Above: The South Bay Cities Council of Governments is presented with the Eureka Award for its Local Travel Network project at the California Association of Councils of Governments Leadership Forum. From left: Sabrina Bradbury, deputy director, CALCOG; Jan Harnik, president, board of directors, CALCOG; Anne Tsai, transportation project coordinator, SBCCOG; Jake Romoff, transportation project coordinator, SBCCOG; and Tim Hepburn, vice president, board of directors, CALCOG. Photo courtesy of Shen and Associates LLC and CALCOG.
The California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG) presented the SBCCOG’s Local Travel Network (LTN) with a Eureka Award for Regional Excellence in Innovative Leadership at its Regional Leadership Forum on March 9.
The SBCCOG designed the LTN as a street network to support the growing use of zero-emission, micromobility (i.e., neighborhood electric vehicles, e-bikes, pedal bikes and e-scooters) for local trips around the South Bay. When using the network, these microdevices will share the road with traditional motorized vehicles on existing, low-speed streets that are 35 mph or less. The first leg of the proposed network launched in the City of El Segundo in 2023. The plan is to expand the network to interconnect the entire South Bay.
Streets on the route are marked with branded “rolling turtle” signage that notifies users they have joined the network and provides wayfinding guidance to major city destinations and safe intersections.
Supporting the project is SBCCOG research that found that 70% of trips in the South Bay are 3 miles or less, and that 90% are shorter than 10 miles—distances that can be covered without a car.
The network is anticipated to launch in Redondo Beach later this year, followed by Lomita in 2027 and soon after in Carson and Lawndale. •