Multimodal Board Narrows Options for Shirley and Arlington, Recommends Painted Lanes and Resident Vetting

The Multimodal Transportation Board voted March 6, 2025, to recommend painted lane narrowing (the packet’s “option 2”) as the preferred near-term measure for speed mitigation on Shirley and Arlington, and to ask the City Commission to require resident outreach before any final installation. The motion also said no action was warranted if the objective is speed-only enforcement, based on the board’s review of the speed data; if the board’s focus is pedestrian safety, the board recommended option 2 and additional outreach.

Board members said the recommendation reflects the February 24 City Commission clarification that pedestrian safety must be part of the study but noted sidewalks cannot be added without reconstructing the road. Staff and board members reviewed eight mitigation concepts — including lane narrowing/striping, traffic islands and bump-outs, two bike-lane/cycle-track options, speed humps and speed cushions — and eliminated several options because of parking loss, driveway impacts or pedestrian-safety tradeoffs.

Staff summarized the background: City Commission directed a study of Shirley/Arlington mitigation on Aug. 26, 2024, and the board continued assessment on Feb. 6, 2025. Staff presented updated material requested by the board, data from comparable installations in nearby Beverly Hills, and fire-department input favoring speed cushions over full humps on local streets (and advising against cushions on designated fire routes). Beverly Hills officials reported no winter plowing problems with their recent hump installations as of early February, per staff.

Board members discussed each option’s effects on speed and pedestrian comfort. Julie (city staff) said lane narrowing generally reduces speeds by about 1–3 mph per foot of narrowing in published studies, though the effect depends on baseline speeds and volumes. Traffic islands and permanent bump-outs produce localized slowdowns but can reduce space for pedestrians midblock; staff noted islands would require no-parking areas adjacent to the islands and might prevent some driveway left turns. Cycle tracks and formal bike lanes would eliminate most on-street parking on the 33-foot cross section and therefore were considered incompatible with current neighborhood parking patterns.

Members and staff repeatedly emphasized that sidewalks would provide the best pedestrian experience but are not feasible without rebuilding the street to meet ADA criteria (slopes, cross-slope, drainage and grades). Multiple members said that, given the City Commission’s direction to avoid delaying water-infrastructure replacement, the board should identify measures that can be retrofitted without full reconstruction. The board also asked staff to consider temporary radar (speed) boards and stepped-up enforcement as lower-cost, reversible measures that typically yield 2–5 mph compliance gains.

After discussion the board agreed to remove traffic-calming islands and speed humps from active consideration and narrowed choices to (a) painted lane narrowing without eliminating parking (option 2), (b) a program of temporary radar signs/enforcement, or (c) additional data collection in late spring to see whether speeds increase once traffic patterns settle. The motion the board passed recommended option 2 if the City Commission’s priority is pedestrian experience and also said final installation should be vetted with residents before a decision. The motion carried.