On Figueroa Street, just outside of USC’s gates, the bike lane is painted bright green and protected with a physical barrier to prevent cars from hitting people on bikes and scooters. Some students voted yes on Measure HLA Tuesday in California’s primary election to spread similar safety features across the city of Los Angeles.
“I bike everywhere, and it’s very dangerous, so I end up biking on the [sidewalk], which is a nightmare for me,” said Juno Wolfe, a junior double majoring in narrative studies and history. “I’ll bike on Figueroa, even though it’s theoretically a bigger thoroughfare and more dangerous. I actually feel like I’m not going to just randomly get hit by a car.”
Measure HLA (also known as Healthy Streets LA) is a ballot measure that aims to speed up the implementation of L.A.’s mobility plan — a collection of changes to improve traffic safety including street modifications and an open data portal to monitor projects.
Although the L.A. city council adopted the plan in 2016, less than 5% of the plan is implemented. By passing HLA, voters would push the city to fully implement the already-written plan.
For voters like Megan Steron, a graduate student at USC studying social work, the issue is personal; Steron lost someone to a traffic collision.
“In a city with so many people and taking different modes of transportation — bikes, pedestrians and cars — we need to be carefully evaluating how those bike lanes and how those systems are working,” Steron said.
Although advocates of HLA say the initiative is a much-needed improvement to L.A.’s mobility strategy, opponents argue the measure could increase traffic, carbon emissions and emergency response times. Organizations like KeepLAMoving, an initiative for “safer, saner streets,” argue that HLA will do the opposite of what it claims.
“Mobility plan 2035 imposes ‘unavoidable significant adverse impacts’ on traffic,” reads a dedicated “Stop HLA!” page on the KeepLAMoving website. Over 1/3 of L.A. intersections would gridlock during rush hour, twice the current number.”
Despite pushback, the measure has numerous influential supporters, including former LAUSD superintendent and deputy mayor Adam Beutner, MoveLA and the Coalition for Clean Air.