Santa Monica : 23rd Street Closure Weighed

The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday voted to study the feasibility of closing 23rd Street in Sunset Park.

The street links with Walgrove Avenue in Los Angeles to serve as a major north-south commuter route, but Sunset Park residents complain that the heavy traffic impairs the neighborhood’s quality of life.

The potential closure is part of a larger plan to limit cut-through traffic on residential streets.

The 7-0 vote followed pleas from scores of residents to close off the street at the city border to protect the character of the neighborhood, but it drew a warning from Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter that Los Angeles will retaliate if Santa Monica goes ahead with the street closure.

“This is not a time for any of us to engage in isolationism,” Galanter said. “Two can play that game,” she added. “Twenty-third Street does serve a major function. . . . It plays a role that goes beyond being an ordinary, run-of-the-mill Santa Monica street.”

Because Santa Monica Airport and Penmar Golf Course occupy much of Santa Monica’s southern border, the 23rd Street-Walgrove Avenue link is the only connection between the two cities for the two-mile stretch between Lincoln Boulevard and Bundy Drive.

The council voted to concentrate on what is called the enclave plan that would turn the majority of streets that lead to 23rd into cul-de-sacs, instead of closing the street off, Santa Monica Planning Manager Suzanne Frick said. But the city staff was also directed to consider the street closure option, and Frick said they will also study alternative traffic management measures such as stop signs, a longer wait at red lights and speed bumps.