California Country Club Homes Association

New Stop Signs on Motor Ave at Cheviot

Nov 20, 2002

Without providing any notice to the residents of Cheviot Hills, Councilmember Jack Weiss has pressured the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to install stop signs on Motor
Avenue at Cheviot Drive, creating an all-way stop at this intersection, just two short blocks away
from the all-way stop on Motor Avenue at Dunleer Drive. This action is apparently being taken
to protect a few pedestrians who choose to cross Motor at Cheviot instead of using the controlled
intersections already in place, such as Motor at Dunleer, Club, Manning, or Monte Mar.

We believe that the effect of this additional all-way stop on Motor, which is supported by
the leadership of the Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association, will be to force cars to back up on
Motor in both directions and shift motorists onto our local streets, as commuters and others cut
through our community to avoid the traffic. We will foresee an increase in drivers using Cheviot
Drive from Manning in the west to Dannyhill in the east as a bypass through our neighborhood to
access Motor. Further, we anticipate a shifting of traffic onto Beverwil Drive and Castle Heights
Avenue through Beverlywood, as drivers seek relief from the congestion on Motor.

It is our position that this project is proceeding in violation of a Statement of Intent
adopted by the City Council providing for the development of a comprehensive plan for the
mitigation of traffic throughout our neighborhood in connection with the Constellation Place
office building project in Century City, which is nearing completion. The Statement of Intent
requires, among other things, that this plan be agreed upon by the affected communities and that
traffic not be diverted from one area to another. Moreover, in support of his decision to block our landscaped island project, Councilmember Weiss specifically advised us that it is ?“necessary for the whole community to arrive at a consensus . . . before granting any approval?” for such projects and that ?“[w]hen we do traffic-related measures in these neighborhoods, we have to find traffic measures that appeal to the entire community.?” Unfortunately, the installation of an all-
way stop at Motor and Cheviot violates all of these principles.

Installation of this threat to our community took place on Thursday, November 14, 2002.
If you are disturbed by this sudden development, we urge you to call Mayor James Hahn?’s Office
and speak to Amir Sedadi, the Policy Analyst for Deputy Mayor Brian Williams, at (213) 978-
2603. Should you choose to express your outrage and demand action in writing, the fax number
for Mr. Sedadi is (213) 978-0656. You should also call Susan Bursk, Chief Field Deputy for
Councilmember Jack Weiss at (310) 289-0353 to object to the project and the way it was forced
through without notice to the community and not disclosed until just prior to installation.

We have requested increased enforcement by LAPD of the stop signs along Queensbury
Drive between Forrester Drive and Earlmar Drive in an effort to protect our community from the
expected increase in commuter traffic spilling over from Motor Avenue during the weekday
evening rush hours (4:00 - 7:00 p.m.)