Council amends bike-lane study to include first-responder travel-time analysis and Measure HLA compatibility
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Summary
An amendment to Item 22 broadened a planned report on lane widths to require analysis of how changes would affect first-responder travel times and how proposed changes would work alongside Measure HLA, councilmembers said during Sept. 17 debate.
An amendment circulated Sept. 17 expands a staff study of bike-lane design to include evidence on whether changing lane widths would slow first responders and to examine compatibility with Measure HLA, councilmembers said on the Los Angeles City Council floor.
Councilmember Soto Martinez (listed in the transcript as “So to Martinez”) moved the amendment, saying she wanted to “broaden the scope of this report, without sacrificing the safety of… folks that take bikes and move around,” and to compare other municipalities’ approaches. Councilmember Raman supported the amendment and emphasized the need to base lane-width decisions on evidence about impacts to first-responder travel times.
Raman said the city must “make sure that our first responders are able to get where they need to go on time” and asked that the study consider both travel-time evidence from other cities and how changes would interact with Measure HLA, a voter-approved mobility measure the city must follow.
The amendment’s stated intent is to ensure staff look at travel-time impacts for emergency vehicles, compile comparative data from other municipalities, and consider Measure HLA’s mandates before the council takes further action on lane-width or design changes. The transcript records floor debate and circulation of the amendment; a roll call was opened to vote after discussion. The transcript does not include a final recorded vote count for this amendment in the provided excerpt.