According to the California Office of Transportation Safety, out of 61 similarly sized cities in California, Torrance is ranked in the bottom one-fourth for bicycle safety. In 2022 alone, 50 people were either injured or killed from a biking accident in our city.

But this doesn’t need to be the case. By building safer streets for all road users, Torrance can prevent traffic injuries and fatalities, reduce road congestion, improve our quality of life, and support a thriving local economy.

We live in one of the most beautiful and temperate areas in California, and our proximity to the Pacific Ocean offers a golden opportunity to invest in a world-class active transportation network that would serve our city's residents, visitors, businesses, and improve our community connectedness.

As Torrance residents, we are calling for local leaders to advance better bicycle infrastructure throughout the City of Torrance: We ask that the City of Torrance build a network of connected, safe, protected bike lanes for safety and mobility in the city.

Existing Conditions

Torrance takes pride in its mission of being “A Balanced City.”

However, the balance of Torrance’s capital infrastructure projects is in question: The city regularly spends tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on road widening, turn lanes, and freeway-onramp widening projects (Torrance CIP). Torrance and Caltrans spent over $60 million to widen a portion of I-405 freeway and add new on-ramps at Crenshaw Blvd and 182nd St. They also spent at least $20 million on a project that widened the PCH and Hawthorne Blvd intersection, which required eminent domain of private property.

What do these projects have in common? They serve mostly cars and drivers. Meanwhile, Torrance pays very little attention to mobility and traffic safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Wider streets induce faster, more dangerous car speeds and make it unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists to use the roads. This makes our streets hostile to people on foot, bike, or transit. While the above projects claim to address congestion and traffic, as is seen in the law of induced demand, they fail to meet these goals. But mobility solutions such as protected bike lanes and better transit deliver on these goals.

When presented with opportunities to build protected bike lane infrastructure or implement traffic calming for its residents, Torrance has:

• Rejected a Class I Bike Path: In 2022, due to neighborhood opposition to construction, Torrance rejected a fully-funded project to build a Class I bicycle lane on Flagler Ln, at the city’s border with Redondo Beach. What stands now is a half-completed bicycle path divided along the Torrance and Redondo Beach border.

• Failed to Improve Class II Bike Lanes: In 2024, Torrance completed repaving of Anza Ave ($4 million) and Del Amo without improving existing Class II bike lanes. They were painted exactly as they were before, instead of making improvements with buffers and/or green paint.
  
  

• Banned Speed Bumps: The city’s official public works policy states it “does not allow or approve of the installation of speed bumps, speed humps or speed cushions on local streets.” But these measures can calm traffic and are widely used in neighboring cities including the City of Los Angeles and Redondo Beach.

• Lack of Dedicated Infrastructure: There are zero lane miles of protected bike lanes (Class I and IV) or green painted bike lanes (Buffered Class II) in Torrance. For a city of its size, at 20 sq mi and 140,000 people, this is unacceptable.

Torrance is the heart of the South Bay, but our city lags behind on safe streets. A safe and interconnected bike lane network would allow people to travel into and around the heart of the South Bay. With cities like Redondo Beach making significant recent progress on building high-quality bike lanes, it's time for Torrance to make similar investments.

What is holding the city back on active transportation infrastructure? The city consistently rejects infrastructure upgrades at the staff level without adequate process, relies on outdated engineering policies, and lacks comprehensive vision and champions. We are encouraging the Torrance City Council to champion and implement policy changes at the Public Works level, and commit to a network of safer streets with protected bike lanes.

Opportunities

In Torrance, it should be possible for a family of four to safely ride their bikes from their home to the beach. It should be safe for residents to get to the Torrance Transit Center on bike to take their bus or the Hollywood Bowl Shuttle. And it should be possible for kids to cycle to schools and for older adults to bike to an appointment at Providence or Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

The following routes are each included in the 2024 Updated South Bay Bicycle Master Plan and are major opportunities for protected bike lanes in Torrance:

EAST/WEST ROUTES:

• Torrance Blvd: More than 90% of Torrance Blvd in the city’s boundaries does not include street parking. The road can support protected bike lanes with minor changes. These would connect with newly repaved and striped bike lanes on Torrance Blvd in Redondo Beach.

• Lomita Blvd: Curbside lanes on this street in Torrance are extra wide, with few driveways, and no parking. These lanes can support protected bike lanes without impacting car lanes and throughput. Such bikeways would provide safe and convenient access to medical appointments nearby Torrance Memorial. City of Lomita is exploring bike lanes on its portion of Lomita Blvd.

• Del Amo Blvd: Another corridor without street parking. This was recently repaved and could be upgraded to Class IV protected bike lanes with buffers and vertical barriers.

• Redondo Beach Blvd Bicycle Corridor: This is an active project in design phase to connect Redondo Beach, Lawndale, Torrance, and County Unincorporated Areas with a continuous bicycle corridor from Redondo to El Camino College. Despite multiple outreach efforts, Torrance is resisting cooperation on this project. The city must work in good faith to accommodate protected bike lanes or buffered Class II within city boundaries, aligning with configurations in neighboring cities.

NORTH/SOUTH ROUTES:

• Anza Ave, Madrona Ave, Crenshaw Blvd: Key routes that connect to schools, businesses, and amenities that could accommodate Class IV bike lanes.

Torrance is experienced with applying for regional and state funding, and many grants now require Complete Streets or active transportation elements to receive funding. In addition to Torrance’s annual Capital Improvements Project budget, outside sources of funding for active transportation projects include: LA Metro Active Transportation Grants, Measure M Metro Funding, South Bay Cities COG Local Travel Network, and Caltrans / TIRCP Active Transportation Program Funding.

Requests

We request the City Council of the City of Torrance:

1. PROVIDE COUNCIL DIRECTION: Direct staff to implement safer streets with Class IV and buffered Class II bike lanes, prioritizing active projects like the Redondo Beach Blvd Corridor project. Direct staff to identify opportunities for low-cost, quick-build protected bike lanes on Torrance roads with wide shoulders and no parking.
   

2. REVIEW BICYCLE MASTER PLAN: Update the bicycle infrastructure plans outlined in the Torrance General Plan to reflect the 2024 Updated South Bay Bicycle Master Plan.

3. IMPLEMENT & REPORT: Create a bicycle infrastructure implementation plan and commit to implementing during regular street repaving. Create goals and report on progress annually. E.g.: Construct 5 miles of protected bike lanes in the city per year beginning in 2026.

4. FUND PROJECTS & STAFF: Allocate funding in the next budget cycle for Capital Improvement Projects and apply for Measure M funding through the South Bay Cities COG for a network of protected bike lanes in so Torrance residents of all ages can safely travel by bike in the community. Hire, train, and empower Public Works staff to build out the bike plan.

5. UPDATE TRAFFIC SAFETY POLICIES: Explore and update official traffic safety engineering policies to reflect strategies in neighboring cities such as: speed humps, roundabouts, raised crosswalks, leading pedestrian intervals, and pedestrian bulbouts.

With safer streets and bicycle infrastructure, Torrance has the opportunity to truly improve quality of life for residents, visitors, and businesses in the South Bay while simultaneously meeting our community and economic development goals. We respectfully urge you demonstrate leadership on safer streets in Torrance.

What You Can Do

After signing, amplify our efforts:

1. Share the petition with your friends and neighbors.

2. Email the Mayor and City Council with your support for safer bicycle infrastructure in Torrance (include requests from this petition).

3. Encourage your organization, faith community, school group, sports team, or other community group to sign in support.