DANGEROUS CROSSINGS FOR CHILDREN GET A BIT SAFER TRAFFIC: IMPROVEMENTS ADDED OVER PAST SIX MONTHS.

Byline: Brandon Lowrey

Staff Writer

The city has added 15 safety improvements in the past six months to some of Los Angeles' most dangerous street crossings for schoolchildren after hiring more construction crews to clear years of backlog.

Department of Transportation officials said 16 more pedestrian-safety projects around schools will be completed by the end of June, thanks to the new crews.

"It's given us a real shot in the arm," department spokesman Bruce Gillman said.

In all, 33 intersections near schools have been identified since 2003 as hazardous and targeted for upgrades under the Safe Routes to School program -- some with multiple improvements. But until the crews were hired over the summer, most of the plans languished for lack of manpower even as the city had racked up millions of dollars in state and federal grants.

Several San Fernando Valley intersections have been targeted, including Zelzah Avenue and Kingsbury Street near Granada Hills Charter High School. In 2002, a 16-year-old student was hit in the crosswalk at the intersection. She suffered severe brain damage that left her comatose for five weeks.

Gillman said improvements at the crossing will begin in the next week or so.

The extra staff also will finish other pedestrian improvements once the school projects are complete, said Zaki Mustafa, the department's principal transportation engineer of field operations.

The progress comes after the Daily News found in July that just one-third of the projects had been scheduled for construction years after the city had received at least $3.8 million.

Los Angeles City Council members who had criticized the transportation department now welcome the progress.

"It's fabulous," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who heads the city's transportation committee. "We have a lot more to do, but I think we have made some good progress and demonstrated there is a commitment there to provide safe routes to school in our communities."

California began participating in the federal government's Safe Routes to School program in 1999 after then-state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa co-authored legislation.

The program helps local governments fund improvements for school-area roadways that have been the site of accidents or are considered high-risk.

Since its inception, Los Angeles has received more than $9 million under the program and set aside $1 million of its own.

Improvements can include everything from signs and "smart" crosswalks that use flashing yellow beacons to get motorists to yield, to lighted crosswalks and traffic signals.

The Safe Routes to School projects are expected to continue into 2010.

By June 2009, the agency plans to install 17 pedestrian-warning devices, 18 speed-feedback signs and a new set of traffic signals. Five more pedestrian-warning signals would be completed in the program's last funded year.

The turnaround pleased Councilman Tom LaBonge, who sits on the transportation committee.

"I'm so disappointed they missed the boat," LaBonge said. But "I'm glad they have proceeded."

brandon.lowrey(at)dailynews.com

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