West Hollywood Receives $79,000 Grant for Pedestrian, Bicycle Safety Programs

West Hollywood, which has the highest number of pedestrian traffic accidents per capita statewide, has received a $79,000 grant from the state to expand pedestrian and bicycle safety efforts in the city.

City officials said the grant--federal money distributed by the state’s office of traffic safety--will help them reach the elderly Russian immigrants on the eastside of West Hollywood.

In 1995, there were 77 accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians, including the deaths of six Russian immigrants, said Eugene Alper, West Hollywood’s Russian outreach worker. Most of the accidents, which were often caused by jaywalking, took place along Santa Monica Boulevard and on Fountain Avenue, heavily populated streets with many shops and grocery stores used by Russian immigrants.

“Most are elderly Russian people, and sometimes they consider local rules the same as those in Russia,” Alper said. “In Russia, it’s not so much about rules, but survival. Here, the traffic is much more ordered--here you don’t have to risk your life every time you want to cross the street.”

But many immigrants are still dodging traffic and crossing at red lights if they don’t see any cars, Alper said.

West Hollywood’s Public Safety Division will use some of the grant money to launch a multilingual campaign about traffic safety, including public service announcements that will run on the local Russian television and radio stations.

City staff members will write articles about pedestrian safety for the Russian-language newspapers and put out a public safety newsletter in Russian. Large billboards on Santa Monica Boulevard will announce safety tips for residents in Russian and English.

West Hollywood sheriff’s deputies will hold at least eight public safety seminars in Plummer Park and at local subsidized housing complexes next year.

Deputy Bruce Thomas of the West Hollywood sheriff’s station said deputies have been going to gyms and gathering places on the eastside of the city trying to educate people on the risks of jaywalking.

“What people don’t understand is that cars come out of nowhere sometimes, and a 4,000-pound car can’t stop on a dime,” Thomas said.

In addition, grant money will be used to distribute 500 low-cost bicycle helmets to local children at schools and parks.

Under the goals of the grant, West Hollywood must reduce pedestrian accidents by at least 10% next year.