In one of its most heated meetings in recent memory, the Mid-Town NoHo Neighborhood Council voted Wednesday to recommend Vineland Avenue as a viable candidate for new bike lanes over Lankershim Boulevard, the preferred choice for most of the audience in attendance.



Representatives from the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, local cyclists and several business owners told the board of the directors that Lankershim is the ideal target for bike lanes because of its many storefronts and the street's evolution into a destination.



"Lankershim is where all the stuff is, Vineland would be a bike lane to nowhere," said Matt Baum, who doesn't live in NoHo but often cycles there. Others stated it would make sense to have a bike lane that spanned from the Universal City Metro Station to the Red Line Station at Lankershim and Chandler Boulevard.



Baum's comments, along with additional similar sentiments, were met with applause and cheers from the audience throughout the evening.



A much smaller group of less than 10 people spoke against bike lanes on Lankershim in favor of the wider and less vehicle-frequented Vineland Avenue located one block east.



The city is currently rolling out its Bicycle Master Plan to implement hundreds of miles of new bike lanes over the next several decades. Staff is currently mulling where to add them in the North Hollywood area and is relying on feedback from agencies like neighborhood councils.



The L.A. County Bike Coalition says it would be feasible to have bike lanes on Lankershim between Ventura through Chandler and beyond by removing one northbound lane of traffic, leaving three lanes overall.



Vineland has three lanes of traffic on both sides.



Board Member Mary Mann said she believes Lankershim minus one northbound lane would create a better environment for local cyclists.



"I think that's a good idea because that will slow traffic and make things safer," she said.



But some members of the council's board of directors felt that the coalition's assessment of the potential impact on traffic flow was understated.



"It is a traffic nightmare," said Treasurer Diann Corral, who drives along Lankershim several times a day to take her kids to and from school. "What's worse than Lankershim is Laurel Canyon [Boulevard] and I would hate for it to become that."



Acting on one motion, the board voted 10-6 against recommending implementing bike lanes on Lankershim at the cost of losing a traffic lane.



With fourteen affirming votes, one dissenting vote and an abstention, the board agreed to recommend that the city look into bringing bike lanes to Vineland.



While some of the board strongly preferred Vineland, other members cast their supporting vote with a bit more reluctance, admitting they just want to have bike lane in the NoHo Arts District.



In recent months, the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council and L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge have also voiced their support in favor of bike lanes on Vineland.