At a press conference yesterday, Assemblyman Paul Krekorian introduced his “Safe Streets Bill”, drafted to prevent increases in city speed limits. Today’s Glendale News Press article reports that Assembly Bill 766
would allow city governments to hold public hearings on speed limits, during which officials would have to demonstrate how a higher speed limit would improve traffic flow and safety.
…The Glendale, Burbank and Los Angeles police departments, the cities of Los Angeles and Oakland, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and grass-roots organizations have all backed the legislation.
On Monday, Glendale city council member Laura Friedman told Northwest Glendale Homeowners Association members that current state law was written to discourage municipal “speed traps” but has ended up posing traffic safety problems, and Krekorian’s new bill is a positive step in addressing those problems.
LAist reports Los Angeles city council members Wendy Greuel and Richard Alarcon‘s comments in support of the bill.
The California Highway Patrol and the Teamsters Union both oppose the bill, but their leaders don’t drive, walk, or live in Glendale. The News Press story continued:
Last year, there were four pedestrian-related fatalities and 82 pedestrian-related accidents in Glendale.
In just the past week, several more pedestrian-related accidents in Glendale show the problem just isn’t going away.
Glendale is moving aggressively to turn the situation around, and citizens are responding. A UC Berkeley May 16 workshop on pedestrian safety proposed by city council member Ara Najarian is fully booked. In response to my (late) attendance request, Assistant Traffic and Transportation Administration Tom Mitchell wrote:
This seminar is only the beginning of the city developing a program and process to reach out to, among others, the schools (students and parents) to improve safety of travel for both pedestrians and drivers of motorized vehicles and non-motorized vehicles.
He’s right: the Safe Routes to School program is underway, and a new three-year “Safe and Healthy Streets” grant to Glendale through the LA County Department of Public Health is also getting started in Glendale.
Glendale Police for at least three years have set up ‘sting’ opearations on Pacific Avenue (usually at the cross section of Hawthorn Street). As a teacher in a local school I am very concernded about Glendale Police ‘sting’ operations that have to do with people crossing a seven lane ‘highway’ (two parking lanes, one turning lane and four driving lanes). Glendale Police feel that the 5 lane roadway (plus two parking lanes) is an appropriate place to cross the road. I thing that the speed on the road and the width on the road is too much for pedistrians to cross safely.
I suggest a stop sign and a painted cross walk, or a painted cross walk with flashing lines on the walk way.
Mary Barbosa