Firefighters launch campaign against Measure HLA, saying 'road diets' threaten safety

[useapen]

The union that represents Los Angeles city firefighters launched a
campaign this week against Measure HLA, delivering the first serious
threat to a ballot proposal intended to improve safety on the city’s
streets.

United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 plans to spend “six
figures” — at least $100,000 — on a campaign against Measure HLA, which
would require the installation of hundreds of miles of new bicycle lanes,
bus lanes and other transportation improvements on designated boulevards
that undergo major repairs.

Union President Freddy Escobar said his organization, which represents
about 3,400 firefighters, is concerned that the measure will lead to
slower emergency response times and put new pressure on a city budget
already experiencing financial strain. Firetrucks are already being
hindered by “road diets” — reductions in vehicle lanes caused by the
creation of bike or bus lanes, Escobar said in an interview.

“Every second counts. The road diets slow down our firefighters,” Escobar
said. “And it will be so much worse with HLA.”

Backers of Measure HLA denounced the move by the union, saying the ballot
proposal is urgently needed to reduce the number of deaths on L.A.
streets. Last year, 336 people died in traffic fatalities, more than half
of them pedestrians, with those deaths now exceeding the number of
homicides.

“If we are really talking about public safety for everyone ... then we
have to address this as a public health crisis,” said Eli Lipmen,
executive director of Move LA, a transit advocacy group that supports HLA.

HLA’s proponents contend that bike lanes and other improvements will lower
traffic speeds, reducing the danger experienced by pedestrians and
bicyclists. They also have sought to rebut the union’s claims, saying the
city’s own environmental analysis found that access for emergency vehicles
would remain the same or improve if new street improvements are completed.

The union’s announcement comes at a time of growing debate over Measure
HLA, the only legislation to appear on the ballot in the March 5 city
election. If passed, HLA would force city agencies to complete a list of
transportation projects spelled out in Mobility Plan 2035, a planning
document approved by the council nine years ago.

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, the city’s top budget analyst,
warned several months ago that the measure could cost more than $2.5
billion over the next 10 years, or an average of $250 million per year. In
a financial impact statement provided to voters, Szabo said that projects
required under Measure HLA could reduce the number of streets that are
repaved each year.

Streets for All, an advocacy group, originally conceived of HLA. Michael
Schneider, who founded that organization and is running the pro-HLA
campaign, pushed back against the city’s financial assessment, calling
Szabo’s cost estimates dramatically inflated.

Schneider said the HLA campaign reached a much different cost estimate
after obtaining records from the city’s Department of Transportation and
Bureau of Engineering. After reviewing documents on sidewalk and bicycle
lane projects, the HLA campaign concluded the ballot measure would cost
about $28.6 million per year, if all the projects are completed within a
decade.

“We don’t think the [city’s] estimate is an honest representation of the
cost,” he said.

Szabo said Tuesday that he stands by his numbers, calling them
“conservative estimates.”

While the firefighters union has put together a committee to fight HLA,
Schneider’s campaign is receiving a boost from a different union: Unite
Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, and has
produced campaign materials in support of the measure.

Schneider said the HLA campaign also has secured endorsements from six
council members so far: Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Eunisses Hernandez,
Heather Hutt, Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martínez and Katy Yaroslavsky.

Raman, in an interview, cast doubt on the arguments from the firefighter
union. “The data shows over and over again that if you slow streets down,
you have fewer deaths on the streets,” she said.

Measure HLA would mandate the installation of 200 miles of bus lanes —
some operating 24 hours a day, others running only during rush hour — and
more than 600 miles of bicycle lanes. If city crews conduct repairs over
one-eighth of a mile on a particular street, then any Mobility Plan
project envisioned for that stretch would need to be incorporated into the
road work.

In the San Fernando Valley, HLA calls for bicycle lanes on Ventura
Boulevard from Woodland Hills east to North Hollywood. The vast majority
of Ventura also would receive bus lanes as part of the ballot proposal,
Schneider said.

On the Eastside, the city would need to install protected bike lanes on
Soto Street from Huntington Drive to Whittier Boulevard and on Whittier
Boulevard across Boyle Heights, according to proponents of the measure. In
Hollywood, unprotected bike lanes would be added to Santa Monica
Boulevard, they said.

Bus lanes — either 24-hour or rush-hour only — would be installed on
Broadway from downtown to Imperial Highway in South Los Angeles, the HLA
campaign said.

Schneider accused city officials of assuming the city would carry out the
“Rolls Royce” versions of each HLA project, when less expensive
alternatives are available. He pointed to HLA’s plan for 238 miles of
protected bike lanes, the kind that are separated from car traffic.

Although city agencies could achieve that goal by constructing expensive
concrete medians to keep bicyclists away from traffic, they could also put
in bollards, a much cheaper alternative, he said.

The HLA campaign’s arguments have not reassured everyone on the council.

Councilmember Traci Park, who opposes the measure, said she worries that
the projects required under HLA would leave the city with fewer dollars
for other public services, such as programs to address homelessness.

“I’m confident there is a way to build a system [of bike lanes] out that
meets our mobility and sustainability goals,” she said. “But this
budgeting by ballot measure is something that unfortunately removes all
council office discretion. It eliminates community engagement. It opens up
the floodgates for lawsuits.”

The firefighter union has also focused on other L.A. city races, putting
more than $300,000 into efforts to elect council candidate Ethan Weaver,
who is running to unseat Raman.

The union also has been spending money to support the reelection campaigns
of Harris-Dawson, Hutt and Councilmembers John Lee and Imelda Padilla.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-02-14/firefighters-launch-
campaign-against-measure-hla