The City of West Hollywood is seeking community feedback on potential long-term visions for Fountain Avenue. The City will hold a virtual community workshop on Thursday, October 20, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the Zoom platform. Written comments can also be provided through the City’s online survey between now and October 21, 2022. More details are available on the City’s website calendar at https://w.eho.city/fountain.
Existing conditions on Fountain Avenue include narrow sidewalks, above-ground utilities, and a lack of trees and shade. Additionally, inconsistent roadway widths and peak-hour parking restrictions contribute to unpredictable driving conditions and safety issues for all roadway users.
The City of West Hollywood is considering critical changes to Fountain Avenue that reduce the potential for excessive speeding and that improve safety for all users. Proposed improvements include widening sidewalks, planting street trees where possible, and installing bike lanes. Data shows that 64% of the traffic on Fountain Avenue within West Hollywood does not have an origin or destination in West Hollywood, meaning that the street is used mainly by commuters as pass-through traffic. This presents an opportunity to develop a future Fountain Avenue that is more local community-serving, safer for everyone, and more accessible for people who are walking, biking, and in wheelchairs.
Two options under consideration would enhance safety for all roadway users and increase the experience of comfort for people walking, using wheelchairs, and biking by installing either standard or protected bike lanes. Both options would include wider ADA-compliant sidewalks, new street trees and landscaping, and the removal of peak-hour (morning and evening rush-hour) parking restrictions. To make room for these improvements, one auto lane in each direction would be re-purposed, reducing automobile capacity and on-street parking would be reduced by between 12% and 50% depending on the option selected.
Residents, businesses, and community members from throughout the City of West Hollywood – as well as stakeholders along Fountain Avenue – are encouraged to fill-out the City’s online survey by October 21, 2022 and attend the virtual Zoom platform community meeting on October 20, 2022 to share preferences and priorities for an improved Fountain Avenue.
After the completion of the survey and virtual community workshop, City staff will return to the City Council with recommendations for an initial pilot program to evaluate proposed improvements informed by technical analysis and feedback from the public. Ultimately, any long-term proposals for future interventions would build off of safety-oriented actions that the City has already implemented to improve Fountain Avenue.
During the past several years, the City has implemented a series of short-term safety improvements to Fountain Avenue to begin to address these conditions such as high visibility crosswalks with refuge islands and bright yellow paddle signs as well as bulb-outs at intersection corners to reduce crossing distances. On March 1, 2021, the West Hollywood City Council directed staff to study the feasibility of installing protected bike lanes on Fountain Avenue.
We already have a bike lane on Santa Monica Blvd which goes from Doheny Dr and ends at Kings Rd (near Gelsons). We ought to be EXTENDING that bike lane EAST on SMB; developing and using the bike lane we already started! Trying to squeeze bike lanes onto Fountain is ridiculous folly.
We should call it…
Bette Davis Avenue..
I’m in favor a big fat bike lane on Fountain Avenue. The bike lanes and the one lane will hopefully deter all the traffic and the accidents that we keep seeing on that street.
It won’t. But it will take you that much longer to get anywhere, and to get back home.
Please Leave Fountain Ave. alone. Do nothing.
I say do something. That street is due for a major overhaul.
Leave it alone.
Change it.