Bill Rosendahl and City officials will meet with the Safety Committee on Wednesday 8:00 PM Feb 11 Meeting @ Rustic Canyon Park – 601 Latimer Road, Pacific Palisades, 90272 – gallery room.
City of Los Angeles
Council Member, Eleventh District
February 6, 2009
Dear Residents,
I am filled with sadness at the loss of another young life. It is hard to imagine the pain that is being felt, but I want everyone to know that my thoughts and prayers are with the young man’s family as well as the Pacific Palisades community.
As many of you know, a meeting was held this last week to address traffic safety in the Palisades Highlands; specifically, along Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard. During this meeting, many of you expressed your concerns and contributed suggestions for improving the current road conditions. My staff, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation attended the meeting in order to answer questions and gather community input.
I want to assure you that my office is working diligently to address all these concerns and consider all of your suggestions. My field staff compiled a list of proposals that were made during Monday’s meeting.
To move proactively on your suggestions, I will moderate a community meeting at 8:00 P.M. next Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at Rustic Canyon Recreation Center. The focus of the meeting will be to discuss these ideas and receive feedback from varios City departments. The objective will be to identify actionable items, both short and long term.
Our aim is to prevent future tragedies. I hope we can continue to work together to develop creative solutions for the benefit of our entire community.
Once again, thank you for contacting my office. We look forward to working with all of you.
Sincerely,
Bill Rosendahl
Councilmember, 11th District
Download PDF of Bill Rosendahl’s Letter
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDkd_x7JWQM&[/youtube]
Community Leader Paul Glasgall admits that in 1981 he spun his Porsche 360 on the same corner that claimed Nick Rosser.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEoZ7H5kzHA[/youtube]
Hamid Sandoghar, of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation rambles on, at the February 2nd meeting, with few answers for the Westside Community, but implicates that environmentalists have blocked improvements to the highway safety concerns.
Teen’s Death Prompts A Community Outcry – Palisades Post – February 5, 2009
Nicholas Rosser, 18; Multi-Talented Youth – Palisades Post – February 5, 2009
by Peter Duke – It seems that everyone agrees that Palisades Drive is dangerous, in that it is fatally unsafe for automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians. Issues become clouded as individuals clamor to foist solutions based on their their own perception of what the problem is that needs to be solved.
I posit that the problem is not speeding, teenagers, or reckless disregard, the problem is, that for whatever reason, the Design of Palisades Drive is fatally flawed. Without going into it’s history, it’s a Class II Highway, that connects an isolated neighborhood to the rest of the community. To add (bureaucratic) complication it runs through a state park, that touches many different jurisdictions.
Delivering a laundry list of potential solutions to elected officials will not, necessarily, have the desired result. e.g. If we put in solar-powered speed signs, and someone get’s killed again, then the bureaucrats and the elected officials can say “we did what you asked”.
Instead we need to make a simple request, that the Department of Transportation re-engineer Palisades Drive with the main success criteria being that safe passage for autos, pedestrians and cyclists be given the highest priority. The success criteria need to be no more fatalities or injuries (except in some extraordinary case).
Education and Enforcement are supports for for Engineering, not a replacement. Education and Enforcement can be brought online as quick tactical fixes, the the real solution is to get the LADOT to do some substantive work.
A tool that I use for defining a creative project is a Positioning Statement. While its form seems more suited to a product, I believe that the value here is in focusing our message to the councilman’s office.
Here’s the formula:
For [audience], [our product’s name] is a [category in which our product competes] that provides [the major benefit of our product] unlike [our major competitor’s product].
Here’s my first whack:
For [District 11 residents], [Palisades Drive] is a [thoroughfare] that provides [safe access to the Highlands for automobiles, pedestrians and cyclists] unlike [the current class 2 highway].
PCHS Community,
A member of our school community, Nick Rosser (Class of ’09), has died. Nick was involved in an automobile accident on Saturday. The school has been in contact with the family regarding funeral arrangements and will be provided that information, once plans are finalized. The school crisis team is available to support students, faculty and staff who may have difficulty dealing with this tragic loss. Students who may need to speak to someone are encouraged to contact their counselor, our school psychologist, Bella McGowan, or an administrator.
May Nick rest in peace and may his family and friends find strength, during this difficult time through the support of friends and family and the solace of their personal faith beliefs.
Martin Griffin
Martin D. Griffin
Principal
Palisades Charter High School
15777 Bowdoin Street
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Phone: (310) 230-6649
Fax: (310) 454-6076
Email: mgriffin@palihigh.org
Web Page: www.palihigh.org
Palisades Drive and Sunset Drive Safety Issues
The emergency meeting at Rustic Canyon Park was attended by over 100 community members as well as Jessica Avalos and Jim Horwitz of Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s office, Hinel Sandiger (sp?) of the LA Department of Transportation and Commander West and Officer Ragsdale of the LAPD. Approximately every 6 months, someone dies in a traffic accident on Palisades Drive, Sunset or PCH. We do not want to wait for years and years as the various governmental entities prepare more studies. The time for action is now, and we need both interim solutions and long-term solutions to address these problems.
The community meeting recognized that while this meeting was the result of a fatality involved a teenage driver, there must be solutions that respond both to teenage drivers as well as adult drivers because the speeding issues are not isolated to the teenagers. Some suggestions, however, do address this group specifically Steve Henry asked everyone to sign the letter to Councilman Rosendahl and Mayor Villaraigosa or to send a letter of their own. The letter was circulated among those in attendance and had previously been sent by email. Officer Ragsdale said the police look at traffic problems in three areas: Engineering, education and enforcement. The community will be organizing committees based on these three areas. This memo lists a number of the suggestions made at the meeting under these categories.
We are forming subcommittees to work with the Palisades Community Council, and hopefully the LAPD, LA Department of Transportation and the Councilman’s office to achieve safer roads for everyone. While the meeting focused primarily on Palisades Drive, the speeding issues must address the enormous problems on Sunset Drive as well.
Quite simply, speed kills.
ENGINEERING for Palisades Drive
- Construct a concrete barrier between the two sides of Palisades Drive
- Add stop signs to Palisades Drive
- Construct a median island between the two directions of traffic on Palisades Drive
- Change the timing on the signal so drivers actually have to stop or slow down
- On a regular basis, modify the timing of the signal so the neighbors can’t manipulate the system as easily
- Obtain copies of all the engineering and traffic studies prepared by the DOT for our area
- Add lights to Palisades Drive
- Review ideas proposed in chapter 16 of Traffic Safety by Leonard Evans.
- Restripe the lanes on Palisades Drive
- Add speed bumps to Palisades Drive
EDUCATION
- The majority of the violators live in the neighborhood. Develop a program so there is a sense of responsibility among the neighbors who drive the road.
- Create a Neighborhood Watch group who, among other things, would write down the license numbers and model types of cars that are speeding. (Maybe list them regularly in the Palisades Post). Send letters to offenders.
- •Put up signs and markers about safe driving
- •Start a PR campaign. A representative of the YMCA agreed to chair this sub-committee.
- Work with the schools to run a program in the high schools, including Palisades High. A representative of Palisades High’s counseling office was present and agreed to be on the Education sub-committee.
- Have the high schoolers be on the side of the road with signs or reminders
- Have the teenage friends of Nick Rosser work with other kids to stop the racing
ENFORCEMENT
- Use solar-powered reminder signs indicating current speed
- Have the police be located at different spots so they will actually catch more speeders
- Install a red light camera at the intersection, similar to the one in Temescal Park
- Increase the number of police in the area. Captain West, however, advised us that his division covers 65 square miles and he has lost 25 officers because we have lower crime rates in our area.
- Hire private off-duty cops for additional enforcement. This must be approved by Chief Bratton
- Have a DOT survey so the police can use radar on Palisades Drive
OTHER ACTIONS
- Talk to Fran Pavley about introducing legislation similar to Arizona so cameras can be installed to ticket speeders on the road.
From Document Request:
LADOT’s Traffic Records Section offers documents so the public can review its transportation projects in great detail. In full compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, the Department of Transportation provides copies of its documents upon request.
Requestors should expect to pay a reasonable fee to cover the cost of printing document copies. Document requests forms can be downloaded in PDF form and submitted by fax or mail to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
Requests will be closed and returned to the requested or if a payment for copying services is not received within 45 days of the date of the original request.
Please be advised that there is a four-month delay in entering data into the Department’s records computer. Therefore, please do not request information that is less than four months old.
The Traffic Records Section routinely assists constituents in obtaining a number of frequently requested public documents.
History of Signal Maintenance Report
This report shows the maintenance or service history of traffic signals at a particular location. Allow three to six weeks to obtain this report.
Signal Timing Chart
The Signal Timing Chart shows how the timing of a particular signal is set. The chart shows the sequence of applicable traffic signal displays, such as red, yellow, green, pedestrian walk, “don’t walk” and left or right turn arrows. This report is available within 10 business days of receipt of the request.
Signal Plan Map
This intersection map shows the location of signals at an intersection. It is printed on large format – 17 by 20 inch paper. It is usually available within three weeks of receipt of the request.
Sign Maintenance History Report
This is a dual report that combines the Sign Record and Sign Work Order Record into a document that shows all signs types. It organizes the signs by type, size, location, date installed, maintenance dates, replacement dates, work done and work order numbers. No information is available for years after 2000.
Stop Sign Map
This map shows the condition of a stop sign and its latest inspection date. Allow three weeks for processing.
Geometric Plan Map
This map shows the pavement markings at an intersection. It shows crosswalks, lane markings, left turn lane markings and the dimensions of the street. Maps may not be available for all intersections. Allow about three weeks for processing.
Work Orders
Records for work orders can be requested for signs, signals, mark-outs, paint and more.
Speed Survey
This study of advisory speed limits is available for routed streets. Requests for this type of document should specify a specific location, such as along Main Street from 1st to 9th Streets.
Traffic Signal Symbols
This chart shows the various map symbols used to designate the different types of traffic signals. It consists of four pages.
