TRANSPORTATION

A SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE TRANSIT FUTURE

Last year, more Angelenos were killed in car crashes than from homicides, with more than half being pedestrians. It's a damning assessment for a city that declared a goal of zero traffic deaths by 2025 nearly a decade ago.

In CD2, more than 3 people are injured in traffic collisions each day, while a person is killed nearly every month. CD2 voters recognized this fact last March by giving majority support to Measure HLA, which would make driving, walking, biking, and taking public transit both safer and more pleasant. This district’s constituents want a brighter transit future.

SAFETY FOR ALL

The safety of all Angelenos, especially those in CD2, is of utmost importance. Through a multi-faceted approach, Jillian will work to ensure everyone in CD2 is able to get around safely.

Our streets are currently designed to solely optimize travel by car. The 2035 Mobility Plan offers opportunities to change that through exciting enhancements to our district, which Jillian is committed to implementing, prioritizing those along the High Injury Network. Think: more stop signs and traffic lights in high-traffic areas to make streets safer, speed bumps near schools to protect children crossing the street, protected bike lanes on Cahuenga Blvd to offer riders on the Chandler Bike Path a north/south corridor, and enhanced bus features like dedicated lanes along Lankershim Blvd for the 7+ bus routes that already operate on this main thoroughfare. Events like Ciclavia and the recent Ciclamini in North Hollywood show the latent demand for more walkability, and we can only create that walkability by ensuring that our streets are designed with accessibility in mind for all road-users (bicyclists, wheelchair-users, families with strollers, etc.). This work includes ensuring that all high-traffic bus stops have adequate shelter, trash receptacles, and maintenance schedules. Jillian will advocate for the funding needed to follow the 2035 Mobility Plan and make our streets safer for everyone.

As technology advances, motorists are becoming more distracted and driving faster than ever before. In order to keep attention on the road and maintain safe travel speeds, Jillian will develop a plan to enhance our streets with traffic calming measures. She will narrow travel lanes that have widened over time, replace paint with physical barriers to protect pedestrians and cyclists, and expand LADOT’s Slow Streets and Speed Humps programs to calm travel speeds and make streets safer. Jillian will prioritize safety around our schools by funding and supporting programs like Safe Routes to School. We cannot let avoidable tragedies, like multi-vehicle collisions, hit and runs, and violent crashes that sever families continue to plague CD2.

In order to increase ridership of our Metro system, riders and operators need to feel safe on our buses and trains. The existing contract with law enforcement has not been keeping our riders safe, so we need to invest in programs that do work. Jillian will advocate to expand programs like the LA Metro Ambassadors. Since their implementation, Ambassadors have saved over 215 lives. Metro has plans to introduce an in-house public safety department. Jillian supports community safety teams similar to the Ambassador program, which have already shown positive results. This unarmed group should serve to solely enforce LA Metro’s Code of Conduct, without harassment or unjust treatment to any communities, to ensure a favorable ride experience for all.

Our transit operators are tired. They’re tired from being overworked, underpaid, and undervalued. The LA Metro system cannot build the capacity we need in order to sustain our demand until we have the operators to support that capacity. Jillian will support the critical work our bus and train driver unions do for the City, and fight for their rights to be heard. Our operators are the backbone of our system, and they ensure that the over 100 bus routes in LA keep running. If we are to increase frequencies, we have to address the bus driver shortage. Jillian will demand thriving wages for these essential workers and speed up the implementation of long requested safety measures like driver enclosures and panic buttons.

CREATE ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY

Building Better, Faster. No one should have to own a personal vehicle in order to make a better life for themselves in Los Angeles. We need to break down the barriers that hold our CD2 residents back from getting to their destinations and achieving their goals.

Jillian believes in fare-equity for transit. She will advocate to expand and optimize programs that offer riders fare-equity options such as expanding the Go-Pass to cover all students in the regions served by LA Metro, without limits; and making the LIFE Program free for ALL rides, with no caps.

In order to create a more just transportation system, we need to build new, future-proofed infrastructure. This investment in our community will only come if we remove the red tape that comes with building projects that are a net positive for residents, businesses, and the environment. Jillian will improve and optimize outreach efforts, by listening to more community stakeholders, while shortening time to projects being shovel ready. She will have staff members dedicated to finding funding through state and federal grants, partnering with our legislature to bring resources back to CD2.

There are existing plans in place that will greatly affect the Los Angeles region, especially residents of CD2. We need a Council Member that will continue building what is planned and think ahead to what we will need in the future. Jillian will:

Support existing transit projects like the Metro G (Orange) Line Improvements, as well as future plans to convert the entire line to rail.

Partner with organizations involved in the construction and planning of the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, and the portions of the California High Speed Rail that intersect with CD2.

Support Heavy Rail alternatives for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor, since so many of our residents commute to and from other districts.

IMPROVE ALL METHODS OF TRAVEL

Many potential riders of transit in CD2 do not ride due to the state of our stations and buses/trains. Cleanliness is the sign of a healthy transit system, and Jillian will partner with LA Metro to find ways to improve it throughout CD2. To keep our transit system clean, she will install more trash receptacles at our stations and expand programs like the Throne public restrooms pilot. In addition, Jillian will advocate for all new stations in Los Angeles to have accessible, gender inclusive restroom facilities. Under Jillian’s leadership, CD2 will be a cleaner place to live and travel through.

From 2015-2021, about three-fourths of the over 500 bicycle accidents in CD2 happened on wider streets like boulevards and avenues, per City data, but less than one percent of CD2 roadways have separated bike lanes, making cycling as a realistic travel option unsafe. We have one of the best bike routes in all of LA running east to west with the Chandler Bike Path, but there is still work to be done. How do we encourage less confident bicyclists to ride? Jillian plans to do just that by installing true, separated, protected bike lanes in the district, following the 2035 Mobility Plan element as a starting guide. She will also invest in bicycle infrastructure, including additional bike parking racks and bicycle-friendly call buttons at intersections.

While we build towards more walkable and public transit friendly neighborhoods, we have to make sure that our streets are still safe and operational for cars as well. Jillian will work with city departments so that streets are paved, streetlights are fixed, and potholes are filled in a timely manner.

CD2 also sits between the Van Nuys and Burbank airports and we are under constant barrage by the noise of low flying planes. The City of LA has filed a lawsuit against the FAA for their new flight paths and Jillian will encourage the City Attorney to continue pursuing this and seek relief for CD2 residents.

Traffic and Los Angeles are synonymous. As a city, we have invested in cars to the point that having one can feel necessary in order to make it to work on time, get groceries, or pick-up your child from school. Jillian will work to give residents of CD2 another option by improving Metro service. Many of our bus routes run on lengthy intervals, which can add large amounts of time to commutes and discourage ridership. She plans to both increase transit frequencies as well as the bus network reach through added routes, reducing traffic in CD2 by improving alternatives so they become viable for more riders. We need to ensure that all of CD2 is being served by all modes of transportation, including investing in our community north of Victory Boulevard.