L.A. says bike lanes on Pico Boulevard would boost safety. Merchants fear fallout

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Set us as preferred On a recent weekday afternoon, cars were already parked bumper to bumper along the residential streets near Pico Boulevard.On the boulevard itself, parking spots were filling up as drivers hurtled down the busy roadway.The corridor is lined with small businesses: neighborhood markets as well as nail salons, repair shops, sign makers and restaurants.Business owners say they recognize that Pico Boulevard has a speeding problem and can be dangerous for pedestrians.The Los Angeles Department of Transportation wants to make the corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

But that will come at the expense of 228 parking spots, which are already hard to come by in the neighborhood.LADOT is set to overhaul 3.5 miles of Pico Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and Figueroa Street to reduce speeding and unsafe turns and lane changes.The agency says the project is intended to improve safety by adding a center turn lane for left turns and emergency vehicles, protected bike lanes and new “two can cross” traffic signals at Manhattan Place and New Hampshire Avenue.

The transportation department also will repair sidewalks and curb ramps.To make room, the city will remove parking on the north side of the street and reduce travel lanes from two to one in each direction.Construction is set to begin by the end of the year.City officials say the changes are needed after years of serious crashes.

Between 2014 and 2023, 75 crashes on this stretch of Pico resulted in severe injury or death.Nearly three-quarters involved people walking or riding bicycles, and all 11 people killed were pedestrians, according to LADOT.Jose Gonzalez, owner of Jagarhaus, a gallery and event space that has been in the neighborhood for six years, supports most of the city’s proposed improvements.

But removing a full side of curb p...