LADOT Opens Westwood Crosswalks to Pedestrians

2_11_09_westwood.jpgThe People of Westwood Celebrate the Liberation of Their Crosswalk at the Corner of Glendon and Weyburn.  Photo: BikinginLA

On Monday, I re-posted a story that first appeared on the excellent blog bikinginla about a Westwood crosswalk that was posted as closed to pedestrians.  On Tuesday, I decided to do the responsible thing and actually let LADOT know about the offending signage.  To its credit, the DOT replied via email within minutes and within hours had removed the offending signage.  They were even able to tell me which crosswalk was the offending one based on the picture after I told them I wasn’t sure.

So why were the signs there in the first place?  The LADOT wasn’t 100% certain, but had a plausible explanation:

My guess is that a private contractor was installing a decorative crosswalk, placed then failed to remove their signs.

The signs are now removed and the conflicting message is gone.

Thank you for bringing this problem to LADOT’s attention.

If you see anything else weird or out of place on the street, always feel free to let me know at damien@streetsblog.org.  Maybe we’ll be able to get to the bottom of your problem as well.

  • Figured it was just a mistake. Kudos to you Damien for taking the right action. Lots of us leave comments and complain to each other and laugh about it while taking a break to websurf at work. Far fewer of us actually take action to solve the problem.

    L.A. DOT, Metro, and other agencies are not filled with fools or villains. They are filled with humans who, by and large, want to do the right thing. Mistakes and problems happen, and will continue to happen forever. Bringing the problems to the attention to those who can do something about them is the best course.

    Another example of this seems to be the Orange Line Bikeway, which you and others (including the L.A. Daily News) posted with complaints about the amount of litter, overgrowth, and homeless along the path between sepulveda and hazeltine. The Daily News today ran the story that that section has now been cleaned up. My guess is that the multiple posts and news stories on it played a real role in spurring action.

  • It’s something I struggle with from time to time. How often does the name “John Fisher” pop up in this blog? He’s one of the big bosses at LADOT and is often the front man to explain a project I don’t like, usually it involves speeding up cars. Someone that reads Streetsblog who recognizes the name would assume that I really don’t like Fisher.

    That’s not true. I barely know the guy and I’ve heard good things about how he treats people as a person from other activists that don’t agree with his policies either.

    Anyway, kudos to LADOT on this one.

  • Yay!

    Let the celebrations commence!

  • Job well done to Damien and LADOT.

  • I agree with David Galvan on this one. I posted it online because I didn’t know who to contact about something like this, and didn’t think anyone would take me seriously. Damien had the connections to get something done, and did. And to their credit, LADOT took it seriously and took action right away. Hats off to both.

  • KateNonymous

    Glendon and Weyburn, right? I recognize those apartments, which are new, luxurious, and unaffordable for anyone I know. There’s been construction along that block for a couple of years, so I figured the sign was a holdover from some period when construction kept people from crossing at that particular corner. I’m surprised anyone worried about it.

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