Ocean Park Boulevard made one-lane street; another walker struck
SUNSET PARK Another pedestrian fell victim to a notorious crosswalk here that business owners and neighbors have long complained is unsafe for its lack of signalization, the most recent incident occurring just one day after Ocean Park Boulevard was restriped to enhance safety.
According to eyewitnesses, a woman was walking across the crosswalk at 18th Street and Ocean Park Boulevard early Saturday afternoon when a man driving an SUV — which had stopped for the pedestrian — was rear-ended by another vehicle and pushed into the crosswalk, striking the woman.
A 12-block stretch of Ocean Park Boulevard — from Lincoln Boulevard to Cloverfield Boulevard — was restriped on Friday and Saturday, condensing the Sunset Park corridor from two lanes to one in order to calm the speed of traffic and enhance safety, a response by city officials to neighbors’ concerns about the volume and speed of traffic along the bustling street.
Bruce Bair, who owns a yoga studio on the 1600 block of Ocean Park Boulevard, was driving to work around 12:25 p.m. on Saturday, waiting at the intersection of 18th Street, when he saw the pedestrian get struck by the car.
“It was like watching a mannequin,” Bair said Monday.“It was really surprising. I have never seen that before.”
There was no information available as to the pedestrian’s condition as of press time on Monday.
Neighbors have long complained about the dangers posed to pedestrians that attempt to cross Ocean Park Boulevard at unsignalized intersections, mainly from 14th to 20th streets, which is home to several businesses and John Adams Middle School. Several pedestrians have been struck, some fatally, in the crosswalks over the past few years, prompting business owners and residents to call on city officials to implement some changes, many demanding a traffic signal or a flashing red signal be installed at 16th and 18th streets.
At both 16th and 18th streets are a set of lights that are embedded into the crosswalk, flashing when activated by a pedestrian. While the flashing lights seem effective at night, illuminating the crosswalk, many neighbors find it less visible during the day, saying it gives pedestrians a false sense of security.
In response to neighbors’ concerns, city planners have met with Sunset Park business owners and residents over the past year and a half, presenting a list of possible short and long-term solutions in a series of workshops, which included reconfiguring Ocean Park Boulevard to have angled parking, adding full signal control at 16th and 18th streets, and transforming the street from a two-to one-lane corridor.
“The intent was to improve traffic safety and pedestrian safety by slowing down people who were speeding and making it easier to make a decision at the intersections and also to provide more parking availability,” said Transportation Planning Manager Lucy Dyke.
Some business owners criticize the decision to turn Ocean Park Boulevard into a one-lane street, claming they have seen the impacts with traffic backing up.
“I’ve been here for 20 years and this street used to be dead,” said Elizabeth Seiji, who owns Edelweiss Flower Boutique on the corner of Ocean Park Boulevard and 18th Street. “Now it’s a thoroughfare, and when we had two lanes, it would take 20 minutes to get to Bundy (Drive)... now I don’t even know.”
Seiji has observed that ever since the lanes were restriped, drivers — frustrated and sitting stalled in traffic on Ocean Park Boulevard — seem less inclined to let another driver pass through.
“They should’ve left it two lanes,” she said.
Dyke added the one-lane configuration will help avoid the type of accidents that happens when an impatient motorist, stuck behind a car that is stopped for a pedestrian, will go into the second lane and possibly strike the pedestrian.
The restriping has also created a bike lane and can also increase parking spaces, Dyke added.
Nancy Lombardi, the owner of Artful on Ocean Park Boulevard, said while the new configuration might confuse some drivers who are unaware that Ocean Park Boulevard is now one lane, she’s planning on withholding judgment until she sees what type of impact it will have on traffic flow “I’m willing to give it a shot,” she said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 18, 2007. Read the original PDF.