crossings for students.

LADOT Transit continues to offer fare-free DASH bus service for all riders. This includes all students participants in LADOT’s DASH-to-Class program. Students who wish to enroll in the program can fill out an application online at taptogo.net, at Metro Service Centers, and at LAUSD schools. For more information, students and their families are encouraged to visit ladottransit.com/studentsridefree.

To ensure the ongoing safety of students as they ride, bike, and walk back into the classroom, LADOT will deploy crossing guards to prioritized locations across Los Angeles. LADOT crossing guards will provide traffic guidance at designated street intersections, allowing for a safer and calmer environment for students and their families as they travel to and from school.

Providing transportation improvements and educational information for local students, the Safe Routes to School L.A. program aims to increase the comfort, safety, and convenience of those who travel along routes to and from Los Angeles schools. Since the closure of LAUSD schools in March 2020, Safe Routes to School L.A. has been awarded $22.38 million from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Active Transportation Program for neighborhood street improvements at nine local schools, completed a comprehensive redesign project at Esperanza Elementary School in Westlake — for which the program received the American Society of Civil Engineers (ACSE) Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch Community Improvement Project of 2020 Award — and has hosted a variety of virtual projects and safety events to assist students and their families as they prepare to return to school. For more information about Safe Routes to School L.A., click here.

Observing Transportation Trends: Results of the LADOT Walk & Bike Count

LADOT has published findings and data from its inaugural study counting the number of people biking and walking on Los Angeles streets. The count, which took place over several weekends in 2019, reveals trends in active transportation while observing the demographics of Angelenos traveling through the city.

Observations show a significant increase in the number of people walking and biking in locations where LADOT has made safety and complete street improvements. While women make up only 16% of people biking, there is a 120% increase in female riders on streets with dedicated bike paths.

“What gets measured matters,” said LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds. “Thanks to this report, LADOT gained valuable insights to how people move through Los Angeles neighborhoods so that our investments can deliver the most effective improvements for people walking and biking.”

This report examines how transportation investments can create streets that feel safe and comfortable for people of all ages and abilities. Information gathered during the count will be used to guide future pedestrian and bike infrastructure projects throughout the city. The data provided in the report serve the following purposes:

• Identify locations for future bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
• Understand how travel trends and behaviors vary across geographic areas and street typologies.
• Track usage before and after transportation projects and programs are implemented.

LADOT’s Walk & Bike Count was one of the first large scale tests of SCAG’s recently launched Active Transportation Database, which provides ways for agencies to collect and store data for public use. Data from the report will also be available on city websites such as NavigateLA and at Los Angeles Open Data.

The data are based on observations of 63 intersections and helps LADOT better understand traveler attributes as the department focuses on creating livable and sustainable streets that offer multiple modes of transit options to get around the city.

Some significant observations include:

• The count recorded that while women make up only 16% of people biking, there was a 120% increase in female riders on streets with bike paths compared to streets with no bike facilities.
• The count showed a 73% increase in ridership on Figueroa Street in DTLA since the installation of the MyFigueroa streetscape project compared to counts that took place in 2017.
• A 22% increase in biking citywide from comparable data in 2017.
• 40% of people walking are female. This increases to 44% female walkers on weekends.

LADOT will perform biennial counts in the fall of every odd year consistent with the former Bike + Ped Count organized by LACBC. The next LADOT Walk & Bike Count is scheduled for fall 2021 and is expected to increase to 100 locations throughout the city.

Read the full report on the LADOT website.

State of the City 2021

Earlier this week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetii delivered the 2021 State of the City address, outlining both his administration’s budget proposal and the priorities of the Los Angeles city government moving forward.

Following an introduction that delineated the accomplishments that the city has achieved during the past several years, Mayor Garcetti focused on the changes that have occurred in Los Angeles since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring. Noting that the proposed budget his administration has forwarded for approval by the Los Angeles City Council is the largest in his administration's history — which includes $75 million for vaccines, coronavirus testing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) — Mayor Garcetti emphasized this year’s budget as one that is dedicated to achieving an economic comeback in the wake of COVID-19, and one which also does so while being focused on funding important social programs and initiatives.

To assist local restaurants as they adjust their business spaces to facilitate health, the city’s new budget proposal earmarks $2 million to establish L.A. Al Fresco as a permanent city program. Supported by LADOT, the Al Fresco program allows restaurants to expand dining areas into parking lanes, driving lanes, and adjacent private lots to encourage safe physical distancing for customers.

To view the full State of the City address, please click here.

On the Road to Safer Streets in West L.A.

Last week, LADOT completed the installation of a new left turn signal at Overland Avenue and Olympic Boulevard in west Los Angeles, which was the site of a speeding collision that claimed the life of 32-year-old Monique Munoz earlier this year. LADOT is committed to preventing fatal and severe injury crashes, and will continue to seek out opportunities to improve the safety of our city's streets.

Supporting New Mobility Options

LADOT joined City Council District 11 Councilmember Mike Bonin, Jamie Keeton of the West LA-Sawtelle Neighborhood Council, and others in the Sawtelle neighborhood this past Thursday to mark the commencement of a new free-floating carshare service now available in west Los Angeles. Operated by Mocean, a Hyundai sponsored mobility startup, the new low-emission hybrid-electric carshare fleet in west L.A. joins the already extant fleets that the company operates in downtown Los Angeles, Highland Park, and Eagle Rock. Currently, Mocean is the only free-floating carshare service in Los Angeles, and aims to provide an affordable and accessible transportation option for Angelenos.

This Week in Photos:

LADOT crews began the installation of new parking improvements on Abbot Kinney Boulevard this week, including more efficient on-street parking, the city's first on-street dedicated motorcycle parking stalls, and on-street dockless vehicle spaces.

LADOT by the Numbers:

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered the annual State of the City address earlier this week, outlining the city's budget proposal and goals for the next year and beyond.

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