"They have increased traffic and congestion in this city rather than solve the problem."
Oct. 1, 2014 Whitney Scott Bain

"No. We have chosen to add more traffic instead of relieving it. Adding more people to our mix adds to traffic. Traffic calming has led to traffic snarling instead, adding more pollution and anger. Our traffic engineers experiment on us. Our traffic police desert us every afternoon to work near areas with tourists, and residents are stuck-trapped in our own city with no recourse.

Let's use common sense in designing our traffic patterns. Let's use our traffic officers to 'go with the flow' on Olympic, Pico and Ocean Park Blvd every afternoon. Let's not build more office space and let's not hear of more 'Hines-type' developments that would add 7,000 more car trips to our streets each day. Let's work on traffic solutions that don’t force people to drive in endless loops seeking parking. Let's make our streets friendly for autos, bikes and pedestrians. Let's create a superior public transportation system with bus benches instead of stupid bus stools. It can be done. It must be done."
Oct. 1, 2014 Phil Brock

"Previous city councils have simply approved too much commercial office development that generates major traffic, very little city revenue and few local jobs. Now we need to limit commercial development significantly and facilitate moderate density affordable residential development in mixed-use configuration near transit services. We also must require that new residential development aggressively market its units to the existing Santa Monica workforce and put real financial penalties into our transportation demand management program for employers in the city.

Then we need to provide enhanced transit service as well as model bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure as alternatives to driving. The Exposition light rail line is crucial to this effort. So is the enhancing the level of service and maintaining the affordability of the Big Blue Bus.

We must have strong first mile last mile access, strong bicycle and pedestrian access to transit, and a commitment to operate a shuttle system linking these transit systems to our neighborhoods, and integrate bike sharing and car sharing at key transit station areas. These objectives will all probably be good candidates for use of California cap and trade funds."
Oct. 1, 2014 Sue Himmelrich

"City Hall continues to approve millions of square footage for developments with little or no compensation in mind for the community."
Oct. 1, 2014 Terence Later

"No one has a good plan to improve traffic! One thing I know for certain is that we can't build our way out of gridlock — but even if we were to stop building right now and for years to come, traffic still would get worse, not better.

That doesn't mean we are without options. First and foremost, we must do no further harm. I am, have been, and will be a champion of thoughtful slow growth, taking into account the cumulative effects of development, including traffic, not being fooled by individual project promises.

Commercial development generates three times the traffic of housing, and we are a community with a demonstrable housing shortage already. Creating housing provides workers in local jobs an option not to drive in and out of Santa Monica, through our neighborhoods, every workday.

New development can be designed to avoid making things worse, but only a long-term transition to more mass transit in Southern California as a region will truly 'improve' traffic. Meanwhile, we need to slow down, pick the very best projects from what developers offer, and make sure those few best projects fulfill their promises and deliver tangible benefits to the people who live here."
Oct. 1, 2014 Kevin McKeown

"Town Hall has clearly given up on tackling traffic. Their slogan of no new net trips became no new net trips at PM. Neither is likely in a city that hasn't yet instituted a Transport Demand Management organization despite multiple DA's demanding them. The Big Blue Bus doesn't connect with the proposed train properly nor serve neighborhood residents to get them using buses. We haven't pushed commercial or retail interests hard enough to cut back employee driving. We haven't incentivized parent to cut back their trips to school. We are clearly just watching the gridlock."
Oct. 1, 2014 Richard McKinnon

"The plan has to keep cars out of downtown as possible and to keep cars at the edges of the city, rather than coming at the center of the city. The bicycle lanes are not properly maintained and it prevents people from utilizing and maximizing this method of transportation. The police are not protecting cyclists which increases the fear of using bicycles and promotes lack of trust and safety."
Oct. 1, 2014 Zoë Muntaner

"The question is about improving mobility and the City is working on multiple fronts from the summer 'Go with the flow' program to manage traffic, to developing more bike lanes and bike parking. Soon Expo Light Rail will be operating and bike-share and car-sharing is coming online. Other important components are the Big Blue Bus system that will soon have real-time arrival information available and the new Pedestrian Action Plan. The Big Blue Bus is also working on ways to best connect residents, employees, and visitors to and from the new Expo Light Rail stations upon their opening. Using technology and information to provide travel options will help improve mobility. And new innovations such as using smart technology to connect residents with circulator type buses in real time are on the horizon."
Oct. 1, 2014 Pam O'Connor