The Public Works Department’s Maintenance Operations Division has completed the retrofit and installation of approximately 360 meters.
The areas affected include routes on the north and south sides of Washington Boulevard from Sepulveda Boulevard to Wade Street and North and south side of Culver Boulevard from Overland Avenue to Duquesne Avenue.
The work included the retrofit of existing coin operated mechanical meters and the new installation of meters utilizing IPS meters that accept coins and credit cards.
These meters also alert the Parking Meter Technician of common alarms such as coin jams.
A “Holiday Slowdown” is being observed in order to promote vehicular and pedestrian access to the retail and commercial centers during the holiday season.
The following slowdown periods will be observed in which work in the public right of way shall be prohibited:
Those commercial streets identified as Primary and Secondary Arteries in the City’s Circulation Element of the General Plan:
o Seven calendar days prior to and including Christmas Day.
o The week between Christmas Day and New Years’ Day.
Those residential streets identified as Local Streets and Neighborhood Feeders in the City’s Circulation Element of the General Plan:
o Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas.
o New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.
During the slowdown, each job site shall be maintained in a clean and safe manner. Any deviation from the Holiday slowdown will be approved by the City Engineer.
Over the course of the past three weeks, 13 trees were removed from city parkways.
The removals were determined to be necessary by the city’s arborist for the following reasons: deteriorated health; need for sidewalk repair requiring extensive tree root removal; emergency water main repair; unstable root structure; and tree failure.
The city completed the replacement of 436 high pressure sodium street lights with energy-efficient induction lights.
The project will save roughly 283,911 kWh of energy per year. Through Southern California Edison’s On-Bill Financing program, these energy savings will be used to pay off a zero interest loan that funded the project.
The project will also result in a rebate of over $14,000, which will make the street light retrofits even more cost-effective.
On Dec. 10, the City Council approved the installation of Shared Lane Markings (“Sharrows”) on Sepulveda Boulevard between the Culver Boulevard and the city boundary south of Franklin Avenue.
Per the City Council’s direction at the Dec. 10 meeting, Culver City Public Works Department staff contacted City of Los Angeles staff and received confirmation that the City of Los Angeles plans to install Sharrows from the City boundary to Ballona Creek.
Together, these installations by the City of Culver City and the City of Los Angeles will provide bike connectivity between the Culver Boulevard and Ballona Creek Class I Bike Paths.
The installations will be coordinated, as feasible, and are currently anticipated to occur in late January or early February 2013.
