High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk Installed at Intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Christy Avenue

Last week, LADOT installed a new high-intensity activated crosswalk at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Christy Avenue to improve visibility and safety for those traveling in Lake View Terrace. Sometimes referred to as a pedestrian hybrid beacon or HAWK beacon, this innovative signal represents an improvement over different types of flashing beacons as it utilizes a red signal that forces vehicles to come to a complete stop before pedestrians — or, as is sometimes the case in Lake View Terrace, equestrians — cross the street, which is useful for streets where vehicles are traveling at higher speeds and that have longer crossing distances. In addition to helping reduce the number of collisions at crossings, beacons of this type also have a much higher vehicle compliance rate in comparison to signalized crossings and crossings with flashing yellow beacons.

One of three HAWK beacons being implemented this summer in Los Angeles City Council District 7, the new installation joins other street improvements constructed in the district this year in collaboration with the office of Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. Noteworthy work performed by LADOT in the district this year includes the addition of new traffic mast arms to allow for left-turn phasing at the popular intersection at Sepulveda Boulevard and Devonshire Street, and the Foothill Boulevard Traffic Safety Improvements, a project which is currently in progress that aims to improve conditions for users through the construction of new crossings, better connectivity to local trails, additional signage, bike lane markings and separations, and measures aimed at vehicular speeding abatement.

On the Road to Safer Streets: Assembly Bill 43 and Speed Limit Reform

Earlier this week, the news website Cal Matters published an opinion article penned by LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni) Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin, which details the legislative effort in California to reform the process for establishing municipal speed limits.

To address the need for speed limit reform, the California State Legislature is in the process of considering Assembly Bill (AB) 43. If passed, AB 43 would grant municipalities greater control in setting speed limits on city streets. Currently, the California Vehicle Code requires cities to conduct regular speed surveys to set and enforce speed limits, which are determined by the 85th percentile of driver speeds recorded in the survey. In practice, this process results in streets where speed limits regularly increase with every survey cycle regardless of local safety concerns. With speed being the primary factor in determining the severity of a crash, AB 43 gives cities an opportunity to save hundreds of lives. A person struck by a vehicle going 35 miles per hour has a 68 percent chance of survival — a rate which plummets to 35 percent if the vehicle is going 40 miles per hour. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles experienced an epidemic of speeding on streets, resulting in a similar number of fatal and severe injury crashes during 2020 compared to prior years despite a significant decline in overall traffic volumes. This trend disproportionately impacted low-income communities in Los Angeles.

For additional information about AB 43 — including the text of the bill and its procedural history — please click here to visit the California legislative information website.

Mocean Car Share Expands to San Fernando Valley

LADOT joined Los Angeles City Council District 3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and community members this past week to commemorate the expansion of Mocean — a Hyundai sponsored mobility startup and free-floating car share service — to the San Fernando Valley. Mocean’s fleet expansion in the valley joins the already extant fleets that the company operates in downtown Los Angeles, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, and Sawtelle. Currently, Mocean is the only free-floating car share service in Los Angeles, and aims to provide affordable and accessible transportation options for Angelenos.

For more information about Mocean, please visit moceancarshare.com.

Remembering Traffic Victims in South LA

This past Saturday, LADOT joined Safe Streets for Everyone (SAFE), Los Angeles City Council District 8 Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, faith leaders, and community members in South LA to commemorate the lives of those killed in traffic collisions and to raise awareness for traffic safety. During the past year, nearly 1,500 people have been involved in traffic collisions in South LA, representing a 46 percent increase in such cases since 2019. Saturday’s event received coverage from multiple local television stations, including ABC 7 Eyewitness News, with whom LADOT Assistant General Manager Connie Llanos shared details about LADOT’s efforts toward public safety and traffic collision prevention.

For more information about SAFE, please visit streetsareforeveryone.org.

The San Vicente Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project

The City of Los Angeles is getting to work on a safer, more connected San Vicente Boulevard between Olympic Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. To facilitate feedback from members of the public, LADOT asks all interested parties to submit commentary through the project feedback map, located on the San Vicente project web page. Stay tuned to the LADOT Weekly Brief for project updates to follow in the coming weeks, including details about an upcoming San Vicente informational online event.

LADOT Installs Street Safety Improvements in Eagle Rock

Last week, in collaboration with the office of Los Angeles City Council District 14 Councilmember Kevin de Leon, LADOT installed street improvements at five intersections on Yosemite Drive in Eagle Rock to provide improved safety for those traveling to nearby Eagle Rock High School and Yosemite Park Recreation Center. Implemented improvements included a new marked crosswalk and new stop signs to increase pedestrian safety.

This Week in Photos:

LADOT collaborated with the office of Los Angeles City Council District 7 Councilmember Monica Rodriguez to install a new high-intensity activated crosswalk at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Christy Avenue, which will improve visibility and safety for those traveling in Lake View Terrace.

LADOT by the Numbers:

Last week, LADOT installed a new high-intensity activated crosswalk — also known as a HAWK beacon — at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Christy Avenue to improve visibility and safety for those traveling in Lake View Terrace.

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