Latham + Ortega Slow Streets

The streets identified for the Neighborhood Slow Street Treatment are Latham Street and Ortega Avenue.

The Neighborhood Slow Street Treatment is to transform the pavement into an attractive space with new rain gardens, permeable paving, pedestrian-scale lighting, and traffic calming devices to keep cars below 20mph. On Ortega Avenue, where traffic counts are lower, it may be possible to fundamentally transform the street from an asphalt plain into a thriving public space.

Currently, Ortega Avenue and Latham Street are residential streets that are often  used by bicyclists and pedestrians as attractive alternatives to busier streets, such as El Camino Real. While the posted speed limit of 25mph on these streets  is lower than on larger streets such as California Street or El Camino Real, motorists often drive well above the posted speed limit, intimidating and potentially killing pedestrians and bicyclists.

Longfellow Street in Santa Monica blends the sidewalk with the drive area, resulting in a low-speed neighborhood accentuated with attractive, stormwater filtration landscaping and human-scaled decorative lighting fixtures. Source: Jarrett M

Narrow, meandering drive areas with textured pavers and lush greenery dramatically slow traffic while making the street an attractive public space. Source: Urban Grammar