When I first moved to Los Angeles a few years ago, I dashed across the street downtown not long after the "don't walk" sign began flashing. A woman on the other side of the crosswalk called me out: I was going to get a ticket if I kept doing that. That was my first clue that the rules are a little different for pedestrians in Los Angeles than other big cities. more ›

A man and a woman were killed after being hit by a van just outside of Disneyland early this morning. Before police had a chance to show up, they believe that several passengers in the van fled, according to the Los Angeles Times. more ›

Santa Monica officials are planning to enhance a sixth-mile stretch of Ocean Park Boulevard into a street friendly to both people on all modes of transportation and the environment, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. Calling it a "complete green street," the artery between Lincoln Boulevard and Neilson Way will next year see pedestrian crosswalks, "extended curbs, wider bike lanes and medians with more green space." more ›

L.A. has 10,750 miles of sidewalks, but 4,600 miles--that's around 43%--are in disrepair. Ouch. The cost of repairing all that? Over $1.2 billion. Double ouch. Between 2000 and 2009, some 550 miles of sidewalk was repaired but during that time more than that amount was damaged. Oh, yeah. more ›

Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA announced this morning that he's moved from the Fairfax District area to the Westside. "Westside motorists are amongst the worst in the city when it comes to sharing the road," the avid cyclist noted in addition to the lack of trains and a spotty bus system. "... a missed bus means a missed meeting," he said. Add to that fewer pedestrians, a limited bicycle infrastructure and a street grid problem. However, there's the good, such as the bikeway along Ballona Creek and the planned one along the Expo Line. And we'll add some great pocket neighborhoods of joy like Palms and Little Osaka. What's your favorite part of the Westside? more ›

Streetsblogger Damien Newton and other public transit advocates took an unofficial (bike) ride today, examining safety issues surrounding the soon-to-open Gold Line Eastside Extension. In their opinion, they found various issues, including problems at the Little Tokyo and Indiana stations, pedestrian signal timing that worsened the further East the line went and the most interesting fact of all, how $4.5 million allocated for safety won't be spent until next year. To that, Newton asks an honest question: "if all the safety improvements aren't going to be done for a couple of months, why are we opening the station in two days?" more ›

When LAPD Senior Lead Officer George Aguilar responded to an accident earlier this month on Ventura Blvd., he experienced first hand how unsafe the Valley's popular artery is for pedestrians. Even with a police car next to him, he felt like a "bowling pin." Aguilar, whose area covers most of Sherman Oaks between the 101 Freeway and Mulholland Drive, announced last night at a monthly neighborhood watch meeting that he's upping the traffic enforcement along the street, including ticketing cars that don't yield to pedestrians on marked crosswalks. So you've been warned, come to Sherman Oaks and speed or blow off peds, they're looking for you. more ›

We are all about the "people first" concept, which is planning for people, not cars when developing a new building or road. However, pedestrians still need to follow the law. Saturday night's traffic in Santa Monica for the Glow Festival was only worsened by the fact that pedestrians would cross streets against the walk signal's "don't cross" hand. Witnessed at just about every intersection, this left vehicles in all directions backed up and clogged at intersections more than they would without. We all have to work together, even when you're just on two feet. more ›

Further investigation into reasons why a few spots around the city have signs prohibiting bicycle sidewalk riding shows that both Sherman Oaks locations were due to troubles caused by skateboarders. After pedestrians getting hit by boards, cars nearly hitting skaters falling into the street and customers being intimidated, Van Nuys Division LAPD officers requested a solution to help them enforce the location-isolated problems. more ›

Last night, one of Los Angeles' best locally focused radio programs, Which Way, L.A.? focused in on the Mandeville Canyon "road rage" motorist vs. bicyclist incident among other bicycle issues around Los Angeles. more ›

View Larger Map more ›

Shortly before 9:00 p.m., an LAPD West Traffic Division officer attempted to pull over a car for reckless driving on Hollywood Blvd. The suspect did not stop, prompting a short pursuit before hitting two pedestrians between Wilcox and Cahuenga and then crashing the vehicle. Both pedestrians, a male and a female between the ages of 35 and 40, were pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the vehicle was treated for wounds and arrested. Further details will come as the investigation continues. more ›

"I looked to make sure. I wasn't being unsafe," Porcia London told the LA Times in a report about red-light enforcement cameras that questions if they are for revenue or safety. The issue at hand is that in Los Angeles, it is estimated that 80% of the photo-enforced tickets go to "california stop" right turns. "As London realized that day in court, her turn was illegal because she did not completely stop before turning." Well, duh... more ›

Here's an interesting tidbit from Sherman Oaks. At the Valley's busiest intersection, Sepulveda and Ventura, you need to cross 17 lanes of traffic to get from one corner to its catty corner. Oy vey! Would this be one of those intersections slated for a diagonal crosswalk the Mayor spoke about last week? more ›

Then you might have some information for police. At around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, 31-year-old Vicky Noh was crossing Wilshire Blvd. in a marked crosswalk at New Hampshire Avenue when she was struck and killed by a yellow school bus that drove away. The 40 foot long bus is described as a "newer model with a flat front end" and was actually a charter bus, not one that transports children on a daily basis. The driver is described as a Latino with long hair in a ponytail. more ›

Unfortunately, in a city (and country) where the motto should be "pedestrians first," things are just the opposite of that. The law states that vehicles must yield to pedestrians at marked and unmarked crossings throughout the state. But the culture is not that and one can prove that to themselves by trying to cross any busy street at an unmarked crosswalk (or even a marked one in some areas). It's not just regular denizens too: DASH and Metro busses, LAPD squad cars, city cars and others can be easily caught breaking this law. The first step to making a safer environment for pedestrians is to walk the talk. How can the city write a ticket for not yielding to a pedestrian when they do it themselves? more ›

Sometime in the middle of last year, the Bank of America opened a branch on the SW corner of Hillhurst and Franklin in Los Feliz. more ›

It seems the Bush's appointed Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, has something in common with Mayor Villaraigosa's appointed Department of Transportation head, Gloria Jeff: both are for goods movement, but not always for the people. Luckily, Jeff has not started any major wars with bicyclists like Peters' has, according to an article in Salon, with her current political rhetoric:In an Aug. 15 appearance on PBS's "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," Peters spoke against a proposal to... more ›