by David Mendez, Easy Reader News
Long considered one of the city’s main arterial roadways, residents and city staff are taking a tighter look at Prospect Avenue with the aim of making the street safer throughout Redondo Beach.
Beach Cities Health District’s Streets for All campaign takes its building blocks from the Walking School Bus program, which has rolled throughout Beach Cities schools since its 2010 introduction.
But a recent audit of the program showed that students at schools along Prospect Avenue have been wary to join. Six Redondo schools, as well as Hermosa View Elementary, are within spitting distance of Prospect.
“Part of the reason kinds weren’t walking, and were getting driven to school, is because they’ve been afraid to cross Prospect,” said Lauren Nakano, BCHD Blue Zones program director.
Between 2011 and 2013, there were 64 vehicle collisions that involved pedestrians or cyclists near Redondo Beach schools, many of which took place along Prospect. It’s a prominent sore spot in a city that’s worked to create safer streets since adopting a Living Streets policy in 2013 in order to encourage safe multi-modal transportation.
“We have a nexus of people who want to create safe streets for all, for people who want to bike, to roll and to walk,” Nakano said. “But there’s a lot of education that needs to be done for residents and decision makers about what it takes to make streets safe.”
The mission of Streets for All is to educate the public on creating safe roadways for all, encouraging pedestrians to use crosswalks and wait for signals, cyclists to stop at stop signs and ride in the direction of traffic, and motorists to slow down and watch for people.
“We want to create safe spaces where everyone regardless of age, ability or transportation mode, is safe — and that goes for older adults, too,” said BCHD spokesman Eric Garner.
As part of their efforts, BCHD is organizing a Streets for All walking blitz on Oct. 1, where volunteers will be distributing lawn signs and campaign materials to residents in school zones all along Prospect Avenue.
The campaign comes at a fortuitous time, as Redondo’s Public Works Commission recently gave direction to the city staff regarding roadway modifications to Prospect Avenue between Pacific Coast Highway in the south, and Anita Street in the north. That stretch of road serves between 7,600 and 18,200 vehicles daily, according to city staff reports.
Staff data shows that there have been 114 car crashes between 2013 and 2015 on Prospect Avenue. Most collisions occurred at Prospect’s intersections with Beryl Street, Torrance Boulevard and Del Amo Street.
At the commission’s Aug. 28 meeting, staff recommended that the City construct curb bulb-outs at intersections without stop signs or traffic lights; install radar speed feedback signs and rotate them along Prospect Ave.; create a synchronized traffic signal system along Prospect for more efficient traffic flow; modify signal timing to increase clearance times; and make improvements along the pavement and crosswalks all along Prospect.
One significant measure was left off the list. A so-called “road diet” would have radically redesigned Prospect Avenue, reducing it to three lanes between PCH and Anita — two north-south travel lanes, a center turning lane, and cycle lanes in either direction.
“When we looked at crash reports, it was pretty significant,” said Public Safety Commissioner Jim Hannon. “There was a history of substantial crashes and people injured, and from a cycling and walking standpoint, it’s one of the high-risk areas in Redondo. To redesign it would’ve been huge.”
However, staff pulled discussions of the road diet off of the night’s agenda.
“There were concerns to residents,” said Public Works Director Ted Semaan. “We felt it was best to work it through with them before bringing it back before the commission.” There is no prospective date on when the “road diet” and its proposed changes would be brought back.
Recommendations for the Prospect Avenue alterations are to come before City Council, though a hearing has not yet been scheduled, Semaan said.
For more information on the Streets for All campaign, including how to volunteer, visit bchd.org/streetsforall. ER
Photo by David Mendez - Weekday afternoon traffic on Prospect Avenue. Though figures can vary by day, Prospect serves between 7,600 and 18,200 vehicles daily.
To view full Easy Reader News article, click here.
