Back to School: Keeping Kids Safe on LA Streets

The first day of school can be both exciting and intimidating for students as they navigate a new class schedule, or even a new school. At LADOT, we have been hard at work to make sure that navigating how to get to and from campus is the least of their concerns.

For the last two years, we’ve added local funding and investment expanding on the grant-funded Safe Routes to School program to develop and implement a comprehensive safety plan for all schools in Los Angeles. By prioritizing streets and intersections with the highest risk, we’ve installed speed humps, repainted crosswalks, reduced speed limits, adjusted signal timing, and assigned trained crossing guards to support the safety of children biking and walking to school throughout the City. This improves safety at scale beyond individual, grant-awarded schools by addressing unsafe driving behaviors district-wide.

This effort will continue into the new school year. The department delivered more school speed humps, reduced more school speed limits, and is piloting new treatments such as No Right Turn on Red restrictions, curb lane closures, and automated speed enforcement to prevent driving behavior that puts young lives at risk. As the year progresses, we’ll continue to look for opportunities to expand this work even further.

The responsibility for safety doesn’t stop with LADOT—it belongs to every driver, cyclist, and pedestrian in our City. Slowing down in school zones, staying alert, and following crossing guard instructions are simple actions that can save lives. Together, we can make sure every student’s journey to school supports their growth and learning for a successful academic year.

Welcome back to school!

LADOT Installs Safety Treatments Ahead of New School Year

With LAUSD returning to school tomorrow, LADOT has continued locally-funded investments in traffic safety near schools, expanding upon the grant-funded Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. This effort builds off of SRTS, using data from across the district to identify locations where students face the highest risk as a priority for safety improvements.

This data-driven approach now informs the implementation of infrastructure improvements to prevent speeding and other dangerous driving behavior. LADOT will continue to invest in proven methods as well as pilot new technologies to ensure a smooth and safe school pick-up and drop-off as well as promote safer streets for students who walk or bike to school.

As of the start of school Thursday, the following treatments will have been implemented under this locally funded effort:

School Slow Zones: LADOT has completed implementing reduced speed limits of 15mph at 625 schools, including 343 new street segments near 201 schools since the start of the last school year.
School Speed Hump Program: LADOT has completed speed hump or speed table installations near 117 schools since 2023 – with 30 new schools receiving speed humps over the recent summer break – representing a total of 469 individual speed humps and tables installed.
Intersection and traffic signal safety improvements: LADOT continues to implement various intersection and signal improvement projects near schools, including intersection tightening, No Right Turn on Red restrictions, and Leading Pedestrian Intervals at more than 75 schools.
Crossing Guards: 472 crossing guards will be deployed at key intersections augmenting the safety treatments installed throughout the district and providing guidance and support as they escort elementary and middle-school students across busy corridors.

LADOT will continue implementing policies and investing in safety on our streets. In the coming year, the department will begin its automated speed enforcement program at key locations, including schools, to ensure accountability for people who drive recklessly and put lives at risk. LADOT will also continue repurposing peak hour lanes across the city to promote safer, more people-friendly corridors.

As the new school year begins, we remind all drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians to slow down in school zones, stay alert, and follow all crossing guard instructions.

New Delineators Installed on Spring St Bike Lane

LADOT is installing new safety treatments on the existing Spring Street bike lane in DTLA. In addition to the existing bollards, crews are adding rubber bike lane delineators to help ensure cars stay out of bike lanes. Bike lane delineators are proven to reduce collisions between bicyclists and vehicles, helping to keep City streets safer for all road users. Once installation is complete, the delineators will stretch from 1st Street to 9th Street.

LADOT Begins First Phase of Peak-Hour Lane Removal

LADOT is continuing implementation of the first phase of a citywide initiative to remove peak-hour travel lanes and restore full-time parking. This initiative, directed by the Los Angeles City Council, aims to enhance safety, improve access, and support the City’s long-term mobility goals.

The specific corridors selected for Phase 1 of peak-hour lane removal are:

Alpine St, from N. Spring to Yale
Alvarado St, Northbound, from James M. Wood to 7th
Beverly Blvd, from Rampart to Witmer
Broadway, Northbound, from 2nd to 1st
College St, from New Depot to Alameda
Crenshaw Blvd, from Florence to 59th St
La Tijera Blvd, Northbound, from Thornburn to Knowlton
Melrose Ave, from Vermont to Virgil
Nordhoff St, Westbound, from Corbin to Canoga
Pico Blvd, Westbound, from Overland to Sepulveda
Ventura Blvd, Eastbound, from Farralone to Tampa
Victory Blvd, from Lankershim to Clybourn
Washington Blvd, from Vermont to Flower
Washington Blvd, Eastbound, from Redondo to La Brea and from Wellington to Crenshaw

Please be advised of construction along the above corridors as crews work to implement the new lane configurations. Visit our website to view an up-to-date map of completed work on Phase 1 street segments.

CicLAvia: Culver City Meets Venice Opens Streets on 8/17

Join us for CicLAvia’s 61st Los Angeles open streets event, Culver City Meets Venice! On Sunday, August 17, 2025, from 9am to 4pm, we’ll be opening nearly 7 miles of streets in Culver City, Mar Vista, and Venice for a day of walking, biking, and exploring. The pop-up park can be enjoyed in any people-powered way, and all ages and abilities are welcome. Tell your friends and family and get ready to enjoy the perfect car-free summer weekend.

View the route map and learn more about CicLAvia

Take the Pico Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project Survey

LADOT wants to hear your thoughts on improving transportation safety along Pico Boulevard, especially for those who walk, bike, and take transit. Pico is a major street used to access jobs, destinations, and community institutions. LADOT is prioritizing safety and accessibility improvements on Pico Boulevard that include: reducing the number of travel lanes to improve driving behavior; adding a new bicycle facility to expand mobility options and improve safety for bicyclists; adding new crossings to improve pedestrian safety and access; and other street safety features.

Take the Pico Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project Survey before September 8, 2025 and let us know how you travel along Pico Boulevard and what safety improvements you’d like to see prioritized along the corridor. Participants will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of two $50 gift cards.

Feedback on the Spring St Mobility Project

Share Your Feedback on the Spring St and Alameda St Safety and Mobility Project

LADOT is kicking off a new planning effort to improve safety and mobility along Spring St and Alameda St. These corridors connect neighborhoods to key destinations such as LA State Historic Park, Chinatown, Olvera Street, Union Station, Downtown LA, and the LA River Bike Path – but today, there are critical gaps in the transportation network and ongoing safety concerns for people walking, biking, and taking public transit.

If you live, work, or spend time in the project area, we want to hear from you! Your feedback will guide the types of improvements we consider and help us to better understand how the street can serve the needs of everyone.

Take the Spring St and Alameda St survey before September 8, 2025. Participants will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of two $50 gift cards.