The City of Los Angeles honors civic leaders and local heroes by naming buildings in their honor, but crosswalks are reserved for the children who die trying to cross the street. This is hardly the mark of a Great City.
Marvin Braude served the City of Los Angeles as a City Councilman for thirty-two years, a significant contribution that was memorialized with the Marvin Braude Bike Trail, the Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park and the Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center. John Ferraro served the City of Los Angeles for five decades and his thirty-five year tenure as a City Councilman is the longest of any member. His contribution to the City of Los Angeles was memorialized when the landmark Department of Water and Power's General Office Building was renamed the John Ferraro Building.
Demariya Grant was a nine-year-old who simply wanted to cross the street but was struck and killed by a hit-and-run motorist, prompting the City of Los Angeles to memorialize the incident with the "Demariya Grant Memorial Crosswalk" on Rodeo Road between Rodeo Lane and Farmdale Avenue near Dorsey High School.
Jason Quarker was struck and killed while crossing Jefferson on his way to the 6th Avenue Elementary School, prompting the City of Los Angeles to memorialize his sacrifice with the "Jason Quarker Memorial Crosswalk" at 6th and Jefferson.
Two weeks ago, Emely Aleman, 12, and Angela Rodriguez, 10, were struck by a motorist as they attempted to cross Laurel Canyon Boulevard, a tragedy that resulted in the death of Emely and critical injuries to Angela. The City of Los Angeles will memorialize the incident with the "expedited installation of a traffic signal" that was originally scheduled for 2012.
The City acknowledges municipal liability for the streets of Los Angeles if it knows of the dangerous conditions and does nothing to mitigate them. For example, the City Attorney pays out on vehicle damages caused by potholes if the claimant shows that the city had knowledge of the pothole and failed to act in a timely manner.
The "prior knowledge" and "timely manner" conditions would seem to apply comprehensively to the streets of Los Angeles citywide. It's no secret that the streets of Los Angeles are filled with fast and dangerous traffic, a simple fact that is supported by traffic statistics. The LAPD loses more police officers in vehicle crashes than to gunshots, yet the LAPD still wear bullet-proof vests instead of helmets.
Emely and Angela attempted to cross Laurel Canyon Boulevard at an intersection that has a long legacy as a dangerous location. Pedestrians have been struck three times this year and a cyclist was killed last year by a hit-and-run motorist, all at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Archwood Street.
Speed limits that can't be enforced, streets that can't be crossed, and traffic signal improvements that are prioritized based on deaths are all symptoms of a systemic failure to prioritize public safety.
As the NoHo community petitions City Hall for help in managing the traffic in their neighborhood, the LA Department of Transportation drifts without a General Manager. Two Assistant General Managers grapple with five divisions that operate with silo independence, resulting in budget overruns, performance failures, and anticipated funding forfeitures.
LA's Department of Transportation has been taken to task for removing crosswalks in an attempt to reduce motorist/pedestrian conflict, a strategy that has been mocked as the equivalent of reducing forest fires by chopping down the trees. Critics claim that the LADOT's antiquated traffic strategies fail at every level and that the "bigger, wider, faster" strategy for moving motor vehicles has not only failed to relieve congestion but has also resulted in local neighborhood streets under siege.
It's time for the City of Los Angeles to honor civic leaders who champion public safety by confronting the dangerous conditions on the streets of Los Angeles.
It's time for the City of Los Angeles to honor the lost lives of the children who die on the streets by making it a priority to control the traffic that terrorizes our communities.
When the Mayor gets done with the press conferences celebrating LAPD Chief Charlie Beck's 1st anniversary as LA's top cop, it is imperative that he focus on the real opportunity to make Los Angeles a safer city, one where children can safely walk to school and then return home at night to their families. That is the mark of a Great City.
(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)
Bike activists from Bikeside presented the crowd-sourced LA Bike Map, a Hit-and-Run campaign, and the pedal powered LA Greensters, all as part of the inaugural Caltrans District 7 "Open Space" brown bag session to complement the Bicycle Advisory Committee. The Caltrans 7 BAC meets monthly, typically on the 4th Friday and addresses cycling issues from planning and engineering to education and funding.
Dale Benson, Caltrans District 7 Local Assistance Coordinator for LA and Ventura Counties, hosted the Open Space session and intends to make it a monthly lunchtime tradition to help activists, planners, consultants, and representatives from different municipalities and agencies develop stronger relationships and greater regional connectivity.
Dr. Alex Thompson, the founder of Bikeside, LA's only 501(c)4 Bike Lobby, gave a hands-on presentation of LABikeMap, an online tool that allows individuals to log on and enter the data from their experience on the road, from bike theft to road rage incidents to hit-and-run collisions to road conditions. The program is loaded with existing collision data extracted from the LAPD files and from SWTRS but the most interesting data is the "data dust" that typically falls from the system. By creating an opportunity for individuals to participate without having to wait on an overloaded law enforcement system that may not be responsive to non-emergency calls, LABikeMap creates a solution that benefits any of the agencies and departments that have a piece of the road, even those who simply need good data in order to seek funding for neighborhood improvements.
Sara Bond gave a reprise of her BikesideSPEAKS presentation of a Hit-and-Run campaign, an initiative that addresses both the large number of hit-and-run incidents on our streets and the difficulty victims face in seeking justice. Sara demonstrated that the successful prosecution of drunk drivers has actually incentivized hit-and-run behavior because of the inequity in penalties and in prosecution. Drawing on local incidents such as Ed Magos on 2nd Street, Roadblock on Glendale Boulevard, Jesus Castillo on Glendale Boulevard, Jen Diamond on Sunset Boulevard and Louis Bianco on La Cienega, Sara personalized the issue and dramatized the need for a review of the law, of the enforcement policies and of the mandate to prosecute.
Enci Box introduced the LA Greensters, an all-pedal powered transportation team that originally formed to support the transportation needs of Enci's film "At What Price" which was shot sustainably in East Hollywood and is the subject of the "Reel Sustainable" documentary. The LA Greensters have not only demonstrated that human powered transportation is a viable choice for the Entertainment Industry, but has gone on to participate in everything from Park[ing] Day LA to the South Bay 350 to the AltCar Expo to the Santee High School sustainability education project. The LA Greensters demonstrate with their projects that cycling can be more than a simple commuting choice, that it can also satisfy utilitarian needs efficiently and sustainable.
Plans are already underway for June's Caltrans 7 "Open Space" on June 24th from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and again featuring three different presentations, this time from the Planning perspective, Regional, Local, and crowd-sourced.
As for the May Caltrans 7 Bicycle Advisory Committee's regular meeting, the theme was "Cyclists and the Law(enforcement)" and featured LAPD's Sgt. Krumer, the cyclists/LAPD Task Force liaison and a presentation of the new LAPD online training on cyclists and their rights to the streets of Los Angeles. Chief Charlie Beck received the Cyclists' Bill of Rights while still a nominee for Chief along with a request that he address LAPD policies for cyclists. He responded quickly and effectively, forming the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force and placing it in Operations with significant heat.
Sgt. Krumer detailed the progress that has been made over the last six months including some of the policies that address issues such as "non-contact traffic injuries," a clarification of inter-jurisdictional authority (Metro vs. Cyclist) and a clarification of inter-departmental enforcement issues. The LAPD was joined by the CHP's Officer Vince Ramirez and Burbank PD's Motor Officer Justin Meadows for a panel discussion on Cyclists and the Law(enforcement), offering up the different approaches to the same issues, safety for cyclists on the streets.
The Caltrans 7 Bicycle Advisory Committee was formed several years ago by then-District 7 Director Doug Failing and has met regularly to address engineering, educational, planning, funding, and law enforcement issues that impact cyclists on the streets in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Failing enjoyed great success with the BAC and he is now at the Metro, an agency that has experienced a "strained" relationship with the cycling community. He recently initiated a Metro Bicycle Roundtable series in an effort to engage the cycling community and to work on developing Metro policies, planning, and projects that support cycling as an integral element of the Metro's Transportation System. We hope that he enjoys the same success at the Metro that he enjoyed at Caltrans.
Julia Siegler stood on the north side of Sunset Boulevard and looked at her school bus, parked on south Cliffwood Avenue. She looked to her left, began to cross the street and hesitated, getting knocked to the ground by one vehicle and then run over by a second vehicle.
Much can be made of the fact that Julia crossed the street against a red light, and it has. But not much has been made of the fact the two motorists left the scene of the traffic collision before the Los Angeles Police Department arrived.
The first LAPD press conference offered up incorrect information of the crash and of the motorists, sending the public and the LAPD on a goose chase that was resolved later that day when the two motorists made contact with the LAPD. Much could also be made of the speed of the motorists, but it wasn't. Questions as to the speed of the motorists were rebuffed with "Not an issue!" responses. (The question was "What was the speed of the motorists?)
Much could be made of the environment, but it wasn't. Sunset Boulevard is a very fast street with lots of motor vehicle traffic. Sunset and Cliffwood, the scene of the tragedy, is signalized so I asked the obvious question "Was the demand actuated ped crossing button working?" I didn't get an answer.
That prompted me to go and take a look at the traffic signals at Sunset and Cliffwood, along with the signals at the intersections to the east and to the west. Here's what I found.
Sunset and Cliffwood is an intersection with demand-actuated signals at all four corners, requiring pedestrians to use a push button to call for a pedestrian "walk" phase.
When I pushed the button, the response was immediate and countdown started for the east west traffic, shifting to amber and then to red. I've never seen such a responsive traffic signal. I tried it with traffic, without traffic, with cars on Cliffwood and with none. In all cases, that signal offered an immediate response and a ped "walk" phase within seconds. Was this signal operating like this on February 26 when Julia Siegler attempted to cross Sunset?
Further confusing, Cliffwood has four demand-actuated signals but the east/west ped "walk" phase is set for fully-actuated timing. In other words, it is always a walk phase unless shifting to red.
Sunset and Kenter, just to the east of the tragic crash, is an intersection with demand-actuated signals used to cross Sunset and fully-actuated signals to cross Kenter. That means peds only need to push the button to cross Sunset.
I pushed the button and waited. Nothing happened. No countdown, no chirping for the blind, no indication that I had done anything meaningful, significant, or likely to result in an opportunity to cross Sunset supported by the "walk" phase of the traffic signal.
I tried it several times and in the video you can see that it took almost a full minute and the arrival of three motor vehicles on Kenter to get a "walk" phase to cross Sunset. Kenter also only has crosswalks on three sides of the intersection.
Sunset and Burlingame is an intersection to the west of Cliffwood and it has one demand-actuated signal to cross Sunset and one demand-actuated signal to cross Burlingame. This intersection is odd in that the default setting for the intersection is an all red, yet anybody approaching from any direction gets instant recognition.
Motorists don't need to slow down or stop, the signal simply turns green as if to "approve" of their passage.
Pedestrians approaching the "all-red" intersection simply push the buttons and get an instant ped "walk" phase with no hesitation or countdown. I tried it several times, with and without oncoming traffic and it was uncanny.
If ever a pedestrian needs to feel powerful, simply come to this "first-come, first-served" intersection and hit the ped button. "Walk!"
Sunset and Bundy is a busy signalized intersection farther to the east of Cliffwood that gets fairly decent traffic from south on Bundy as well as both directions on Sunset.
This intersection also features fully-actuated signals for east/west pedestrians and demand-actuated signals for north/south pedestrians. The white "walk" phase is quite fast , requiring pedestrians to be in place and ready to move. Not really the hospitable environment for pedestrians.
On either side of Cliffwood, there are traffic signs with speeds posted, some white (regulatory) and some yellow (advisory). Traveling east, on the approach to Cliffwood where Julia attempted to reach her school bus, motorists are greeted by a yellow sign that "advises" motorist that the "comfortable" speed is 25 mph.
From the west, motorists are informed by a white sign that the speed limit is 35 mph and also advised that the "comfortable" speed is 30 mph. There is no better time than now to look at all of the signage on Sunset and ask "Why?" Is this the limit of LA's attempts to control traffic.
More "suggestions" and "advice" to motorists traveling too fast to even read the signs which then prompts the LADOT to embark on a billboard campaign advising motorists to keep their eyes on the road. "Slow Down" must be a regulation, not simply a suggestion.
Traffic engineers can probably explain the three-sided crosswalk configuration over the four-sided crosswalk. They can probably use a slide rule to justify the short white "walk" phase and the longer "flashing hand" phase of the three part crossing signalization.
They can even offer up the "Crosswalks give pedestrians a false sense of security" demonstrating that even traffic engineers make mistakes. (It was a question, not a conclusion, at the end of the infamous Berms traffic study.
Often misquoted and always misunderstood, it has served the LADOT well but the pedestrian community has suffered. Traffic engineers and law enforcement officers can work all day to explain the complexities of using radar/laser tools for speed limit enforcement, they can talk all day about through-put and congestion and capacity and friction and conflict and eye lines and they can try very hard to impress me with how complex the world of traffic control really is for the professional, forget about the amateur.
But the real question is this: Do pedestrians need a degree from MIT to cross the street?
Would it be too much to have some sort of "pedestrian" logic applied to the traffic signals at the four neighboring intersections on Sunset Boulevard? The pedestrians walk down streets like Cliffwood with no sidewalks.
They are trained to walk in the street with motor vehicles. They push buttons that may or may not respond, they stand and watch the world go by, sometimes reminded that on the food chain of Los Angeles transportation, they rate right up there with the trash (can) and that if they really want to cross the street, they need to get in an automobile like everybody else.
In the days immediately following Julia's tragic death, the LAPD and others put the emphasis on pedestrian and their responsibility for their safety. Good advice, but not enough.
When there is a traffic collision, it must be standard operating procedure to test the street signals, not just for demand-actuated responsiveness but for all phases and for all modes.
As a cyclist, I encounter intersections such as Sunset and Park or Sunset and Rosemont that won't recognize cyclists and won't cycle green unless a motor vehicle approaches.
Ever wonder who trains cyclists to run reds? LADOT. By the way, it's the law that signals recognize all modes, it's just not common in Los Angeles. The current failure rate for LA's parking meters is 20% which begs the question, "What's the failure rate for traffic signal sensitivity and accuracy?" Anyone can guess but why guess when people are dying.
When there is a traffic collision, it must be standard operating procedure to investigate speed as a factor. Nothing about LA's traffic will change without data and when I called to get the speeds of the motorists, the question was dismissed.
Standing at the corner and watching the oncoming traffic from the east, vehicles traveling 35 mph would have been slowing down traffic. That street is fast. If cars are moving, they pose a threat. The faster they move, the great the threat. We must have data.
The City of Los Angeles has an underground bunker below City Hall East where the LADOT operates the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) system [LINK] but the LADOT doesn't play well with others nor does it share its data. That must change.
When there is a traffic collision, it must be standard operating procedure to evaluate that street, the community, the behavior of the people who use the street, and to ask the hard questions. Are we working together to make this street safe for all people? Are we making the safety of our most vulnerable a top priority?
Julia Siegler's death is tragic. It shouldn't have happened. It has resulted in a sense of helplessness in the larger community made up of Julia's neighbors and family and friends and schoolmates and even strangers.
An impromptu memorial of hundreds of flowers, candles, photos and stuffed animals, sits at the accident site at the corner of Sunset and Cliffwood, along with a sign that reads “Slow Down, For Julia.”
In Los Angeles, we name buildings after politicians, and we name intersections after children who get killed trying to get to school. That must change!
(Stephen Box is a transportation advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)
My name is Stephen Box. I ran for the City Council in March 2011 of Los Angeles, representing the 4th District.
Currently I work for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment on Neighborhood Council Elections, communication and outreach endeavors, funding, advocacy, board retreats and campaign workshops.
Posts
