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MOBILITY - ACTION ITEM: (1) Receive an Update on the Better Overland Project Including Community Outreach; and (2) Provide Direction to Staff.
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Meeting Date: July 23, 2025
Contact: Thomas Check, Senior Traffic Engineer,
Public Works Department
Phone: (310) 253-5627
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [ ] General Fund: Yes [X] No [ ]
Attachments: Yes [X] No [ ]
Public Notification: E-Mail via GovDelivery (07/18/2025): Meetings and Agendas - Mobility Subcommittee; Notify Me - Construction, Street Maintenance and Closures, Better Overland & Safer Fox Hills; Stay Informed - Bicycle & Pedestrian / Culver CityBus / Construction, Street Maintenance and Closures
Department Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer (07/18/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff will provide an update on the Better Overland Project, including a review of Alternatives A & B relating to the portion of Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and Ballona Creek, and provide a report on the community feedback received at recent outreach events. Members can discuss and provide staff with direction on how to proceed with the Project.
BACKGROUND
The Better Overland Project is an active transportation project extending from Venice Boulevard southward to the Fox Hills Neighborhood, including the Culver City Transit Center. The Project features over 2.5 miles of protected bike lanes, new and enhanced sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, sidewalk-facing streetlighting, new traffic signals at Overland Avenue & Kelmore Avenue/Ranch Road and Sawtelle Boulevard, and more. Together the improvements will transform Overland Avenue into an active transportation corridor, linking our neighborhoods, making this primary connector safer for all users and, promoting walking and biking as practical, enjoyable ways to move throughout the City.
In 2024, staff prepared an Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 7 grant application for two City projects: the Better Overland Project and the Safer Fox Hills Project. If awarded, the grant would fund the completion of design and the construction of both projects.
In developing conceptual plans for each project, staff consulted Culver City’s Complete Streets Policy, Bicycle & Pedestrian Action Plan (BPAP), and Local Road Safety Plan, and conducted parking and traffic studies.
Staff also conducted extensive community outreach in spring 2024.
• Staff launched a Project webpage with an online feedback portal, which received over 100 submissions.
• Staff hosted or presented at 12 community events to reach a diversity of constituents, including residents, businesses, and students, and over 300 members of the public participated. Events were advertised via GovDelivery (the City’s email notification system), on social media, and through flyers distributed to individual residences and businesses.
• Staff met with representatives from the film industry, business along the routes, and others.
• Staff posted flyers at each of the 28 signalized intersections inviting the public to complete a survey and received over 550 responses.
City staff considered all community feedback, and the final conceptual plans presented to City Council reflected significant changes in response to feedback.
In general, there was strong overall support for both projects. Feedback revealed that many people have a strong interest in biking on Overland Avenue given its north-south
connectivity but don’t because of safety concerns. Project criticism was generally limited to specific proposed improvements or design elements at specific locations. The full staff report describing the projects and summarizing findings is attached (Attachment 2).
At the May 28, 2024, City Council meeting, staff requested approval of the final version of the Better Overland and Safer Fox Hills Conceptual Plans and authorization to submit grant applications in support of the projects (Attachment 2). City Council approved the conceptual plans for both projects, including two design alternatives (Alternatives A and B described below) within the Better Overland Conceptual plans for the portion of Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek. Both design alternatives will upgrade the existing conventional unprotected bike lanes to protected bike lanes. The City Council did not, however, select a preferred alternative and directed staff to perform additional community outreach specific to those alternatives.
Both design alternatives A & B propose protected bike lanes on both sides of Overland Avenue (between Culver Boulevard and Ballona Creek). Due to limited right-of-way, the design alternatives propose two options (Attachment 1).
• Alternative A includes parking on both sides of Overland Avenue but removes the center-running two-way left-turn lane. To maintain the safe and orderly movement of vehicular traffic without the turn lane, left-turn restrictions at unsignalized intersections would be implemented. Left-turns (and left-turn lanes) would still be permitted at the signalized intersections of Overland Avenue at Braddock Drive and Franklin Ave/Farragut Drive.
• Alternative B maintains the center-running two-way left-turn lane (similar to what exists today) but removes parking on the west side of Overland Avenue. Parking on the east side of Overland Avenue would remain.
Unfortunately, the combined Better Overland and Safer Fox Hills Project application was not chosen for funding in ATP Cyle 7 in late 2024. As a result, staff have broken each project into phases for implementation based on other available funding and grant opportunities. This staff report focuses exclusively on the Better Overland Project.
Better Overland Phase 1
Phase 1 will add traffic calming measures, protected bike lanes, and pedestrian safety improvements along Overland Avenue between Venice Boulevard and Culver Boulevard. This initial phase closes a gap in the City’s bikeway network by linking the existing protected bike lanes on Venice Boulevard with the conventional unprotected bike lanes currently in place on Overland Avenue south of Culver Boulevard to the Ballona Creek Bike Path. Phase 1 also includes adding a signalized pedestrian crosswalk on Overland at the location of the Julian Dixon Public Library.
City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget on June 9, 2025, which includes approximately $1.4 million towards final design & construction of Better Overland Phase 1. Final construction costs will be determined once engineering design is completed and construction bids are received. Funding sources include:
• General Fund allocations carried over from prior fiscal year (no new General Fund allocation);
• Mobility Improvement Fund, monies collected from development impact fees to exclusively fund mobility infrastructure and programs intended to reduce vehicle miles traveled and needed to support projected jobs and housing growth; and
• Metro Active Transportation (MAT) Program Cycle 1 grant.
Better Overland Phase 2
Phase 2 will add traffic calming measures, protected bike lanes, and pedestrian safety improvements along Overland Avenue between Ballona Creek and the entrance to West LA College at Freshman Drive. The City applied to Metro's Active Transportation (MAT) Cycle 2 Grant Project to fund the design and construction of Better Overland Phase 2. City staff expect to hear whether the project was selected for funding within two months. Further activities related to Phase 2, including additional community outreach, detailed engineering design, and construction, will begin once funding is identified either through the MAT Cycle 2 grant program or from other funding sources.
Other Grant Pursuits
In addition to grant programs mentioned above, staff have already applied for grants for later phases of the Better Overland Project from the following sources:
• Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG)/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program: federal transportation funding sources for projects that preserve and improve the conditions and performance of highways, bridges, and public roads; pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure; reduce traffic; and improve air quality. Staff submitted a combined Better Overland and Safer Fox Hills project application and is awaiting the outcome.
• Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program: a federal transportation funding source that supports the U.S. Department of Transportation National Roadway Safety Strategy and the Department’s goal of zero roadway deaths using a Safe System Approach. Staff submitted an application to implement protected intersections and other intersection improvements at 13 signalized intersections along the Better Overland Project corridor, as well as to signalize two intersections-Overland Avenue & Kelmore Avenue/Ranch Road and Overland Avenue & Sawtelle Boulevard-to improve multimodal access and safety. Staff is awaiting the outcome.
Improvements in Better Overland Project Phases 1 and 2 do not propose modifications to Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek Bike Path, except to add a signalized pedestrian crosswalk on Overland at the location of the Julian Dixon Public Library. This portion of Overland Avenue has not been included in planning as yet, because selection of a design alternative (A or B) has not yet been determined.
At their April 10, 2025 meeting, the Mobility Subcommittee directed staff to proceed with additional community engagement efforts as previously directed by the City Council regarding this segment of the Project corridor and to return to the Mobility Subcommittee once additional outreach had been conducted.
DISCUSSION
To facilitate additional community feedback regarding the City Council approved Better Overland design alternatives A & B, staff and consultants from Kimley Horn hosted three events in June and July 2025. These events specifically focused on the two design alternatives (described earlier), which both upgrade existing unprotected bike lanes to protected bike lanes on both sides of Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek. Events were advertised via GovDelivery (the City’s email notification system) and on social media.
• June 17, 2025: Staff hosted a hybrid community open house and walking tour beginning at the Senior Center.
o The open house portion of the event featured printed, large aerial maps (Attachment 1) displaying the existing design of Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek, as well as printed, large-scale conceptual designs of Alternatives A and B (Attachment 1). This format was intended to give meeting participants a side-by-side comparison of the roadway now and how it would change.
o The walking tour portion of the event provided meeting participants with an on-site view of how changes would impact the street, to answer questions about specific aspects of the street; and to gather additional feedback.
• July 8, 2025: This in-person event followed the same format as the June 17, 2025, event but was hosted at Veterans Memorial Park.
• July 9, 2025: Several members of the Windsor Fountains Condominium Association had previously expressed concern regarding the roadway changes contained in Alternatives A & B. Out of desire to provide accessible community engagement opportunities, staff reached out to the condo association and offered to host a community open house at a recreation room in their building. This in-person event featured a community open house in the same format as the June 17 and July 8, 2025 events, but without a walking tour.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
While events in June-July 2025 were attended by community members from across the City, many attendees were residents of Overland Avenue and surrounding areas. Staff has included the May 28, 2024 Council Meeting A3 Staff Report as a reference to the more extensive community feedback conducted in 2024, which included 12 events, surveys, and online feedback.
A memo produced by consultant Kimley Horn is attached (Attachments 3 and 4) describing and summarizing the feedback from the June-July 2025 community outreach events. Memo attachments also include the full summary data (Attachment 4).
In brief, the recent community feedback reflects two opposing views. Supporters of the protected bike lanes emphasize concerns regarding vehicle speeds on Overland and express a desire to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians. In contract, opponents, particularly nearby residents, express a desire to leave this portion of Overland Avenue unchanged. Given a choice between Alternatives A & B, the preference by a wide majority was for keeping the left-turn lane, however, concern was expressed regarding parking, particularly for the church and local businesses. Other feedback varied, including comments regarding protected bike-lane concerns, such as trash and disability access, and parking concerns, such as street cleaning days and how permitted parking in the area is strictly enforced.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no significant fiscal impact between Alternatives A & B. If staff are directed to proceed with the design and construction of one of the alternatives approved by the City Council at their May 28, 2024 meeting, then this new phase of the Better Overland Project will incur costs for design and construction to be determined. Staff will pursue grant funding, however, typically, grant applicants are required to provide a local match of 10% to 20% of the grant funding request as a condition of grant acceptance.
ATTACHMENTS
• 2025-07-23-Mobility-Mtg-ATT-1-BetterOverlandProject-LocationMap-wAlternativesA&B-alsoMemoATT-A
• 2025-07-23-Mobility-Mtg-ATT-2-CC-2024-05-28-Mtg-A3-StaffRpt-AppFoxHills-Overland-ConceptualPlans
• 2025-07-23-Mobility-Mtg-ATT-3-KimleyHornCommunityOutreachMemo-TextOnly-NoAttachments
• 2025-07-23-Mobility-Mtg-ATT-4-KimleyHornCommunityOutreachMemo-wAttachmentsA-C