La Palma Wins National Award for Safety Effort

The city government is receiving a national award for its efforts to prevent pedestrian accidents.

The American Automobile Assn. has announced that La Palma is among 80 cities in the nation to be recognized for pedestrian safety in 1996.

A representative of the Automobile Club of Southern California will present the award at the City Council meeting Jan. 7.

“La Palma has been very active in pedestrian safety,” said Oscar Valencia, a district manager of the Automobile Club of Southern California. “The city has taken actions to show their citizens that they do care.”

Valencia said the city’s pedestrian-safety efforts include working to improve street signage and stoplight crossings, providing attentive care to problems and showing “a willingness to listen to the concerns of residents.”

La Palma will receive a citation and a plaque for its 1996 accomplishments, Valencia said.

“How many lives have been saved? It’s an unknown,” he said, “but because of the actions taken by La Palma, the city is safer, and the work of the city shows a commitment to ensure the safety of the community.”

Mayor Kenneth Blake was pleased. “We put a lot of effort into pedestrian safety, especially in safety efforts for our schoolchildren,” he said.

In addition to having crossing guards at the streets near schools, La Palma also uses senior-citizen volunteers to help with safety in school parking areas, Blake said.

The City Council this year studied several street crossings and voted to install new stop signals at the intersection of La Palma and Denni streets and at Walker Street and the greenbelt formed by the Edison right-of-way.

Blake said these new signals are also part of the city’s commitment to pedestrian safety.