Editorial: Ambitious Plans Don't Work Without Political Leadership

The Los Angeles Times editorial board has responded to a recent round of controversy in Los Angeles over a road diet implemented by the city in the name of traffic safety and then rescinded after complaints from commuters.

"The callousness of some of the commuters complaining about Los Angeles’ attempts to make the streets safer has bordered on satire," begins the editorial in response to the victorious voices in the latest controversy, over a road diet that reduced vehicle lanes on Vista del Mar in the Westside neighborhood of Playa del Rey. "But this is no joke — there is a real possibility that traffic concerns and knee-jerk opposition to change will override good public policy and slow, or even reverse, L.A.’s ambitious plan to dramatically reduce deadly crashes on local streets."

The editorial is at its most pointed when it calls out the leadership of the city for not doing the hard work of implementing the necessary changes to pursue the city's stated Vision Zero and Great Streets initiatives. The editorial calls out Councilmember Gil Cedillo, who recently "introduced a motion that would block any road diet or lane reconfiguration in his district," and Councilmember Paul Krekorian, who recently "sent a Great Streets project in North Hollywood back to the drawing board because he was concerned about removing traffic lanes to make room for protected bike routes."

The editorial also calls out Mayor Eric Garcetti for not continuously making the case for traffic safety—even it means removing vehicle lanes and reducing traffic speeds. That kind of leadership is necessary for any of the city's ambitious plans:

It’s easy for Garcetti and council members to tout their progressive credentials and sign off on ambitious policies to transform L.A. It’s much harder to implement those plans. Too often city leaders fold in the face of opposition. We’ve seen this with the city’s Bicycle Plan. We’ve seen it with homeless housing. And that’s why so many ambitious plans remain unfulfilled.