Sunkist Park's Cut-Through Fix Moved From Berryman to Slauson. What That Means for Your Block.

In March, Culver City's answer to cut-through traffic on Segrell Way was a set of traffic diverters on Berryman Avenue. In October, the city proposed something else: cul-de-sacs where Segrell Way and Culver Park Drive meet Slauson Avenue. The goal is still to keep through-drivers off Segrell. The difference is which end of the street stops working as a car entrance.

That difference decides how people on Segrell and Culver Park Drive get home. It also decides whether the Slauson side or the Berryman side of the neighborhood becomes the main way in. The fourth Sunkist Park design meeting at the El Marino Park Recreation Building on October 7 was held to present the cul-de-sac evaluation and gather comments. It was not held to announce a decision.

Same problem, opposite end of the street

The two proposals both target cut-through traffic. They close different ends of the street.

Under the diverter plan presented at the June 17 workshop, cars going into or out of Segrell would have used Sawtelle or Slauson instead of Berryman. The city said Culver Park Drive and the alley would work the same way. So that plan pushed Segrell's car traffic toward Slauson. The cul-de-sac plan closes Slauson to those two streets entirely. On the Sepulveda Connects project page, the city says vehicles could not reach Segrell Way or Culver Park Drive from Slauson, and could not reach Slauson from them. Pedestrian access would stay.

The scope also changed. The March plan covered three points: Segrell, Culver Park Drive and the alley between Segrell and Sepulveda. The October proposal on the project page names two streets, Segrell Way and Culver Park Drive. The city's example drawing shows a cul-de-sac on Segrell at Slauson with curbs and raised planters to block cars. It also shows a crosswalk that keeps the walking route along Slauson open. The city labels the drawing as an example.

Culver Park Drive is in both plans for the same reason. The city has said that if only Segrell were blocked, Culver Park Drive could become the replacement shortcut.

Why Segrell, and why a bus project is involved

The Sunkist Park work is part of Sepulveda Connects. That is the city's plan to add transit-priority and other mobility improvements along 2.8 miles of Sepulveda Boulevard, from Venice Boulevard to Centinela Avenue. The City Council told staff to address cut-through traffic in Sunkist Park as part of that project.

The city gives three reasons for focusing on Segrell Way. Traffic counts showed Segrell carries a disproportionate share of cut-through traffic. Most cut-through comments at the February 17, 2026 open house were about Segrell and the alley next to it. And the city's model found that cut-through traffic on Segrell may rise slightly under all three Sepulveda alternatives if nothing is done. The model found no significant impact on other local streets.

That third reason ties the neighborhood fix to the corridor design. The March 2026 concept document lays out three alternatives:

• Alternative 1 adds southbound bus lanes where buses get delayed, keeps parking where it can, and proposes protected bike lanes. It estimates up to 5.4 minutes saved for southbound bus riders and up to 3% longer southbound car trips.
• Alternative 2 adds bus lanes in both directions plus protected bike lanes. It estimates 3.5 minutes saved for northbound buses, 4.5 minutes for southbound buses, and southbound car trips 2% longer or less.
• Alternative 3 puts bus lanes first in both directions, removes a car lane each way in several segments, has no bike lanes on Sepulveda, and forecasts significant parking impacts in certain areas.

In a March 31 update, the city's model estimated up to 5.3 minutes of added travel time in one Sepulveda segment under Alternative 3. Whichever corridor option is chosen, the city's own model expects at least a little more pressure on Segrell. That explains why the neighborhood treatment is moving forward even though the corridor design is not final.

The tradeoffs the city printed on its own board

The October meeting boards, posted as a PDF on the city's site, list the costs of cul-de-sacs next to the benefits.

Benefits listed: through-traffic is eliminated, there is less traffic exposure, and bicycle and pedestrian access is kept.

Challenges listed: local traffic is concentrated at fewer access points, emergency response routes get longer, vehicle connectivity is poor, there are fewer vehicle access points overall, and there are fewer access points to El Marino School.

The board also included Culver City Fire Department figures for CCFD Fire Station #3 from July 21, 2023 through June 30, 2026. Over that period, emergency travel times to Culver Park Drive and Segrell Way averaged 4:21 across 101 incidents. Sunkist Park as a whole averaged 4:11 across 1,399 incidents. So the two streets in the proposal already averaged about ten seconds longer than the neighborhood before any change, and they account for a small share of the neighborhood's calls. The boards do not estimate how much a cul-de-sac would add to the 4:21 figure.

The next page of the boards was split into two blank sections, "I SUPPORT Cul-de-Sacs and here is why..." and "I DO NOT SUPPORT Cul-de-Sacs and here is why...". As of this writing, no local coverage has reported what attendees wrote or said on October 7.

Four other options still on the table

Cul-de-sacs are not the only option. The October boards list four alternatives:

1. A Slauson median. The city describes a concrete median down the center of Slauson Avenue that blocks left turns into and out of Segrell Way and Culver Park Drive. Right turns in and out would still be allowed.
2. A one-way conversion.
3. Turn-restriction signs.
4. No change.

The median keeps some car access at the Slauson end, which the cul-de-sac removes. It is also the only alternative the city describes in detail beyond its name.

Earlier resident feedback gives some sense of which tools have support. At the February 17 open house, the city offered a menu that included curb extensions, chicanes and medians, speed humps or cushions, roundabouts, modal filters, turn restrictions and one-way streets. The city's summary counted 36 comments on traffic calming. Modal filters, which block cars but let bikes and pedestrians through, drew the most positive response. Speed humps drew the most negative. A cul-de-sac that keeps a walking path open works much like a modal filter.

The corner that drew the most comments

Cut-through traffic was not the biggest issue in resident comments. According to the city, most comments were about the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Sawtelle Boulevard. Staff recommend narrowing the corner radius there to extend the curb. That would make right-turning drivers take a tighter, slower turn and shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians.

The cul-de-sac decision gets more attention, but this corner change affects anyone who walks across Sepulveda at Sawtelle, wherever they live in Sunkist Park.

What happens between now and spring 2027

The city's published schedule shows final design and pre-construction running from summer 2026 through winter 2026/2027, with construction starting in spring 2027. That is later than the fall 2026 construction date in the October 27, 2025 council staff report. The same staff report recommended accepting $960,654 from Metro's Measure M Subregional Equity Program for the city's tactical mobility lane project. It also notes that the Westside Cities Council of Governments voted separately to fund design of the Sepulveda bus lanes.

The city has not published a council vote date for choosing a Sepulveda alternative or a Sunkist Park treatment. It also has not set an installation date for cul-de-sacs, a median or any other neighborhood change. The Culver City Crossroads notice for the October meeting listed [email protected] for comments, questions and preferred solutions. The city also has a Sunkist Park Storymap with the background maps and data.

Right now, Segrell Way and Culver Park Drive work the same way they always have, and the October cul-de-sac proposal is one of five options still being considered.

If you own on Segrell, Culver Park Drive or nearby and want to know how a street that may become a cul-de-sac could change how your home is presented to buyers, Lauren Morelli can walk you through it calmly and with current local data. Get a free home valuation and a clear read on where your block stands.