CULVER CITY, Calif. — The Culver City Council voted Tuesday to rollback its bike lane project. In a 3-2 vote, the council added extra car lanes to certain streets. 

The decision comes despite mobility activists flooding the council chambers to support the Move Culver City project. In 2021, the city’s project added protected bus and bike lanes to make the city more accessible to all types of commuters. 

Those efforts were successful for cycling. A study from the city found that biking increased by 32% in areas where the bike lanes were added.

Cyclist Olga Lexell says once the lanes went in, she bought an e-bike and started riding to work.

“I always wanted to commute by bike, but it’s never something I felt safe doing,” said Lexell. 

It wasn’t all support for the lanes inside council meetings. Several residents raised concerns over traffic in the area. 

Monica Richardson lives in Culver City and says her drives are taking much longer. 

“We’re all sitting there and not going anywhere,” said Richardson. “There are people who have lived here for 30 years, 40, years, 50 years, who don’t come here anymore because of the way it’s set up.” 

The city’s research found that it took drivers an extra two minutes to pass through the area during evenings with the new protected lanes. 

For Lexell, this decision directly affects her commute. 

“If you’re on a bike or crossing the street, having more cars come through just makes it more dangerous,” Lexell said. 

She says she is ready to keep up the fight for a more bike-friendly city.