In the Fall of 2023, Climate Action Santa Monica’s Climate Job Corps assisted in outreach for LADOT’s Westside Mobility Projects. The program is a plan to enhance safety and connectivity for four secondary bikeway corridors connecting Westside neighborhoods and adjacent cities with the goal of making bicycling more comfortable for riders of all ages and abilities.
CJC members Mario Melgarejo and Nancy Sanchez worked together to spread the word and gather community input for the potential bikeway improvements. Their strategies included posting on Social Media, attending in-person events (farmers markets, flyer distributions, etc), and distributing information electronically via email, newsletter, and on CASM’s website. These outreach activities gave the CJC team opportunities to grow their skills of communication, team work, event planning, and data collection while promoting climate-friendly mobility.
The Westside Mobility Projects will be important to an area in critical need of safer walking and biking infrastructure. With some of the most desirable weather in the country and relatively flat topography, the Westside has the potential to become one of the best biking areas in the Country. But many of Santa Monica’s bike routes stop at city limits, and the continuing paths in the City of LA are often less safe or non-existent. Improving the safety of bike routes in LA’s Westside will complement and extend Santa Monica’s plans for a robust citywide bike network. This project will make an important contribution to promoting climate-friendly mobility, connecting communities and making our streets safer for everyone.