There’s a fight happening between residents and activists in West Los Angeles and the city over crosswalks.
City crews recently removed unauthorized crosswalks around Stoner Park. The crosswalks, painted by local residents led by Jonathan Hale, were part of a grassroots effort to enhance pedestrian safety in the busy area. Hale, a Sawtelle resident, initiated the project in late May, hoping to prevent accidents before the park’s summer camp season. “It’s just a busy area and I didn’t want to wait for somebody to get injured or killed before we did something,” Hale told LAist.
The group used traffic-grade paint to create the crosswalks over two weekends. Residents believed the markings improved safety, especially for children and families crossing intersections near the park. However, the city removed the crosswalks after a neighborhood newspaper reported on the project. “If the city wants to spend money getting rid of our crosswalks during a budget crisis, we’ll just paint them again,” Hale told the Westside Current. It’s not clear how much it cost the city to remove them.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation stated that no official requests for crosswalks were submitted for the area. Despite this, Hale remains undeterred and plans to continue advocating for pedestrian safety. He has submitted a formal request through the MyLA311 system and is encouraging others to do the same. “This was never about paint,” Hale said. “It was about protecting people. And we’re not giving up,” he told NBC Los Angeles.
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