Busy Pedestrian Crossing to Get Signal

One of the most heavily traveled pedestrian crossings in the city needs a traffic signal, the City Council decided this week.

The council voted Tuesday night to install a pedestrian-use traffic light at Walker Street and the Southern California Edison right of way strip near Byrne Drive.

The right of way is used by many joggers and others out for recreation at nearby Central Park.

The city’s advisory Traffic Safety Committee “has had this under study for the better part of six months,” City Manager Daniel E. Keen said.

Ismile H. Noorbaksh, the city’s public works director, said drivers on busy Walker Street continually face the hazard of pedestrians crossing the thoroughfare with no stop signal.

“Joggers and walkers jaywalk the street at mid-block,” he said.

Noorbaksh said a survey found extremely heavy pedestrian traffic at the right of way in the early evening hours.

The survey, conducted April 24, found 126 pedestrians crossing illegally at the Walker Street intersection between 7 and 8 p.m.

Mayor Duane Schuster said the traffic survey figures amazed him.

“Imagine 126 crossings at 7 p.m., when there are thousands of cars on Walker Street,” he said.

Adding a signal at the right of way “will go a long way to reducing the city’s liability” in the event of an accident, Councilwoman Charlene Hatakeyama said.