UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies

Adopted in April 2021, the City of Beverly Hills Complete Streets Plan includes a holistic bicycle network that has since been in the works for implementation. The vision prioritizes an accelerated installation of crucial east-west and north-south low-stress bicycle facilities to provide access to schools, parks, commercial areas, and the Metro Purple Line stations, connected with existing bikeways within and outside the City of Beverly Hills.However, the recommended holistic network was developed pre-Covid. The City would like to establish whether the existing bicycle network and proposals presented in the Complete Streets Plan would still produce a low-stress network, or if the network should be revised with different streets or bicycle facility types.For this analysis, I developed a research design that prioritized utilizing traffic data in tandem with best practices identified with the guidelines examined in my literature review. I began my research through a collection of motor vehicle speed and traffic volume data, or annual average traffic count (AADT), for streets identified in the City’s Complete Streets Plan that was adopted and/or recommended for bikeway facilities as part of the City’s vision for a holistic network. This was done to ensure that the City could still reach its goal of a wholly connected, low-stress network through streets that could attain that vision.Through StreetLight Data, I ran analyses for each street considered as part of the City’s Complete Streets Plan. This was done as part of my bicycle network analysis to determine the level of stress, and therefore appropriate bicycle facility types for each street. The data collected's timeframe reflects pre and post-Covid numbers to provide a comparison of vehicular traffic trends. These years were chosen to show the impact of Covid on current traffic patterns, if any. In doing so, I looked to see if there were any notable changes in vehicular volume and speed on these streets from 2019 to 2022. I gathered mid-day speed at the 85th percentile when collecting motor vehicle speed data. This was done to see if there were any apparent increases or decreases in volume or speed through a typical weekend for each street analyzed.For streets that had a notable increase in volume (>2000 difference) and speed (>5mph difference), I noted should be improved with bicycle infrastructure up- grades if not already planned in the Complete Streets Plan.For streets with a minimal difference or decrease in volume and speed, I noted the probability of the previous bikeway facility considerations remaining to accept- able - but regardless should still be examined for improvements to infrastructure.Through this analysis, I was able to determine significant changes, if any, in traffic data pre- and post-Covid in the City of Beverly Hills. Recommendations for upgrades to bicycle infrastructure are based on these noted changes. Top priority corridors are also recommended based on current traffic data, with considerations from the Complete Streets Plan observed. Further considerations are presented to improve the City's holistic bikeway network through policy and design recommendations. These recommendations are focused on improving the City's bicycle network in terms of accessibility, connectivity, and most importantly, safety.