Letter: City needs to get serious on safety

Crosswalk stings are a start, but only a Band-Aid to the overriding pedestrian issues we face.

At a community meeting last August, Deputy Director of Public Works Roubik Golanian said that the city is “mandated to provide a safe place to walk.” Unfortunately, this talk about pedestrian safety has proven to be little more than lip service.

Instead of moving ahead with a planned installation of sidewalks on Alameda Avenue, a much-needed safety measure for our neighborhood’s pedestrians, officials caved in to a few people unhappy about some tree removal.

Golanian says that the city is “confident that the condition of city property is not dangerous, and the provision of sidewalks on this street is not essential to maintain safety.”

When our city officials think it is safe to force people to walk in a busy street, how can we expect them to solve our citywide pedestrian safety issues?

Would sidewalk installation have upset a few residents? Yes. But sometimes the interest of the majority of the residents should take precedence over the vocal objections of a few. In instances of public safety, this should definitely be the case.

Until the city of Glendale gets serious about pedestrian safety, we will continue to read about people being killed by cars in our city.

Jack Messitt
Glendale