In December of 2012, the City of Los Angeles announced a plan to roll out Continental Crosswalks to 53 crosswalks across the City in 2013 – prioritized based on their high rates of pedestrian collisions.
The original list targeted the 53 most dangerous crosswalks in the City, including a few in and around our Greater Wilshire Neighborhood:
- Santa Monica and Western
- Wilshire and Western
- Olympic and Western
- Pico and Western
The Continental Crosswalks have been so successful that we’ll be seeing more of them all around the City very quickly – including in the Greater Wilshire area. Currently, the Bureau of Street Services is laying out Continental Crosswalks at the intersection of 6th Street and Hauser Boulevard, Burnside and Hauser and 3rd Street and Hauser/Martel.
The Larchmont Buzz reported on Councilman LaBonge’s August 2012 Motion to seek traffic calming measures for the 6th Street and Hauser intersection in response to several accidents that have occurred at the location. Perhaps the most notable was when a 74 year-old female pedestrian was killed when a car came up on the sidewalk and hit her.
Larchmont Buzz: Councilmember LaBonge Seeks Solution for Hauser & 6th Street Intersection
The new crosswalks feature two-foot-wide “zebra stripes” that make the pedestrian crossing area more visible, as well as a “stop line” five feet from the crosswalk that discourage cars from entering the zone.
We will also see them along 3rd Street as crosswalks are re-painted after the current resurfacing project is completed. Two thumbs up on this safety upgrade!
