Over 50 Percent of Viable Candidates Running for Office in the City of Los Angeles Pledge to Support LA 25x25, a Challenge to Reallocate 25% of Street Space Back to People
LOS ANGELES, November 1, 2021 (Newswire.com) - Spearheaded by Streets For All, LA 25x25 is a challenge for those running in the city of Los Angeles for mayor, controller, city attorney, and city council: commit to repurposing 25% of street space by 2025.
"Los Angeles has been stuck in the 1980s in the way we think about our public space," said Michael Schneider, Founder, Streets For All. "25x25 is a chance to fix that and will transform the city into a place where you can visit a park or plaza in under a 10-minute walk, where buses are dramatically faster than cars and you don't have to risk your life to ride a bike, where Slow Streets and Al Fresco are massively expanded, and where we live in a quieter, safer, more vibrant, and more sustainable city."
LA 25x25 details the harm that our addiction to car space has on our city, from one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the county to a pedestrian being killed every three days, and details solutions that return streets to people.
According to the campaign, for decades, the people of Los Angeles have been forced to accept a "normal" on our streets that is anything but. It is not normal:
- for a whole city to be crippled by traffic.
- to breathe poisonous air.
- for children to lack space to play.
- for jobs to be rendered inaccessible, especially for low-income communities and communities of color.
- for sidewalks to be impassable and broken.
- for bus service to be unreliable and late.
- to fear death and serious injury when crossing the street or riding a bike.
"25x25 will make Los Angeles a more affordable, safer, cleaner, greener, and more economically productive city, that's why I was proud to be the first Mayoral Candidate to sign on." - Jessica Lall, candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles
LA 25x25 calls for the addition of:
- 1,550 miles of Slow Streets
- 60,000 safer crossings at intersections
- 615 miles of dedicated bus lanes
- 30.5 million square feet of public plazas and open space
- 26.1 million square feet of wider sidewalks
- 600 miles of protected bike lanes
- 200,000 trees
- 6,000 bus shelters
- 2,500 public restrooms
- 10,000 benches
- 20,000 trash cans
- 7,500 Al Fresco outdoor dining implementations
- 10,000 loading zones
"LA 25x25 envisions a city where the bus is never stuck in traffic and never far away. Where bike share, bike parking, and protected bike lanes are easily accessible to all, so safe that even children could bike themselves to school. Where green space dots every corner of the city. Where those who choose to drive are not stuck in traffic." - Bryn Lindblad, Climate Resolve
As of November 1, the following candidates have signed on:
Mayor: Jessica Lall
Controller: David Vahedi, Kenneth Mejia
Attorney: Kevin James, Marina Torres
CD1: Eunisses Hernandez
CD3: Yasmine Pomeroy
CD5: Molly Basler, Jimmy Biblarz, Sam Yebri, Scott Epstein, Katy Yaroslavsky
CD9: Curren Price, Dulce Vasquez
CD13: Al Corado, Dylan Kendall, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Kate Pynoos
CD15: Bryant Odega
Candidates wishing to sign on can go to https://la25x25.com.
LA 25x25's coalition includes Streets For All, Climate Resolve, Streets Are For Everyone, ActiveSGV, MoveLA, Abundant Housing LA, Central City Association of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, and Day One.
This initiative is led by Streets For All and based on a concept created by Transportation Alternatives and WXY in New York City, where the proposal has won widespread support, including by Mayor-to-be Eric Adams.
View the website.
Watch our launch video.
Check out the full list of endorsements.
Contact: Josh Vredevoogd
Cell: 206-351-9114
josh@streetsforall.org
Source: Streets For All
