Road Changes On Vista Del Mar Reversed

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The City of Manhattan Beach is thankful that Councilmember Mike Bonin and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation decided to reverse roadway reconfigurations on Vista del Mar in Playa del Rey, according to a statement from the City. Councilmember Bonin has committed to creating a task force to evaluate traffic safety issues on Jefferson Boulevard, Culver Boulevard, and Pershing Drive.

City Council also recognizes the residents who sent feedback and participated in forums, as well as Senator Ben Allen, Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi and Autumn Burke, ElSegundo Mayor Suzanne Fuentes and Mayor Pro Tem Drew Boyles, Hermosa Beach Councilmembers CarolynPetty, Jeff Duclos, and Hany Fangary, the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG), and otherofficials throughout the region, the press release said.

The Safe Streets for Playa del Rey Initiative hoped to get rid of dangerous conditions that forced pedestrians parking on the east side of Vista del Mar to dart across four lanes of traffic to get to the beach, according to Daily Breeze. The work also created pockets to make U-turns, which didn't exist previously but motorists attempted anyways.

“This will make the street safer, create more parking inventory, reduce speeding, and curb the use of Playa del Rey as a short-cut from the South Bay to points north,” City Councilman Mike Bonin wrote in a letter to constituents in May, according to Daily Breeze.

The initiative came after the Los Angeles City Council agreed to pay $9.5 million to the parents of Naomi Larsen, 16, who was struck and killed by a taxi as she crossed Vista Del Mar in 2015, according to Daily Breeze. Her parents sued, saying the City failed to make it safe for people to cross the street to get to their cars.

Photo via Andrew Hayward/Flickr