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CC - ACTION ITEM: Selection of the Preferred Design Alternative for Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek Bridge as Part of the Better Overland Project.
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Meeting Date: January 26, 2026
Contact Person/Dept.: Thomas Check/Public Works Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-5627
Fiscal Impact: Yes [ ] No [X] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No [ ]
Public Notification: E-Mail: Meetings and Agendas - City Council (01/22/2026)
Department Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer (09/29/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council select a preferred design alternative for Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek bridge as part of the Better Overland Project.
BACKGROUND
The Better Overland Project is an active transportation improvement project along Overland Avenue from Venice Boulevard to the Fox Hills neighborhood, including the Culver City Transit Center. Planned improvements include more than 2.5 miles of protected bike lanes, new and enhanced sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, sidewalk-facing streetlighting, new traffic signals at Kelmore Avenue/Ranch Road and at Sawtelle Boulevard, and other multimodal enhancements. Together, these investments will transform Overland Avenue into an Active Transportation Corridor consistent with the City’s General Plan, creating a connected corridor that encourages walking and biking as practical and enjoyable ways to travel within the City.
In preparing the conceptual plans for each project, staff consulted Culver City’s Complete Streets Policy, Bicycle & Pedestrian Action Plan, and Local Road Safety Plan, and also conducted parking and traffic studies. Staff also undertook extensive community outreach in spring 2024. Highlights included:
• Launching a project webpage with an online feedback portal, which has received more than 160 comments to date.
• Hosting or presenting at 12 community events attended by over 300 participants.
• Meeting directly with stakeholders, including the film industry and corridor businesses.
• Posting flyers at 28 signalized intersections inviting the public to complete a survey, resulting in over 975 responses to date.
Feedback showed broad overall support for the projects. With respect to the Better Overland Project, many residents expressed a desire to bike on Overland Avenue but cited safety concerns due to the high speed and volume of vehicular traffic on the street. A very small number of comments disapproved of the projects as a whole; rather, criticism generally focused on specific design elements at specific locations, such as the removal or reduction of parking on a specific block of the corridor to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
At the May 28, 2024, City Council meeting, staff provided an update on community outreach efforts and requested approval of the conceptual plans and authorization to submit grant applications for the projects (Attachment 1). Council approved the plans, including two alternatives (A and B) for the Culver Boulevard-Ballona Creek segment, but did not select between them, instead directing staff to conduct additional outreach.
Both alternatives would add protected bike lanes on both sides of Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek but differ in how they accommodate the improvements within the limited right-of-way (Attachment 2):
• Alternative A retains parking on both sides of the street but removes the center two-way left-turn lane. Left turns would be prohibited at unsignalized intersections but remain permitted at Braddock Drive and Franklin/Farragut.
• Alternative B retains the center two-way left-turn lane but removes parking on the west side of the street. Parking on the east side would remain.
The combined Better Overland and Safer Fox Hills ATP application submitted in 2024 was not selected for funding by Caltrans. As a result, staff divided the projects into phases aligned with other available grant opportunities. The remainder of this staff report focuses exclusively on the Better Overland Project.
Better Overland Phase 1
Phase 1 extends from Venice Boulevard to Culver Boulevard. It includes protected bike lanes, traffic calming improvements, and pedestrian safety enhancements. Phase 1 also includes a new signalized pedestrian crosswalk at the Julian Dixon Public Library. City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget on June 9, 2025, which includes approximately $1.4 million for final design and construction. Funding sources include general fund allocations from prior fiscal years, a Metro MAT Cycle 1 grant, and the City’s Mobility Improvement Fund. Final construction costs will be determined once engineering design is completed, and construction bids are received. Due to limited budget, Phase 1 is being implemented with lower-cost materials, such as flexposts, and does not include major traffic signal or curb ramp modifications. Phase 1 will connect to the existing conventional bike lanes on Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek.
Better Overland Phase 2
Better Overland Phase 2 extends from Ballona Creek to Freshman Drive (West LA College). It includes protected bike lanes, traffic calming improvements, and pedestrian safety enhancements. Traffic signal modifications are also proposed at Overland & Virginia, Jefferson, Maytime Lane, and Freshman Drive to shorten pedestrian crossing distances, slow turning speeds, and improve accessibility. The anticipated cost to construct Phase 2 is $5.4 million. The cost of Phase 2 is higher than Phase 1 because it includes extensive traffic signal and ADA/curb ramp work to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety. The City applied to Metro’s MAT Cycle 2 Grant Program for funding on April 7, 2025. On August 14, 2025, Metro staff announced that the project was recommended for full funding, and in September, the Metro Board of Directors formally approved the project. The City Council accepted the Metro MAT Cycle 2 grant at its October 13, 2025, meeting.
With the exception of the signalized pedestrian crossing at the Julian Dixon Library, improvements in Phases 1 and 2 do not propose modifications to Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek Bike Path because a design alternative (A or B) has not yet been selected by the City Council.
DISCUSSION
At its April 10, 2025, meeting, the Mobility Subcommittee directed staff to continue outreach on this segment and return with findings, consistent with Council’s direction at their May 28, 2024, meeting.
As directed by the City Council, community events were held by City staff and consultants from Kimley-Horn in June and July 2025 regarding the approved Better Overland alternatives. These events specifically focused on Alternatives A and B, which propose upgrading the existing unprotected bike lanes to protected bike lanes on both sides of Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek bridge. 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 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 2). 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 an on-site view of how changes would impact the street; answered questions about specific aspects of the street; and gathered 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.
A memo produced by Kimley-Horn is attached (Attachment 3) summarizing the feedback from the June-July 2025 community outreach events.
The recent community feedback reflects two differing perspectives. Supporters of the protected bike lanes emphasized concerns about vehicle speeds Overland Avenue and a desire to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians. In contrast, opponents, particularly nearby residents, expressed a preference to leave this portion of Overland Avenue unchanged. Between the two alternatives, a clear majority of participants favored Alternative B because it maintains left-turn access while still adding protected bike lanes. Concerns about parking were raised, but the preservation of the center left-turn lanes was identified as critical to circulation, school and business access, and neighborhood connectivity.
After listening to community feedback and reviewing the circulation impacts associated with each alternative, staff recommends Alternative B. Alternative B preserves left-turn ingress and egress along the corridor, a key concern expressed by the community. Given the access and circulation constraints posed by Ballona Creek and the existing roadway network, staff concur that maintaining left-turn movements is an essential design feature to support safe, orderly, and efficient traffic flow. In contrast, the left-turn restrictions under Alternative A would create significant access challenges. For instance, a northbound motorist traveling to the Julian Dixon Library would need to continue to the signal at Overland Avenue and Franklin/Farragut, execute a U-turn, and then return south to access the library-an inefficient and undesirable circulation pattern. To address the parking loss associated with Alternative B, staff will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of parking regulations along Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek Bridge, as well as on intersecting side streets. Based on this analysis, staff will develop recommendations to mitigate the impacts, which will be presented to the City Council for consideration as the project design advances.
If Council selects a preferred design alternative, staff will focus on matching this segment with the most suitable grant opportunities to maximize the City’s chances of securing funding. However, because grant programs have different eligibility requirements, scoring metrics, and priorities, a timeline on when this portion of Overland Avenue would be constructed-or in what order in relation to other segments of the project corridor-will not be available until funding is identified.
If the City Council elects not to move forward with a preferred design alternative, this segment will remain as it is today and will not be included in future grant applications.
FISCAL IMPACT
Selection of a preferred design alternative does not create an immediate fiscal impact. Selection of a preferred alternative allows staff to pursue grant opportunities to fund final design and construction. Any local match requirements or budget amendments will be brought to Council when funding is awarded.
If the City Council elects not to move forward with improvements, there is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2026-01-26-ATT1-CC-May 28, 2024, Better Overland Staff Report
2. 2026-01-26-ATT2-CC-Comparison of Alternatives
3. 2026-01-263-ATT3-CC-Kimley Horn Public Outreach Memo
recommended action
MOTION
That the City Council:
Select a preferred design alternative for Overland Avenue between Culver Boulevard and the Ballona Creek bridge as part of the Better Overland Project.