Study Begins on Marina Road Bypass : Traffic: The six-month, $120,000 review will examine alternatives to the controversial Marina Expressway plan.

Consultants for Los Angeles County have begun a six-month, $120,000 traffic study in an effort to eliminate a major roadblock to intensive redevelopment of residential and commercial properties in Marina del Rey.

The traffic study, to be done by DKS Associates of Los Angeles, will examine alternatives to construction of a controversial bypass road from the Marina Expressway around the north side of the marina.

Under provisions of the marina land-use plan adopted by the county and the California Coastal Commission, redevelopment in the county-owned harbor area cannot take place until the bypass is built.

But strong opposition from residents of the nearby Oxford Triangle and Venice areas of Los Angeles has blocked construction of the road for years.

County Regional Planner Ronald Hoffman acknowledged at a public meeting at the marina Wednesday night that there are “a lot of people out there who don’t like the marina bypass.”

Hoffman told the audience the traffic study is intended to find alternatives to the bypass that can provide additional traffic capacity for the marina. Among the options to be studied are shuttle buses, car pools and van pools, and improvements to traffic lights and intersections.

The study, scheduled to be finished in late November, could have far-reaching implications for the county’s ability to proceed with expanded residential and commercial development.

Ted Reed, director of the county Department of Beaches and Harbors, said in an interview Thursday that the study is “crucial in the sense that we won’t be able to move forward with any development unless we achieve a certain amount of (traffic) mitigation.”

He said county officials hope the study will produce data showing that the marina itself generates less traffic than previously thought and that there is capacity for additional development. Traffic counts will be taken at all marina intersections and at key intersections outside the immediate harbor area.

Reed has said leaseholders who operate at the marina are “very anxious” to proceed with so-called second-generation development but have been stymied because the bypass issue remains unresolved.

The traffic study will also examine the potential impact of massive developments planned near the marina. The largest projects include the proposed Marina Place mall in the western edge of Culver City, the Channel Gateway residential and office complex on Lincoln Boulevard just outside the marina, and the vast Playa Vista project planned to the south.

Hoffman said the consultants will examine the potential effect of not extending Falmouth Avenue across the Ballona Wetlands. Maguire Thomas Partners, the new developers of Playa Vista, want to drop the street extension from the project. County officials have refused to do so until the traffic impact of eliminating the street extension is known.