L.A. Officials Move to Improve 19 Most Risky Intersections

Amid concerns about an increase in traffic accidents, Los Angeles officials proposed Friday to fix 19 of the most dangerous intersections in the city.

From Northridge to the Mid-City area, cars collide with alarming frequency at these bad intersections. The corner of Adams Boulevard and La Brea Avenue in Mid-City is the worst in the city, with 28 crashes in one year.

Highland Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood ranked No. 2 with 24 wrecks, followed by Parthenia Street and Reseda Boulevard in Northridge with 22.

“Every time you turn the ignition and start your car in this city, you are putting your life and safety at risk,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, whose West Valley district is home to some of the worst intersections. “We have too many people being injured and killed in accidents.”

The focus on dangerous intersections stems from concerns over a 4% increase in accidents from 1997 to 1999, reversing an earlier downward trend.

In December, the council directed planners to identify the intersections with the most accidents and then propose ways to make them safer.

The report, released Friday, suggests specific projects for 39 intersections showing patterns of problems, including the 19 most accident-prone intersections, all with 15 or more crashes from August 1998 through July 1999.

Fixes range from installing left-turn signals and adjusting the timing of traffic lights to trimming trees and re-striping crosswalks and installing signs. Some of the intersections are being considered for cameras that photograph motorists who run red lights.

Councilman Hal Bernson welcomed the plan but also said the Los Angeles Police Department has to increase ticket writing to reduce accidents.

Bernson’s district includes the Parthenia-Reseda intersection.

“I am very concerned because people do not obey traffic laws anymore. We are just not enforcing those laws like we should,” Bernson said.

Walter Prince, who has a business nearby, said there are some things the city can do to improve safety at the corner.

“The lights are too short and they ought to put in left-turn signals,” Prince said.

John Fisher of the city Transportation Department said all the intersections have heavy traffic. Although Fisher said there are other intersections with higher accident rates in proportion to the number of cars, council members asked his agency to focus on where the most accidents are occurring.

For the Mid-City intersection, proposals include removing a portion of a raised median island, realigning the left-turn pockets, and increasing the time that all signals stay red between signal changes.

Councilman Nate Holden suggested that the city also consider stationing a traffic control officer in the intersection during peak times.

“I go home that way every day,” Holden said. “I have seen an accident there periodically. It is heavily congested. It’s right by the freeway.”

For the Hollywood and Valley intersections, Fisher proposed installing protected left-turn signals. The Parthenia-Reseda intersection in the Valley will also get right-turn signals on the eastbound approach and more red curbs leading up on the eastbound approach.

Officers are aggressively enforcing traffic laws, but engineering fixes can often do a lot to reduce wrecks, according to LAPD Sgt. Bob Rieboldt.

“If you have engineering improvements so the flow of traffic is more perfect, you can cut down on the number of accidents,” Rieboldt said.

Fisher said installing turn signals is labor intensive and there is a three-year backlog in designing and constructing new signals.

“It’s going to mean a couple of years of work for our crews to get to all of these,” Fisher said.

The Transportation Department is looking at ways to expedite the projects identified in the new report. Holden and Chick said they will insist on it.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Dangerous Intersections

Eight intersections in the Valley had 15 or more accidents each in the period from Aug. 1, 1998, to July 31, 1999.

*--*

INTERSECTION NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS 1. Parthenia St. and Reseda Blvd. 22 2. Canoga Ave. and Roscoe Blvd. 18 3. Reseda Blvd. and Sherman Way 17 4. Sherman Way and Winnetka Ave. 17 5. Van Nuys Blvd. and Victory Blvd. 17 6. Canoga Ave. and Victory Blvd. 16 7. Coldwater Cyn. Ave. and Sherman Way 15 8. Roscoe Blvd. and Winnetka Ave. 15

*--*

Source: City of Los Angeles