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FRIDAY
08.18.17 Volume 16 Issue 239
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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 LAUGHING MATTERS ....................PAGE 4 LETTER TO THE EDITOR ..............PAGE 5 CRIME WATCH ..................................PAGE 8 MYSTERY REVEALED ....................PAGE 9
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
SMMUSD PTA is ready for Bus only lane coming to Lincoln the new school year MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor
MARINA ANDALON Daily Press Staff Writer
Schools are gearing up for the first day of class. However students are not the only ones who are a bit anxious to start the new school year. Parents, teachers and staff members are also looking forward in continuing their involvement in PTA, parent teacher association. The Santa Monica – Malibu PTA Council has 16 different PTA units, from preschool through high school. According to their website there are 7,000 parents, students, staff and community members who
volunteer more than 12,000 hours annually to support children and families within the community. Jennifer Smith, SMM PTA Council President has been a member of PTA for nearly 11 years. She said, “It has been empowering to be able to advocate for education as a member of PTA. We work to foster the understanding that, as parents, we are a critical part of our children’s success in school and how parents can engage with our administrators, teachers and our children in support, colSEE PTA PAGE 7
A dedicated bus lane could be in place on Lincoln Blvd. by midSeptember and local officials hope the program will spark regional interest in establishing a bus-only lane along the busy thoroughfare. The dedicated lane will operate on weekdays only. The right lane on Lincoln will be cleared of traffic/parked cars from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. northbound and 4 – 7 p.m. southbound from Ozone to Bay Street. BBB staff said the restrictions could decrease travel times by up to eight minutes.
“Our estimate is that it will save eight minutes on average,” said Suja Lowenthal, DPD Community & Government Engagement Manager for the Big Blue Bus. “The savings will be less on days when traffic is moving fast in the other lanes (typically early in the week) and more when it isn’t (later in the week). The savings will also diminish if we see the lane being regularly blocked by deliveries, or other activities. Opening a lane like this is a process of the community adapting the normal activities of the street around the new use.” The new lane ends at Bay Street because buses on Lincoln make a turn at Pico Blvd. No buses travel
over the freeway as part of the regular service and only one bus uses Lincoln north of the freeway (route 18) when it travels a few blocks from Montana Ave. to Santa Monica Blvd. Staff said the lack of continuous bus service along Lincoln and the vastly different traffic patterns didn’t warrant extension of the lane to the north. “Dedicated bus lanes do the most good when they bypass severe congestion with frequent bus service,” said Lowenthal. “In that way, the bus lane has the potential to move more people than a regular travel lane, thereby making the SEE BBB PAGE 7
Photos by Marina Andalon
PAL The Police Activities League stepped up its back to school activities this week with dental checkups, music, food, and back to school supplies. Local police and fire officials supported the event with donations along with a local 7-11 store that donated $711 to PAL.
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