MEAN STREETS AT SCHOOLS CITY LAGS IN MAKING SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AT DANGEROUS CROSSWALKS.

Byline: BRANDON LOWREY

Staff Writer

Nearly three dozen of Los Angeles' most dangerous street crossings for schoolchildren have not yet received safety improvements even though the city has had funding for the work for years.

While 33 crossings near schools have been identified as hazardous and targeted for upgrades since 2003, only one-third have even been scheduled for work, according to transportation officials.

The backlog comes even as the city has racked up at least $3.8 million in grants for the projects under a special program aimed at boosting security for children.

"What's more important than to make sure kids have safe entrance and egress to the place our kids are going every day, five days a week?" said Robert Fellmeth, founder of the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law.

"We want to make sure they have a path to the school. It's not too much to ask."

While Department of Transportation officials charged with the work say the projects have stacked up over the years amid a staffing shortage, city officials on Friday decried the slow pace.

"Our Department of Transportation is one of the slowest, most bureaucratic departments in the city," said City Councilman Greig Smith. "I am constantly banging my head against the wall to get them to do what I want them to do."

But DOT Assistant General Manager John Fisher blamed a 2001 hiring freeze that lasted several years and said that until last year, the department only had enough staff to handle regular and routine projects.

The improvements near schools, however, fall under the Safe Routes to School program, a special project aimed at improving pedestrian routes near schools.

More staffing needed

DOT workers tried to chip away at these and other special projects by working overtime, he said.

The City Council lifted the hiring freeze in 2003, but Fisher said the department did not realize it needed more workers to accelerate projects until two years later -- when it requested extra staffing.

Early last year, the City Council approved hiring 13 more workers and Fisher said the department has begun to pick up the pace on special projects including the school-area improvements.

"They're working their way through the pipeline," he said.

It was not clear Friday whether work has begun on the 11 crossings the department has slated for improvements, said DOT spokesman Bruce Gillman.

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 municipalities fund improvements for school-area roadways that have been the site of accidents or are considered high risk.

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.

In the past eight years, Los Angeles has received more than $9 million from the program, and the city also has set aside more than $1 million for the effort.

Several projects have been completed under the program -- including tunnel lighting, curb and sidewalk fixes, and a few smart crosswalks -- although transportation department officials said Friday that they could not provide a specific number.

Fisher said that once a location is targeted for an upgrade and funding is in place, it takes about a year or two to install most traffic signals in Los Angeles.

The lengthy process includes approvals by the departments of Water and Power and Public Works. If contractors are used, the process can take even longer, he said.

But for some students and parents, the delays have been upsetting.

In 2002, Jennifer Liu was hit in the crosswalk at Kingsbury Street and Zelzah Avenue -- an intersection later marked for improvements that still have not been completed.

Then 16, the Granada Hills Charter High School student suffered severe brain damage that left her comatose for five weeks. She is still recovering.

"My friend and I used to walk across (the intersection)," the 21-year-old Liu said this week. "We'd always be scared we were going to be hit. Cars, I guess, they can't tell it's a crosswalk, so they don't really see the line.

"The fact it's taken them five years to do anything," she added, "it's kind of disappointing."

Other students at the school Friday said they're nervous about using the crosswalk.

"I don't cross alone," said Gabriel Mellibosky, a 17-year-old junior. "I always wait for a big group to cross. If I cross alone, (drivers) won't stop."

David Anderson, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, said the state has doled out $189 million in grants under the program in the past eight years.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of children," Anderson said in a statement. "Which is why Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration are reviewing the ... projects administered by local agencies to determine actions for improvement."

Doing more with less

The study is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Janelle Erickson, a spokeswoman for Villaraigosa's office, noted that Villaraigosa lifted the city's hiring freeze -- but also has asked all city departments to do more with less.

"The last two years, we've made progress on the Safe Routes to School program, but we need to do much more," she said.

City Councilman Tom LaBonge, chairman of the city's transportation committee, said he was disappointed to hear about the backlog.

"I would hope the department just hunkers down and does it," he said.

"There's a lot of good things they do, but school's right around the corner."

brandon.lowrey(at)dailynews.com

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Valley school sites pending

Upgrades on Noble Avenue, Cohasset Street, Runnymeade Street, Saticoy Street near Valerio Street Elementary School and Fulton Middle School.

Upgrades on Cohasset Street from Gloria Avenue to Densmore Avenue near Cohasset Elementary School.

Improvements on Zelzah Avenue and Kingsbury Street near Granada Hills Charter High School.

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Valley school sites pending (see text)