From BeverlyPress.com
Fountain Avenue may not have been on the agenda, but residents did not miss the opportunity to discuss the proposed streetscape redesign during the Nov. 18 City Council meeting.
“I just don’t know how we got here,” resident Cathy Blaivas said. “I really feel like community was left out, and I really hope that it doesn’t proceed much further without really, truly engaging the community.”
The Nov. 5 election saw Mayor John Erickson reelected and business license commissioner Danny Hang elected. Both candidates were staunch proponents of adding bike lanes on Fountain Avenue, as well as expanding the sidewalks and reducing the street to two lanes of traffic. Currently, Fountain Avenue is primarily four lanes, with sections reduced to two lanes in favor of street parking during certain hours of the day.
“There was such a huge fire the other day at Fountain and Highland that the fire department had to call for backup [from the West Hollywood Fire Department],” resident Mikie Friedman said. “Imagine how slow it would’ve been for fire responders if there had only been one lane in each direction.”
