News | Government

Watch: How City Council Candidates Will Fight Traffic

Santa Monica City Council candidates share their solutions to easing gridlock.

Posted by Jenna Chandler (Editor), November 5, 2012 at 02:27 pm

Traffic is one of the hottest issues this election season—residents want to know candidates have a plan to make driving easier in Santa Monica.

Watch the short videos above, produced by CityTV, then tell us in the comments section which candidate you believes offers the best solution.

For more on the Santa Monica elections, take a look at the Santa Monica Patch City Council Voting Guide.

Flag as Inappropriate

Comments + Leave a Comment

Loading comments ...

Who's Blogging?

Martin Rubin

Martin Rubin's thoughts and ruminations

Read Martin Rubin's blog »

Kim Halverson

Kim & Kristine Halverson's thoughts and rumination…

Read Kim Halverson's blog »

Fireball Tim Lawrence

Hi, I'm Fireball! I'm a TV Host, Design Cars for …

Read Fireball Tim Lawrence's blog »

John Hathorn- Pence Hathorn Silver-Partners Trust

John Hathorn- Pence Hathorn Silver-Partners Trust'…

Read John Hathorn- Pence Hathorn Silver-Partners Trust's blog »

Dr Nimira Alibhoy

Dr Nimira Alibhoy's thoughts and ruminations

Read Dr Nimira Alibhoy's blog »

Libi Uremovic

On July 1st Another California Gas Tax Will Be Cha…

Read Libi Uremovic's blog »

Diane Cancino

Diane Cancino's thoughts and ruminations

Read Diane Cancino's blog »

Become a blogger today!
Get started now

Start blogging

Boards

All Boards »

Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something

Pacific Palisades Teen Wins $1000 Scholarship

The California Foundation for Gifted Education would like to congratulate Kalea Power as the…

Announcements May 20, 2013 at 08:12 pm

0 Recommend Steven Parker

The Director's Playhouse Summer Camp!

The Director's Playhouse "Summer Camp 2013" will include Acting Techniques, Scene Study,…

Announcements May 20, 2013 at 02:46 pm

0 Recommend The Director's Playhouse

TeenLife's "Sail Away Summer" Contest

One lucky teen age 13-18 will win the summer sailing experience of a lifetime provided by Sail…

Announcements May 20, 2013 at 09:43 am

0 Recommend Marie Schwartz - TeenLife.com

Ways for Santa Monica Teachers to Save in the Classroom

Why are Santa Monica teachers continuing to pay for school supplies out of their own pocket?…

Announcements May 17, 2013 at 07:27 am

0 Recommend Jessica Mitchell

Help Kids in Need of Heart Surgeries by Enjoying Art!!!

ARTribe is a student-led charity art gallery, curated by and consisting of work by teens in…

ARTribe is a student led art show to raise money for SPIRAL foundation

Announcements May 16, 2013 at 02:51 pm

0 Recommend Maddy G.

Recommended By Most Dermatologist!

Startronics, 3M Authorized Dealer in Santa Monica. Offering Crystalline Auto Glass Tinting…

Announcements May 16, 2013 at 11:54 am

0 Recommend Eddie Borgwardt

High School Students Can Get A Head Start On College…

The College Admissions Consultant is now signing up High School Sophomores & Juniors. Get a…

Announcements May 15, 2013 at 09:19 am

0 Recommend Finer Cac

Local Best Selling Author and Entrepreneur Hosts Live Chat…

Amazon Best Seller Wrong Side of the Tracks’ author Ron McElroy, CEO and Founder of Real…

Announcements May 14, 2013 at 03:48 pm

0 Recommend Lisa Inouye

Help an abused, neglected, or abandoned child

Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers are the reason we exist. CASA volunteers…

Announcements May 9, 2013 at 06:57 pm

0 Recommend Kaylee Wilmovsky

Speak for an abused, neglected or abandoned child.

Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers are the reason we exist. CASA volunteers…

Announcements May 9, 2013 at 05:01 pm

0 Recommend Kaylee Wilmovsky

LETTER: Thank you, SMPD for DUI Checkpoints

DUI checkpoints can actually lessen Santa Monica’s significant financial burdens.

Opinion May 8, 2013 at 01:40 pm

1 Recommend Jessica E. Davis (Editor)

Eddie Greenberg May 8, 2013 at 09:09 pm

Thank you Marilyn Wexler. I totally agree with all that you have said in this eloquent letter. SMPD…Read More have done well in DUI checkpoints for the past few years and they are appreciated for doing so. We are all better off for their efforts!

Recommend

Your Santa Monica Patch Editor is on Vacation

Here's who to contact while your editor is away.

Opinion May 7, 2013 at 02:47 pm

0 Recommend Jessica E. Davis (Editor)

LETTER: A 70-Year View of Santa Monica

A longtime Santa Monica resident recalls how his grandmother taught him to welcome all…

Opinion May 7, 2013 at 01:42 pm

7 Recommend Jessica E. Davis (Editor)

View all 7 comments

Aaron Mirsky April 11, 2013 at 06:26 pm

Great letter! Mr. Hill, you have a wonderful perspective and attitude. I am relatively new hear, my…Read More family moved to Santa Monica in 1976. I cherish my memories at Santa Monica Beach and hope to continue to "refresh my soul" for many years to come.

Recommend

Steven Rosen April 10, 2013 at 01:43 pm

Beautiful letter and I under his perspective. But I think if you look at the Quality of Life from a…Read More generic standpoint (if there is such a thing), I don't think we headed in an upward trajectory. I cannot imagine more traffic, and new skyline created by tall buildings and newly-required traffic management to make the Quality of Life better for any of us.

Recommend

Stodj April 9, 2013 at 04:41 pm

Lovely comment. I sense from your letter a new perspective on why this growth is happening, besides…Read More the $ involved, everyone needs to refresh their souls in this time of history and Santa Monica does that...at least at the beach where, hopefully, building will not progress. We do need to focus on halting the height of buildings as that will seriously change the environment here. Thanks, Michael.

Recommend

LETTER: Santa Monica as it Once Was

Janice Slossy reflects back on what it was like to grow up in Santa Monica before the Third…

Opinion May 7, 2013 at 01:31 pm

12 Recommend Jessica E. Davis (Editor)

View all 12 comments

karen April 11, 2013 at 11:02 pm

I left Santa Monica in 1987. I went to Samohi and Lincoln, worked at Sears and loved the small town…Read More feel. Yes it's changed, but so has everywhere else. If my kids were young enough to drag along I would move there in a heartbeat. If you don't like it anymore, don't visit. I don't really understand why anyone would write to a local media outlet and complain about the town. How insulting. I'll take SM over the Bay area (talk about expensive!) any day.

Recommend

SantaMonicaNative April 8, 2013 at 07:02 pm

Continued (sorry) The city changes. More people, more housing needed. More people more cars, more…Read More traffic, more trash, more dogs. Next we get the commercial builders who see Santa Monica as a cashbox. In city where 10 stories is tall, we get money hungery people who don't live here, who think 20 stories is better. That's where we are now. A turning point in the city. Once you build them you can't take them back. The city will change even more with the Expo line. We can't stop change, we can't restrict building except through zoning. We can temper it. What we can do is shop locally to save the few local businesses that remain and call City Hall on over ambitious projects. Speak up! It's frustrating-they don't listen but eventually they can be voted out. Don't let Santa Monica turn into Beverly Hills by the sea. We need normal businesses we can afford. Places to eat that you don't need a loan. Stop voting for group politics, read the ballot, get involved, even if only on a personal level. Know your city, don't just complain.

Recommend

SantaMonicaNative April 8, 2013 at 06:47 pm

My parents loved Santa Monica, the first place i remember was a huge old house on 4th and Montanna…Read More which had been subivided into units. If my parents had kept all the properties they owned in this city, i'd be rich. That said i must admit i still love Santa Monica. Go back to any city you grew up in and you will be shocked by the change. Part of the change has to do with the congested state if Caliornia. There are more people, no doubt of that. The other thing is memory tends to blur the facts. The things that matter to an adult are meaningless to a child. There are so many things that have disppeared from this city but they have been replaced by other things. Nothing but bugs are ixed in amber,cities can't be. In addition to that, Santa Monica has not grown in a natural fashion. The City Council has intervened in the natural growth of the city with laws, taxes and programs to fashion a city THEY want, not necessarily what would have been. The city has been pushed into a schitzophrenic combination of high ideals and directed outcomes. Rent control remade the city, changing it from a city with children and families to single renters. Vacancy decontrol helped to change that. Mom and pop owners are almost gone. Few small businesses can exist here, they can't compete with chains The city favors tenants over landlords, lawyers are expensive so properties get sold, torn down and replaced by multiple units. Low income housing increases the density of neighborhoods.

Recommend

LETTER: Santa Monica Transportation Woes

Santa Monica resident Louise Steiner shares her woes of getting around town on foot and by…

Opinion May 7, 2013 at 01:27 pm

18 Recommend Jessica E. Davis (Editor)

View all 18 comments

Steve Herbert April 10, 2013 at 08:12 pm

Many folks say the biking is not for them, therefore it can't work for everyone. What should they…Read More should say is it may not work for them but if a larger percentage of those who can ride would, the total numberof drivers would be reduced as more of them are out of their cars and riding bikes. Also consider if you can afford to drive a car you very likely can afford an electric bike. These "hybrids" are a nice blend of an electric motor with a bicycle which can provide as much or as little assistance as the rider prefers. As they still qualify as bikes so you can use and benefit from the bike lanes, but as they are electric they can help those with arthritis, sciatica and other people make the impossible, possible.

Recommend

RJ April 9, 2013 at 06:18 pm

...ditto Paul!

Recommend

RJ April 9, 2013 at 06:17 pm

.....Barbara, you forgot to add the need to eliminate about half of the population in Santa Monica…Read More before one could "rediscover" the sleepy beach town it used to be. Then don't forget the other "bike riders" that drive just a crazy as some automobile drivers....failing to abide by the rules of the road...and law! Unfortunately city officials have been trying to squeeze 10 pounds of garbage into 5 pound bags for the last 20 years....then come up with bright ideas like proposing to build movie theaters that enter/empty right on to 4th Street at Arizona (after tearing down the City parking garage) were we all know every idiot that has been issued a driver's license will stop and hold up traffic to drop off their kids...only to return to do it all over again when picking them up. Heaven forbid their kids have to walk from a block away where the parent could avoid blocking traffic on one of the busiest main thoroughfare streets in the city. I’m sure you could come up with many more examples of the most insane development that has happened or is proposed to happen. So Barbara......where is that area with "no congestion"???

Recommend

Hello From Santa Monica Patch's New Editor

Honest, civil discourse can cause positive change in a community. It is my hope that Santa…

Opinion May 7, 2013 at 01:17 pm

15 Recommend Jessica E. Davis (Editor)

View all 15 comments

Jonathan Friedman April 10, 2013 at 04:08 am

Good luck Jessica. Watch out for Jerry.

Recommend

unknownauthor April 10, 2013 at 01:47 am

Don't correct it Jerry - it's very you and we all knew what you meant- and it was fine

Recommend

Jerry Rubin April 10, 2013 at 01:16 am

CORRECTING my previous comment: Welcome Jessica!

Recommend

Opinion: Santa Monica's Most Effective Option to Address…

Santa Monica resident and UCLA researcher Juan Matute discusses traffic congestion and what he…

Opinion May 7, 2013 at 12:37 pm

30 Recommend Jenna Chandler (Editor)

View all 30 comments

Chris Loos April 4, 2013 at 04:00 pm

When the Expo line is complete and people start using it to travel back and forth from Santa Monica…Read More to DTLA, I think the idea of going without a car (or getting by with 1 car per household instead of 2) will seem mainstream to many more people.

Recommend

Michael April 4, 2013 at 03:33 pm

3) Getting folks to part with their cars is like forcing divorce upon a couple rapturously in love…Read More 40 minute commute from Santa Monica to Downtown LA on the Expo Line!! Where do I sign up? I will be one of the first to move to a residence within walking distance of a Santa Monica Expo Station. If not having a parking space makes my rent cheaper I have no problem selling my car.

Recommend

Chris Loos April 4, 2013 at 01:43 pm

Great article Juan!

Recommend

Letter: Worst Gridlock in 18 Years in Santa Monica

Traffic is worse than ever with a stretch of Colorado Avenue closed in downtown Santa Monica,…

Opinion May 7, 2013 at 09:48 am

31 Recommend Jenna Chandler (Editor)

View all 31 comments

Glenn E Grab March 30, 2013 at 02:12 pm

last week it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to go from Sepulveda and Culver to the Lemlee Theatre on…Read More 2nd street at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon...I can ride my bike there in 30 minutes...the only reason I took my car was because I went with two friends...one of whom was temporarily on crutches..we griped at him the whole evening..

Recommend

mimi March 29, 2013 at 02:22 am

There is another travel option for the disabled called Access Services. They transport all over los…Read More angeles and neighboring suburbs. You may want to check them out. You are fortunate to have a friend who transports you around instead of riding with WISE, which you dislike.. You could be of great help to your friend if you used Google Directions (before you leave home) to find various routes to your destination. I am familiar with the Chez Jay location on Ocean Ave. There are better and worse ways to get there. I suggest you choose better. Of course, this requires advance planning and a bit of home work. Think of all the aggravation you will save yourself and your friend. The choice is yours.

Recommend

Dan Charney March 29, 2013 at 02:21 am

Well said- I never go downtown - haven't for almost ten or more years- once every few years I go to…Read More the Genius Bar- take the bus-( which no longer runs on my street)- I have been going to Chez Jay almost 40 years or more- I used to work out on the bluffs- can't do any shopping anywhere near Wilshire or Montana- I can walk to Main - get my groceries at night- what is happening here is no different than what is happening in Congress and to our entire country- the rich are doing as they wish - the rest of us can die- the building that will be gone soon will be any with low income tenants and shabby houses- all gone

Recommend