City hosts community workshops for Sepulveda Connects Project

Following an Open House on the Sepulveda Connects project specifically targeted at the Sunkist Park neighborhood last Tuesday night, February 17, a more broadly focused Design Workshop is being held Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Culver City Senior Center Dining Room for residents to give their input on the mobility project.

Sepulveda Connects focuses on implementing a Transit Priority Corridor in a 2.8-mile stretch of Sepulveda Boulevard, from Venice Boulevard to Centinela Avenue. Although the focus is on Sepulveda, the project is still in its formulation phase, and city staff plans to use resident feedback to determine which kinds of improvements will be funded.

Issues with pass-through traffic in the Sunkist Park have been consistently conveyed, so this workshop was designed with the neighborhood in mind. One of the project's guiding principles is to address issues with pass-through traffic, so the project’s scope could expand beyond the confines of Sepulveda Boulevard if deemed appropriate.

Residents were given the opportunity to provide input on where these improvements might be implemented to achieve the most effective results. The ideas presented last Tuesday at El Marino Park were split into two categories: those focused on decreasing speeds and those intended to decrease vehicle volume, and each was further sorted by the potential costs they could incur.

The options considered last Tuesday were as follows:

• Curb Extensions
• Chicanes and Medians
• Speed Humps
• Roundabouts
• Changes to Street Circulation
• Modal Filters
• Street Restrictions
• One-Way Streets

Among the more unpopular ideas was the addition of segmented speed bumps. Using post-it notes to provide input on each individual option, residents noted their experiences with speed bumps on Segrell Way as an indicator that they would not be effective. Instead, some preferred using more prominent structures, such as medians and chicanes, which create physical barriers that vehicles cannot cross.

Another suggestion common in the written feedback was the installation of several potential features to facilitate pick up and drop off at El Marino Elementary School, including a drop off zone, roundabout, or traffic circle. Residents were also given the opportunity to point out individual intersections in the neighborhood where they had encountered traffic-related issues.

The feedback from this and a previous meeting last November will be formulated into a more concrete plan to be presented at two more Community Design workshops: the first workshop will take place this Thursday, and the second at Veterans Memorial Auditorium on March 17.

Unlike the Sunkist Park event, this workshop at the Senior Center will focus more on Sepulveda Boulevard itself and take a broader approach, rather than a focused look at a neighborhood and its connection to the main street.

Despite the different focus, the format and intent of Thursday’s workshop will be largely similar to last week’s Open House, according to City Transportation Planner Ryan Hund, who is acting as the Project Manager for Sepulveda Connects.

The project itself will be funded as part of the Tactical Lane Mobility Project (Capital Improvement Plan Project PS017) using the Special Gas Tax Fund, and a majority of the funding will come from a $960,654 grant from the Metro Measure M Subregional Equity Program. In addition to this grant funding, the PS017 allocation also carries over $41,273 from the 2024-25 fiscal year for this project.

Once the designs are finalized following this community input process, construction for the project is expected to start in Fall 2026. For more information on the project, visit the Sepulveda Connects website here.