The city of Manhattan Beach has been awarded two grants totaling $8,510,000 from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that aim to improve mobility and reduce traffic congestion throughout the city.

“These grants align with the city’s Mobility Plan to provide a balanced, safe, and efficient transportation system that serves the mobility needs of all community members, including children, seniors, and the disabled,” said Mayor Hildy Stern in a statement. “The identified projects further support the city’s multi-modal goal that lead to a reduction in traffic congestion and related auto emissions.” 

Manhattan Beach was one of 13 agencies awarded grant funds from the South Bay Cities Council of Governments’ Measure M Multi-Year Subregional Transportation System & Mobility Improvements Program.

The first grant awarded amounts to $7,310,000 and will fund the Manhattan Beach Advanced Traffic Signal Phase II Project that will fully interconnect all the city’s traffic signals through fiber optic backbone infrastructure. It will facilitate the upgrade of signal controller equipment and support emerging traffic management technologies, such as dynamic signal timing, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, autonomous vehicles, public safety preemption, and other smart cities initiatives that can improve traffic signalization and operational efficiencies.

The additional grant amounts to $1,200,000 and will fund the Manhattan Beach Boulevard Eastbound Left-Turn Improvement at Aviation Boulevard Project. This project will increase eastbound left-turn capacity to relieve the congestion along Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Aviation Boulevard traffic corridors and allow smooth traffic flow along Manhattan Beach Boulevard.