This is a scene all too common in many parts of Los Angeles, where traffic lights cost tens of thousands of dollars to maintain. A car frequently slams into a stop sign or that quick red light at the intersection of 6th Street and Glenoaks Boulevard, with the two vehicles barely tangling.
But the culprit at this intersection isn’t the nearby car or the semi-truck that just crossed the street. This accident has seen a stifling accumulation of yellow construction vehicles of different shapes and sizes, blocking the intersection as they work on new construction.
This photo above was taken on a Saturday afternoon earlier this summer. It was one of a number of photos sent in to Streetsblog LA by readers, highlighting what has become a vexing issue in certain parts of the city. In this photo, the apparent culprit isn’t a vehicle, rather, a metal structure that has been extended to obscure the pedestrian signal.
Many of the businesses in the area have indeed asked the City of Los Angeles to do something, including the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Transportation, the Department of General Services, the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, and the City Council. And the City Council is working to remedy the issue. Unfortunately, the construction continues.
According to a department spokesman, the City is committed to upgrading traffic signals to grant faster, more reliable service to drivers and pedestrians. “A five-week timeline for single signal upgrades is a max goal we have,” said Ester Delgado, a DOT spokeswoman.
Delgado added that the department remains committed to expanding accessible signals and ensuring pedestrian signals can coexist with major road construction at all times.
Councilman Gil Cedillo, who represents that part of Los Angeles, has asked the DOT to find a way to make the intersection safer, an immediate goal with the construction. Cedillo is also working with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 29 to turn the sensors on the new stop signs into activated signals that can force motorists to drive straight through the intersection. In the meantime, council members have asked the City to look into other suggestions to make it safer.
