Santa Monica's Ambitious Plan For 'No Net New Car Trips'

Beachside Santa Monica recently launched an ambitious Land Use and Circulation Element, which will balance growth, neighborhoods, and traffic. The plan has received accolades, and the city has become a model for consensus-based planning.

1 minute read

July 15, 2011, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell

The Planning Report interviews Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom about the new element:

"That's why Santa Monica is a good petri dish: we have the resources to try out new ideas. So, for example, we'll do some good in Santa Monica with our no-net-new-car-trip philosophy, new emphasis on being a bike-friendly city and expanding public transit. But, ideas like that have to take hold regionally to have a dramatic impact on traffic in the larger area."

"[L.A.] made a decision that between good planning and economic development-economic development trumps planning, and expediting supersedes planning. I don't think it has to. I don't think that it should. They should go hand in hand, and there is no reason why they can't."

"I believe that if we can get to a place where we achieve consensus around projects like that, we are doing a net good for our communities. We get better land use decisions, and we get better land use implementations. That helps lift the community economically."

Thanks to James Brasuell

Read the full story: Mayor Bloom On Santa Monica’s Land Use & Circulation Element

Thursday, June 30, 2011 in The Planning Report

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