Los Angeles could be seeing more state and federal money for safer transit to and from LAUSD schools, but it will take two years for the city to see any effect of the potential grant-bidding strategy.
The five councilmembers of the LA City Council Transportation Committee unanimously approved a proposal to provide $1.2 million from unallocated Measure R funds to bring more Safe Routes To Schools (SRTS) funding back to the city by submitting accident data-driven applications that cater to CalTrans’ SRTS reviewing body.
The proposal must still be approved by City Council, which will vote on the issue at 10 a.m. today.
In South L.A., that could greatly enhance the possibility on funding going to the community. The area has only received about one percent of the safe routes funding, despite holding almost two percent of the state’s population.
Since the state first funded SRTS in 2000, nine cycles of funding have dispensed over $244 million across the state; in the first seven cycles, South L.A. has received $2.44 million.
The data received using the strategy could also be used to apply for other public transportation grants, such as the Highway Safety Improvement Program and the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, according to LADOT.
If the proposal passes, the money will fund the first year of a two-year study to determine which areas around LA schools need safety equipment most. Instead of reacting to independent citizen complaints, the study would aggressively track accident hotspots. The last research of this scale was a report canvassing data from 1994 to 2000.
Jessica Meaney, California policy manager of Safe Routes to School National Partnership, noted this strategy would be “a tremendous amount faster” than the current system — where 15 city districts compete to submit projects to the LADOT.
“The city of LA is huge,” Meaney said. “It takes a lot of effort to prioritize areas of highest need. This strategy is looking to the long term.”
Part of that strategy is the creation of a pedestrian project coordinator, who would serve as liaison to search out citizen SRTS projects. Currently, citizens run projects through their council representative.
In addition, the proposal would set aside $2.6 million from unallocated Measure R funds for bike lanes and racks and $1.3 million for new traffic signals and bus stop lighting and/or benches.
Meaney and Alexis Lantz of L.A. California Bike Coalition suggested the creation of a task force or advisory committee made up of members with vested interest to oversee the prioritization. Such oversight won’t be necessary until requests for SRTS applications overwhelm LADOT, said LADOT spokesman Bill Gillman.
Meaney has been working with LADOT for a year to get this proposal off the ground. She has looked to New York City’s use of its SRTS-equivalent funds to spread education of traffic safety and to Riverside County for its efforts to increase city walkability.
Measure R, passed in 2008, increased LA County sales tax a half-cent to 8.75 percent to extend light rail lines and maintain street quality, among other transportation improvements.
Photo from Elizabeth/Table4Five at flickr
