Series of crosswalk projects approved citywide
Crossing the street in Santa Monica may get a lot safer now that the city has approved nearly $5 million in pedestrian improvements.
Officials are planning a series of changes to Wilshire, Santa Monica and Ocean Park Boulevards, including center islands on some streets. Improvements will be done near office parks on Broadway and 26th Street that will go far beyond new crosswalks at intersections.
Planning for the improvements, which will range from flashing pedestrian crossing lights to re-engineering entire intersections, has been underway since 1999.
“The crosswalks projects have been very important to residents and merchants,” said the city’s transportation manager Lucy Dyke. “As Santa Monica becomes more crowded we want to ensure there is a way for people to get around.
“In all the locations we are trying to improve the ability of people to cross the streets and improve the walkability of the city,” she added.
Since then engineers, designers and neighborhood groups have been studying the proposals and combining different elements to come up with a final plan, which the city council approved last year.
“Safe crosswalks make our city more livable and keep our neighborhoods from being split apart by dangerous traffic,” said Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown. “With regional pressures increasing local traffic, we can’t just surrender our streets to cars and ignore seniors and children.”
McKeown added city officials and residents paid special attention to areas around schools, hospitals and other generators of pedestrian traffic to identify areas that need improvement.
Dyke said after each area was singled out, city staff figured out ways to better accommodate both foot and vehicle traffic.
“The goal of the project is to look at each corridor and find out where we need to make improvements to ensure people can cross these streets safely,” Dyke said.
Construction is scheduled to begin on the first phase of the $4.6 million plan with a new signal at the intersection of Berkeley Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. A new roundabout at the intersection of Washington Avenue and 26th Street will likely be the last project.
A plan to build traffic islands along Wilshire Boulevard will be coordinated with the current streetlight project, which aims to better control the flow of traffic on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares.
Dyke said the project was a priority for city officials because accidents involving motor vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists have the highest potential for serious injuries.
“We are very concerned about safety,” she said. “Improving the intersections is one of the best ways we can improve the overall safety of the city.”
Over the past few years the city has taken on more pedestrian safety projects, while also trying to educate residents on the safest ways to walk around town. And the Santa Monica Police Department has conducted regular stings to catch motorists who don’t stop for people in crosswalks.
The entire pedestrian improvement plan — which except for $1.6 million will be paid for with state and federal grant money — is scheduled to be completed by May 2003.
McKeown said the city has been saving up for the series of improvements, and has collected grants from CALTRANS, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and money from developers.
“The portion from the city general fund was already set aside for this work,” he said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 12, 2002. Read the original PDF.