CITY FOCUSES ON ELDERLY PEDESTRIANS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Just two weeks after a 76-year-old woman was run down in a crosswalk and killed, officials launched a program Friday to teach the elderly how to protect themselves from the hazards of being a pedestrian in a city built for cars.

``One of the biggest causes of death in our city is not occurring from criminals; it's happening in the crosswalks of our city,'' Mayor Richard Riordan said at a City Hall news conference.

The two-year educational campaign announced by the mayor and City Council members involves a videotaped instructional program for the elderly, which the city paid for with a $150,000 state grant.

The city also is experimenting with walk signals that can sense whether the pedestrian has crossed, and engineers are conducting a study to pinpoint the worst intersections.

Pedestrian deaths and injuries are acute problems for the city's population of 500,000 senior citizens, many forced by age to quit driving.

``Each year, 400 senior citizens are injured or killed as they're crossing streets,'' Riordan said. ``We have to do something to help them take more precautions.''

Soltan Netan-Eli was walking in a marked crosswalk on Ventura Boulevard at Newcastle Avenue on Oct. 20, on her way to morning prayers at her neighborhood synagogue, when she was hit by a car that sped away from the scene.

The police investigation is continuing, officials said. Witnesses told police the traffic signal changed before Netan-Eli reached the other side of the street.

Riordan, who at age 68 noted with pride that he also is a senior citizen, said the city's new informational program will make older people more aware of the dangers of crossing streets.

``Your mother used to tell you to look both ways before crossing a street,'' he said. ``Now it's your mayor telling you to do that.''

Riordan and other officials said it is a deadly serious problem in the city, where an average of 34 percent of pedestrian fatalities are senior citizens.

``Unfortunately, this is a city that doesn't care about pedestrians,'' Councilwoman Laura Chick said. ``We have to change that so people do respect pedestrians. It is better to be five minutes late to a meeting than 50 minutes early and endangering someone.''

The city has taken a number of steps to try to protect pedestrians.

At streets near senior citizen centers, traffic signals allow extra time for pedestrians to cross. At most streets, the allotted crossing time is based on a walking speed of 4 feet per second. But near senior centers, the timing is based on 3 feet per second.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, chairman of the council's Transportation Committee, said the city is experimenting with a device that uses radar to determine when there is a pedestrian in a crosswalk and triggers a flashing yellow light to warn motorists.

Funding for 10 such signals has been included in this year's budget, and officials hope to expand it in the future.

Riordan said the videotaped program, featuring comedian Phyllis Diller, will be shown by the city's Department of Aging at about 300 presentations over the next two years.

City officials also will encourage local broadcast media to show public-service announcements to remind motorists of the importance of safe driving.

According to the National Safety Council, collisions in intersections were the leading cause of death in 1997 of pedestrians 65 or older.

In the wake of Netan-Eli's death, traffic safety experts and senior citizen advocates called for the city to adjust more crosswalk signals for senior citizens and build more median strips so slow-moving pedestrians have a place to wait between green lights.

City engineers said they understand the problem but don't have enough money or staff to conduct studies at every crosswalk. Councilman Joel Wachs called for a citywide study to identify all such problem intersections, but that study is not yet complete.

L.A. PEDESTRIAN DEATHS

People ages 65 and over are victims in about one of every three fatal incidents involving pedestrians on the streets of Los Angeles.

Year Pedestrian Deaths Seniors Percent

1993 123 37 30

1994 123 40 33

1995 102 34 33

1996 104 40 38

1997 100 35 35

SOURCE: Los Angeles Department of Transportation

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BOX: L.A. PEDESTRIAN DEATHS (see text)