A set of traffic signs that has become a source of contention between cyclists and residents of Palos Verdes Estates will not be going up along the city’s streets.

The signs, which read “Bicycles May Use Full Lane,” were struck down by the City Council on Monday night amid vehement opposition from residents and over cyclists’ calls to install them as a step toward improved safety for riders.

Much of the resident opposition was fueled by complaints that cyclists ignore existing rules of the road, and concerns that installing the signs at five points along city streets would result in riders moving into the full lane of traffic in areas it isn’t warranted.

Cyclists promoted the signs as the clearest way to let drivers know that riders are within their rights to move into the full lane at certain points in the city. Riders touted them as some of the best signs to promote a safer roadway for bicyclists.

“Piecemeal approach”

Audiences packed a workshop in late September and one before Monday’s City Council meeting, where multiple council members characterized the signs as a piecemeal response to a safety issue that requires more thorough consideration.

“This problem has been going on for years, so I don’t think that it is something that we want to hurry with a very quick solution,” Mayor Jennifer King said.

Councilwoman Betty Lin Peterson, the only member to vote for the signs, disagreed. While the signs might be one part of a larger effort to improve safety for cyclists, putting them up before a full master plan is developed could help spark conversations between drivers and cyclists, she said.

“I think there are so many other conversations to be had, and I think the ‘Bikes May Use Full Lane’ (signs) might be the first thing to do,” Peterson said.

Roadway Safety Master Plan

Installing the signs when no other city on the Peninsula uses them would create greater inconsistencies along the public roadways on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, something city staff has aimed to eliminate with preliminary steps toward a three-city Roadway Safety Master Plan, King said.

The plan already has gained traction between city staff members at Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates, and the City Council approved efforts to move forward with the master plan. Rolling Hills was omitted from the plan because the city doesn’t have any public roads.

“What I think the master plan would provide is some level of consistency that would be helpful to both residents, to cyclists and … to the increasing number of visitors and tourists to our area who are unfamiliar with our roadways,” King said.

Approving the “Bicycles May Use Full Lane” signs in Palos Verdes Estates would only undermine those efforts toward consistency, King said.

Long-standing issue

The issue of cycling safety and cycling signs has been brewing in the city for months. Some signs already have been installed instructing drivers to leave three feet of space between their car and a cyclist. Those replaced signs that read ‘Bicycle Laws Strictly Enforced,’ which critics said placed too much negative emphasis on cyclists.

The recently installed signs were approved without much of the consternation that followed the “Bicycles May Use Full Lane Signs,” and with overwhelming support from cyclists on and off the Peninsula.

Even the signs shot down Monday made their way through the preliminary approval process without the fanfare they gathered in recent weeks. They were recommended by the Traffic Safety Committee in July, after cyclists pushed for them over other signs that read “Share the Road.” In July, the proposal then was sent to the City Council, which sent it back to the committee for more consideration on where the signs would be placed. The committee recommended five locations along Palos Verdes Drive West and Palos Verdes Drive North.

Opposition to the signs became most apparent at the first of two public workshops held before the City Council’s final decision, and carried over to the second workshop Monday. More than 60 people attended the first workshop, and roughly the same number were at Monday’s meeting.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Palos Verdes Estates had begun working on a separate Bicycle Master Plan.