Santa Monica City Council pushes green transportation

As you walk down the Third Street Promenade in downtown Santa Monica, you notice the bizarre setup of the intersections on the surrounding streets. Intersections on 4th Street south of Wilshire Blvd. have all been converted into diagonal crosswalks. The new setup make red lights longer and allows more time for pedestrians to cross, consequently improving pedestrian flow and impeding traffic flow. This is one of the many projects City Council has undertaken to encourage green transportation alternatives in Santa Monica. Along with crosswalk changes, the Big Blue Bus, the Metro and Green Bikes have all been revamped to reduce the number of cars on the road. The Metro, completed in early 2016, along with Green Bikes, which were installed a few months prior in November, 2015, have brought an influx of tourism to Santa Monica. According to Mobility Manager in the Santa Monica Planning and Community Development Department Francie Stefan, the benefits of these developments far outweigh the costs.“The Expo Light Rail line actually helps by providing an option to visit Santa Monica without a car that is faster and more convenient than many options before,” Stefan said. “Overnight visitors also have some of the lowest car usage of any of the city’s visiting population. There is a growing demand for walking, biking, and public transit.”The Green Bikes are one way the city has met this demand. For cheap prices, people can rent the bikes out at hourly rates. Sponsored by Hulu, the commonly known Green Bikes (also known as the Breeze Bikes) are a popular form of transportation for residents and visitors alike. Inspired by other modern cities, Green Bikes are a great way for tourists looking to explore downtown Santa Monica. The bikes lessen traffic, are great for the environment, and are profitable for the city. Kevin McKeown, former Mayor of Santa Monica and current City Council member, is also involved in promoting green transportation. Many Samo students rely on the Big Blue Bus as their main form of transportation to and from school. Another goal of the City Council is to accommodate students that take the bus regularly, because in addition to its convenience, the Big Blue Bus significantly helps to alleviate pollution.As for larger scale transportation, the Metro is completely electric and comes every 12 minutes to accommodate its passengers. It is the most environmentally friendly, pollution-free method of transportation in Santa Monica to date. “Not only is mass transit inherently less environmentally impactful than individual cars, but our Big Blue Buses already run on very clean natural gas recycled from landfills,” Mckeown said. “We are already working on making our buses zero-emission electric, from solar power.”These ideas and new projects demonstrate how much our environment matters to the city. Mobility is one of the top five priorities of the city council, and in the last year this has been very clear.Unfortunately, for many this system seems to be working too well. Since its opening, thousands have relied on the Metro as a dependable and reasonably priced way to get down to Santa Monica for a nice day at the beach, resulting in some of the most crowded streets Santa Monica has ever seen. However, Stefan and others in the mobility department have found ways to manage the masses.“Santa Monica has always had a large visitor population,” Stefan said. “The facilities need to expand to meet the demand, including projects like the Colorado Esplanade that created 25 to 30 foot sidewalks (ten is normal) to accommodate the increase in pedestrians and to create a protected bike facility to the pier.”Another potential issue is that traffic does not seem to have decreased, the only noticeable change being the pedestrian-favoring crosswalks on 4th street and the extended red lights at train intersections. Adam Katz (’18), relies heavily on his own car as his main form of transportation. The positive aspects of green transportation haven’t affected him in the least. Santa Monica’s heavy traffic has not gotten any better for those that rely on driving. Katz believes that driving when the Metro is passing is especially annoying.The Metro, which comes frequently, especially during the busy hours of the day, triggers red lights and blocks off intersections in its wake. This makes it much harder to cross at an intersection that the Metro goes through."There is an added hassle when I have to wait for the metro to pass, which takes roughly about 4 minutes,” Katz said. “It is extremely impractical whenever I head southwards since the train can cut off a green light. It's frustrating especially when I’m in a rush and need to be somewhere quickly."The changes have undoubtedly come with some complications. However, the city of Santa Monica is working to smooth out all rough edges to have a positive, lasting impact on transportation in the city. The goal is to create a safe, clean environment for both residents and visitors.“It’s a partnership between land use and transportation that is key to provide land uses that support the people living there and provide transportation options that support walking, biking transit and ride-sharing,” Stephen said. “And then you have a green transportation network.”