Comments on: LADOT, USC Plan Changes for Crosswalk at Jefferson and Hoover

By: Nurse Riverboat

Nurse Riverboat — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:21:04 +0000

WHY do people always look to blame the crosswalk??? The Crosswalk didn’t mow down those two unfortunate USC students!!!! Why must people blame the inanimate variable??
Two monsters hit those late-night students and then they ran off into the black darkness of night, thinking that they got away with something.
Do they harbor feelings of hatred against privileged members of society who can afford to attend the prestigous USC? Was this a hate crime?
I saw that incredibly FAT bastard of a miserable man, Jose Luna on TV today, who has the gut-busting gall to find excuses for the murders he committed. His idiot baby mama rots in jail, thank GOD she can’t screw him and make more babies during her incarceration.
People of LA should be outraged at these monsters.
Jose Luna will take his huge ass and flee the country as soon as he possibly can. I hear the police are tracking his every move, which is very easy to do with any 300 pound person. He moves slow and doesn’t think at all.
I say he should swing from the gallows along with that idiot baby mama of his. But he’s going to flee to Mexico – watch and see.
Our judicial system encourages stupid people to do incredible feats of stupidity.
But I would never stoop so low as to pin the blame on a crosswalk!!!

By: Damien Newton

Damien Newton — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:50:54 +0000

I’m really confused here…is there something in the text that implies I think the two people hit are at all to blame? I would think if there was something that even raised a question as to who I thought was to blame it would be pretty clear in that last paragraph. Ya know, the one where I call the driver “deranged” and “uncaring”?

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:39:24 +0000

The victims are absolutely not to blame. The author of this article and the conspiracy theorist commenters should be a little more sensitive when planning issues concern human life. This wound is still very fresh here at USC.

By: Umberto Brayj

Umberto Brayj — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:48:28 +0000

You might think that light rail will slow down cars, but the MTA is actually forced to try and keep car speeds the same, or faster, with each light rail project. They don’t always achieve this, but that is the thrust of their road work around train stations in L.A.

Also, the train stop is going to be a long walk from this intersection, on the other side of campus.

By: jass

jass — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:39:03 +0000

Im not familiar with the area, is that where the new light rail is going in? That might slow down cars.

Also, why does LA us only two line to mark a crosswalk and not a bunch of parallel white lines all the way across which are much more visible?

By: Umberto Brayj

Umberto Brayj — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:38:49 +0000

The over-pass/under-pass idea is stupid – but the level of funding and civin involvement in this issue is spot on with that suggestion.

What would be more effective at this intersection? How about putting the street on a road diet for automobile trips. Start as far down both boulevards as will make a difference and throttle down auto speeds and volume by lane width reductions and other right of way designs.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:55:22 +0000

You need to look at the whole picture, not just the intersection. Traffic on Jefferson goes to0 fast. I drive down that street everyday to USC. Before you get to Vermont, there is a school zone and a crosswalk. I was literally run off the road one morning for doing 25 mph in a 25 mph zone. Just east of Vermont, traffic tends to back up at the parking structures. Cars whiz by, changing lanes and cutting off other drivers. Actually, there is too much fast traffic on Figueroa, Exposition, and Vermont, too. With the large number of pedestrians, there should be a mall or car-free zone around the campus.

By: Andi

Andi — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:25:04 +0000

Blaming the victim does nobody any good. These students were certainly not to blame, they were using the crosswalk at the designated time and did not deserve what they got.

By: Ted

Ted — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:42:46 +0000

The intersection did not cause the tragedy, but city is still responsible.

Sanctuary-city policies and pro-gang, pro-poverty forces dominate City Hall as well as USC. The Greek system, sadly, still promotes pro-DUI, despite their protestations.

And in the end, the unfortunate couple are to blame as well – pedestrians must ALWAYS be vigilant, especially at 3 AM. Mom, of course, would say “nothing good happens after midnite”, but that concept will always be lost on college students.

I’ve seen too many killed on the streets of USC, as well as greater LA. Crosswalks, signals, crossing guards, etc, are just feel-good measures.

Unless we’re willing to truly enforce existing laws against unlicensed/uninsured, hit-n-run, and DUI drivers, and unless we’re willing to raise the bar for licensing, no amount of after-the-fact “safety” measures will make a dent (ahem) in the body count.