Dear Sirs:
I am writing in SUPPORT of the HLA APPEAL filed by Lead Appellant Stephen Resnick regarding the Ohio Avenue Safety and Mobility Project (Project ID: DOT-26-00017) (the “Appeal”).
While the idea of a bike lane with the goal of creating safer conditions for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers, is laudable, I OPPOSE the CURRENT DESIGN proposed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), BECAUSE IT BANS LEFT TURNS on eastbound Ohio at the traffic signals at Barrington, Federal, Sawtelle and Veteran, as well as for all the other reasons detailed in the Appeal and supporting documents.
There are traffic signals at only 6 out of the total 22 intersections on Ohio within the project area. LADOT’s current design prohibits drivers from going north at four of those six signals.
This design CREATES EVEN MORE DANGEROUS CONDITIONS than now exist, as eastbound drivers will inevitably turn across the proposed bike lane at the next unsignalized intersection to cut through residential neighborhoods to get where they need to go. LADOT’s assumption that drivers will use Santa Monica Blvd instead of Ohio is totally unrealistic, since most drivers use Ohio in the first place to avoid the traffic on Santa Monica and Wilshire Blvds.
This project must be sent back to the drawing board to find a solution that does not ban left turns on eastbound Ohio Ave.
Despite claiming to have done community outreach since 2022, LADOT never contacted our neighborhood, and did not disclose these eastbound left-turn bans to the public until November 2025, more than three years into the project.
Please sustain the Appeal and order an immediate project design reset in accordance with the relief requested in the Appeal.
Respectfully submitted,