Sawhorses Stay Up as Decision on New Anti-Drug Barriers Is Delayed

Los Angeles city officials and residents of a barricaded Sepulveda neighborhood are going back to the drawing board to search for street barriers that will keep out drug traffic, pose no threat in accidents and still not be eyesores.

The neighborhood has been temporarily barricaded with wooden sawhorses since November in a police plan to eliminate widespread drug dealing, but residents dislike the sawhorses and permanent barriers are needed.

Councilman Joel Wachs proposed 3 1/2-foot-tall, cement-filled posts, but city engineers worry that these may be unsafe in the event of traffic accidents and could lead to liability problems.

“We have a concern for public safety,” said Ralph Kennedy, deputy city engineer. “The cement poles are absolutely rigid. Hitting one of them is like hitting a wall. We are looking at some alternatives that are less rigid, something that will stop people but not hurt them.”

The city Board of Public Works granted engineers and street maintenance officials a week to study the options. Kennedy said the staff is looking at railings similar to those along freeways or chains that could be strung across the street.

“We haven’t ruled out the cement-filled posts, but we want to make sure they are the best way to go,” Kennedy said.

Wachs, police officials and owners of apartment buildings in the neighborhood proposed the posts after public works officials rejected their first request for large concrete planters. Officials said the planters would be too costly to buy and maintain and also would create liability risk.

Community residents and Wachs are eager to replace the sawhorse barriers, which they say are unsightly.

The wooden barricades, some of which have been set on fire or destroyed by vandals, were installed around a 12-square block area to prevent drug buyers in cars from reaching curbside dealers. The area is bounded by Nordhoff Street, Burnett Avenue, Parthenia Place and Sepulveda Boulevard.

The City Council is expected to give approval today to expansion of the area to an adjacent 12-block neighborhood where barricades were erected last week. The new area is bounded by Nordhoff, Parthenia, Orion Avenue and Langdon Avenue.

Despite the inconvenience of having only one neighborhood entrance and exit, many residents have voiced support for permanent street barricades. The barriers have been effective in curtailing drug dealing, police said. A coalition of apartment building owners in the area promised to pay for the improved barricades, which are expected to cost about $5,000.

The new dividers will be in place indefinitely, perhaps as long as a year, Capt. Jim Whitley of the Police Department said Monday.

“We know that barricades do not stop the drug problem,” Whitley said. “But they save one area from being dragged deeper and deeper into drug trafficking.”

A spokesman for Wachs said the councilman was surprised by the Public Works Department’s reluctance to install the cement posts, which were approved by fire and police officials. The proposal called for two of the eight-inch diameter poles to be removable to allow passage of emergency equipment.

“Time is of the essence here because of the negative connotation of the sawhorses,” said Richard Kunz, a Wachs aide. Residents told Wachs’ office that the cement posts were acceptable, Kunz said.