City Council on Monday night OK’d a proposal to study which of West Hollywood’s busy intersections should not allow drivers to turn right when the traffic light is red.
Councilmember Lauren Meister questioned the need to hire a consultant to conduct the study when the city employs two traffic engineers and a traffic management specialist.
“When we had the conversation with staff, the idea was that, hey, we all have a handful of intersections that we could jump at right away,” said Councilmember Chelsea Byers, who proposed the plan. “The idea of bringing the consultant in would be to understand the why around that and at what point that threshold would be reached in other intersections that may not so quickly jump to mind. So, rather than just going with those ones right away and then being done with this, we wanted to do this in a way that would allow for us to continue to implement this on intersections that warrant it.”
The councilmembers discussed alternatives to No Right Turn on Red signs — such as “leading pedestrian intervals,” where pedestrians are given a head start to cross the street ahead of cars — which may be implemented in the program as well.
WHY IN THE HELL do consultants need to be hired when WeHo already has folks in the job? Seems like ANOTHER Colossal waste of money. How about some common sense in Government?
How about left turn arrows on north and southbound San Vicente Boulevard at Santa Monica Boulevard? I see this as a more critical vehicular and traffic ensnarlment issue. Whose bright idea was it to not install them north/south but they did for east/west. I say someone’s a damned idiot.
The crosswalk laws in California Vehicle Code 21451 states that a pedestrian can proceed across the roadway in a marked or unmarked crosswalk if they have been given a green light. However, they must yield the right-of-way to vehicles that are legally in the intersection at the time the signal is first shown. So, if a pedestrian is already in the crosswalk with the pedestrian WALK sign flashing and a car then enters the intersection AFTER the pedestrian then, by law, the driver MUST yield the right of way to the pedestrian. SUGGESTION: Maybe the City could place a WeHo Ambassadors kiosk on… Read more »
Traffic laws in LA County are rarely enforced – I don’t see this being any different.
WeHo has lost its mind. Why create a problematic “solution” to a problem that doesn’t exist?! If the bikes and scooters are the issue, get rid of them, but don’t mess with traffic laws. Driving in L.A. and West Hollywood is already stressful enough. So why add to it?
Byers is desperate to say “look what I did” thus the solution to a problem that does not exist.
It’s also a self serving proposal. Byers wants the right of way for herself. An earlier story reported how Byers uses a scooter on sidewalks around WeHo and does not drive.
This proposal clears the way for her own mode of travel without the inconvenience of stopping at intersections before crossing the street.
If you don’t think this problem exists, you’re not paying attention. Too many drivers take the right turn on red to mean the right of way period & very dangerously make a left or right turn right in front of oncoming traffic. It’s very dangerous – & very offensive to the drivers who have the right of way, to have to slam on their breaks to accommodate an illegal left or right turn by someone else. There are numerous examples, but I invite you to make an observation at the intersection of La Cienega & Santa Monica Blvd, where I’ve… Read more »
Yes, the southbound traffic on La Cienega turning right onto SMB don’t stop at all. This creates dangerous situation for drivers on La Cienega turning on their left-hand turn arrow AND pedestrians who are also in their path. I’ve made it 3/4 way across the street only to have a line of cars turning right without stopping and a couple of feet from me. However, I haven’t had problems at other intersections. It’s already illegal to not stop on a red when making a right turn but more dangerous here as drivers do not have a clear line of vision.
How many have been hit by a car? Do give us the numbers.
after Monday’s council meeting, I sent an email to the city Council regarding the no turn on red signals, asking how it will apply to scooters and bicycles. The only person I received a reply from was John Erickson. Below is our email exchange. Whatever you think, it is what it is. “dear council, regarding the “no turn on red” lights that you are proposing for certain West Hollywood intersections… does the “no turn on red” apply to scooters, (which should be ridden on the street rather than on sidewalks) as well as four wheeled vehicles? and also what about… Read more »
Not surprised at Erickson’s non answer. He always fills up air space with foolish, juvenile chatter, nothing substantive. 🙄
Eric & Chelsea seem to be sharing the “indecipherable word salad” method suggested by “Just Do It”. lol Utterly amazing. These people are “running” this city?
To all those complaining about zero enforcement; I just got a ticket for not fully stopping at a stop sign at Fountain and Lexington (could have sworn I did, but then it could have been a “California rolling stop” – it was 8am on a Saturday, no one around; no excuse, just stating the facts) over this past weekend. Officer was polite, mentioned how residents have been complaining about drivers not stopping. i asked how I could complain, as drivers frequently RIP at high speed down Genesee between Fountain and SMB during rush hour, ignoring all stop signs. He said… Read more »
There is a stop sign at the corner of Lexington and Fountain ?
Not sure why this is co controversial. There are several intersections that have a large amount of pedestrians and accidents that should probably not allow cars to turn right on red. It’s not like the city is going to ban right on red everywhere.
The thing is, if we had such a big problem we’d hear about it. No one has present any stats. Believe me, if pedestrians were getting killed at intersections because of a right turn on reds, it would be on this very online newspaper.
Just try crossing at Melrose and Robertson or other high traffic intersections and you’ll understand. Our dog and us have almost been seriously injured there multiple times even when being careful
Agreed
Seriously does anyone microcode at these council meetings?
So,erm, who polices this policy? Will they ever ticket someone at Sweetzer go right on Fountain-not while I lived there so now I am a block over. What about the guy yesterday on an electric bike on phone and going through 4 stop signs. All vehicles must stop at these no right turns? scooters and motorcycles as well. When will it be illegal to cross the street on yellow when taking on. cell phone. when will it be illegal to walk into traffic on a cell phone-I don’t call this jaywalking, I call this stupidity. When will that person on… Read more »
It won’t be enforced….so what’s the point?
Many people obey the law when driving, so self enforcement will work pretty well for most situations.
Many do. But how many times have you seen 2 cars go thru a red light? It happens at every night all day long.
“It is a sign that normal politics have been replaced by extreme polarization and factional identity politics, in which the extremes grow stronger and drain the center.“
Nicely written