The city council voted unanimously during today's council meeting to back funding for a speed hump installation plan. $5.4 million will be used for new speed humps and speed tables with $2 million being set aside installing the speed humps around schools.
The decision comes after a mother was killed and her 6-year-old daughter was critically injured after being struck by a pickup truck near Hancock Park Elementary School last month. Just one day after that incident, a 14-year-old boy was hit by a vehicle outside of Berendo Middle School.
“These devastating incidents are unacceptable,” said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass in a statement. “Superintendent [Alberto] Carvalho and I spoke yesterday about strategies to keep our teachers, students and employees safe and together we will host convenings of stakeholders and community members focusing on safety in and around our schools. We must — and will — do more.”
On Wednesday, the L.A. City Council voted in favor of a motion brought by Council President Paul Krekorian that asks the Department of Transportation to provide an installation plan.
The program could cost up to $70 million.
According to a statement from Krekorian’s office, the plan would be similar to a pilot program in his North Hollywood district, which aims to install speed humps outside all district LAUSD elementary schools by August.
“These raised sections of asphalt, designed to slow traffic and heighten driver awareness, are being placed adjacent to schools at locations chosen in consultation with each school’s principal,” Krekorian’s office said in the same statement.
The motion approved by the city council Wednesday also instructs the DOT to outline funding options and an implementation timeline.
