Santa Monica’s Pico Neighborhood, long known as the industrial corridor or perceived by local residents as the neglected corridor, is re-branding itself as the “Green Corridor.”
With the recent endorsement of the Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA), the proposed Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway (MANGo) is now ready to move into the next phase – conceptual design and approval by the Santa Monica City Council.
The PNA is a major stakeholder in the MANGo project which will include amenities for bicyclists, small landscaped traffic circles, enhanced crosswalks, soft pedestrian lighting, public art, mini-parks and green-walls – all of which are design features that have been shown to discourage people from speeding.
In a survey recently conducted by the PNA, it was found that the majority of local residents interviewed favored features emphasizing safety, beautification and the greening of Michigan Avenue.
Of all the possible choices contemplated by the City over the past two years as part of a CALTRANS planning and conceptual design grant ($154,000), there were only two features that were roundly rejected by the locals: (1) cycle tracks with substantial loss of parking, and (2) traffic diverters – one at 11th and Michigan blocking all westbound traffic onto Michigan Ave., and a second – a barricade at Lincoln Ct. and Michigan which would block all traffic flow at that intersection.
More than 95 percent of residents in the area vetoed the diverter and the barricade stating that these features would box them in and create more traffic problems than they would solve.
The City has now assured the PNA that cycle tracks, traffic diverters and barricades are off the table for the MANGo project.
