Pushing for More Speed Humps

Concerned about injuries to schoolchildren, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to ask educators at 75 elementary and middle schools to support speed humps on adjacent streets in an attempt to enhance safety.

The program was proposed by Councilman Hal Bernson of Granada Hills, who said dangers need to be addressed quickly.

Bernson cited a July 6 accident in which a mother and her 3-year-old child were seriously injured when they were hit by a car next to Pacoima Elementary School. In November, a crossing guard was killed when he was struck by a motorist in front of Lankershim Elementary School in North Hollywood.

The schools to be surveyed would be selected--five in each of the 15 council districts--based on a priority list to be requested from the Los Angeles Unified School District pinpointing problem areas.

A recent accident near a Hollywood school convinced Councilman Eric Garcetti that something needs to be done.

“In the 13th District, we have had a number of accidents with children getting hit, usually by other parents who are dropping their kids off,” Garcetti said.

Speed humps rise about 3 inches above the street and stretch for up to 12 feet, providing a physical incentive for motorists to slow down to less than 25 mph or risk damage to their vehicles.

There are now more than 400 speed humps on city streets, but because of growing demand, the city has already begun a program to install about 235 more in the next 18 months.

It costs about $4,500 per block to install the humps and several council members noted there is no additional money budgeted to fund the program.

Bernson said L.A. Unified officials have not responded in the past to requests to discuss safety measures, so the city should circumvent the district’s downtown bureaucracy and work directly with individual schools.

Added Garcetti: “The lack of communication that has gone on between the school district and the City Council is really something of utmost concern to many of us.”

School district officials said Tuesday that they have requested speed humps in about 12 cases, and have supported neighborhood applications in many more. District officials said they would welcome an expanded program proposed by the city.

“It reminds motorists what the appropriate speed should be,” said Joe Nardulli, the district’s coordinator of school traffic and safety education. He denied that the schools and city have not worked well together, at least on traffic safety issues.