Getting Students to School Safely
LAUSD students headed back to class Wednesday, with other schools across Los Angeles soon to follow. While the City of LA does not run our schools, it is responsible for helping students and families get there safely. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 2 to 14 in Los Angeles County.
On the first day of school, a constituent contacted my office about a crosswalk outside Palms Elementary. LADWP had recently completed work in the street and repaved part of the intersection, but part of the crosswalk had not been repainted. We contacted LADWP, and crews returned to restore it. Since then, my team has identified several other intersections across the district where street markings are missing following utility work, and we are working to get those restored as well.
This is a broader coordination problem, and it’s unacceptable. For a child walking to school, a missing crosswalk removes one of the most basic visual cues telling drivers to slow down and expect someone to cross. Crosswalks and street markings need to be restored immediately after utility work, not after a resident reports them missing. My team and I are preparing a Council motion to improve coordination between LADWP and other City departments so this does not keep happening.
Redesigning Dangerous Intersections
Near Saint Paul the Apostle School and Ralph Waldo Emerson Community Charter Middle School, the City recently installed a quick-build traffic circle at Ohio, Selby, and Wilkins after hearing from residents and school families about unsafe conditions.
Closing Outdated Pedestrian Tunnels
Another piece of outdated infrastructure around schools is the network of old pedestrian tunnels.
Los Angeles began building these tunnels nearly a century ago as the automobile industry and groups like the Automobile Club pushed cities to separate pedestrians from growing car traffic. The idea was to move people out of the way of cars so traffic could move faster, rather than design streets where people could cross safely at ground level.
Over time, many of the tunnels deteriorated, became magnets for trash and vandalism, and remained inaccessible to people using wheelchairs or pushing strollers. While well intentioned, these pedestrian tunnels show what happens when pedestrian safety is designed around cars instead of people.
For years, closing these tunnels was considered too expensive. My team worked with City departments to find a more cost-effective approach, and now every pedestrian tunnel in Council District 5 is being closed.
From repainting a crosswalk to redesigning an intersection, the principle is the same. A safe route to school depends on crosswalks, intersections, and sidewalks being visible, accessible, and maintained.
There is still much more work to do to make our streets safer for students and families. If you see a traffic safety issue near a school in Council District 5, please reach out to my team so we can work on a solution.
