The streets around Stoner Park in Sawtelle are often filled with families on their way to the park, nearby day care and surrounding schools. Jonathan Hale, a local resident, believed the area was lacking a key safety feature: designated crosswalks.<\/p>\n
Hale recently took it upon himself to make a fix that he believed the city had overlooked when he purchased about $200 worth of paint and recruited neighbors to paint crosswalks around the park over several weekends.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the first time Angelenos have taken matters into their own hands to try to improve street safety by painting crosswalks at precarious intersections. Many get frustrated by how long it takes for the city to respond to requests through 311 and just do the job themselves. Sometimes the city removes the paint stripes; sometimes it moves to make them permanent.<\/p>\n
In Sawtelle, Los Angeles\u2019 Department of Transportation removed the unsanctioned DIY project about two months after the first stripe was painted, prompting an outcry among community members.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The city added permanent crosswalks around Stoner Park after residents\u2019 DIY efforts were removed.<\/p>\n
(Carlin Stiehl \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The Transportation Department said crosswalks needed to comply with accessibility requirements<\/a> before permanent installation. Then last week, the mayor\u2019s office announced that the crosswalks would be painted after all \u2014 before curb ramps and sidewalk improvements were made.<\/p>\n \u201cStoner Park is a key community anchor \u2014 a place where neighbors gather, kids play, and local events bring people together. When we talk about where L.A. comes together, it\u2019s places like Stoner Park,\u201d Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the area and urged the city to add crosswalks around the park, said in a statement. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to prioritize pedestrian safety and make sure everyone can get around safely.\u201d<\/p>\n City officials did not respond to questions about whether its actions ignored state and federal guidelines. And although the Transportation Department said that no requests for crosswalks had previously been made at the location near Stoner Park, the mayor\u2019s office said that the Bureau of Engineering had received \u201cmultiple sidewalk accessibility requests surrounding Stoner Park between 2017-2018.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe City makes thousands of critical infrastructure improvements and upgrades each year,\u201d spokesperson Clara Karger said.<\/p>\n City agencies often have pointed to funding constraints as a reason for delays, but the mayor\u2019s office did not respond to questions about the total cost for this project, which eventually will include the installation of curb ramps and sidewalk improvements. <\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue doing all we can to keep Angelenos safe \u2014 that includes pedestrians and park-goers,\u201d Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement about the announcement.<\/p>\n The decision raises questions about how infrastructure updates are prioritized by the city, which has struggled to keep up with a backlog of requests for street improvements amid ongoing traffic safety breakdowns.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) primarily uses our annual resurfacing program to determine the locations of access ramps that we design and install; we do not work off a request-based system,\u201d said Dan Halden, the bureau\u2019s acting director of external relations.<\/p>\n He said the budget for this fiscal year includes the installation of approximately 300 access ramps across the city.<\/p>\n Hale, who moved to Los Angeles about a year ago from the San Francisco Bay Area, was pleasantly surprised to learn that the crosswalks would be restored after his initial efforts had been erased. If the city was struggling to improve residents\u2019 safety, he questioned the pushback to citizens\u2019 own efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need years of studies to tell us that there should be crosswalks and slow streets by a park and schools and day cares \u2014 those are just obvious things,\u201d said Hale, 25. \u201cIf you stand on any one of these corners for long, you\u2019ll see kids running around and you\u2019ll see close calls \u2026 I figured that the crosswalk was something that benefited people and didn\u2019t hurt anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n