Re “Not Much Is Easy or Clear About the ‘Safe Routes’ Scheme”
To Mayor O'Leary, Vice-Mayor Malsin, Councilmember Armenta, Councilmember Weissman and Councilmember Cooper:
I am extremely disappointed with the recent turn of events regarding Culver City's “Safe Routes to School” grant proposal.
I have been in contact with the City Council, CCUSD School Board and CCPD Chief Don Pedersen for many years regarding traffic issues on my own block and the CCUSD Quad-campus area in general.
The application for the “Safe Routes to School” grant, under the direction of Traffic Engineering Manager Gabe Garcia, seemed a viable alternative to my never-ending requests for effective, meaningful enforcement of traffic regulations in the CCUSD Quad-campus.
If CCPD couldn't be given the resources and mandate to make the Quad-campus neighborhoods safer, then physically changing the environment to reduce the risks from irresponsible drivers was a reasonable option for me to become involved in.
Now as Mr. Garcia goes back to the residential stakeholders and our community at large for more input and commitment about acceptable changes to reduce the traffic safety problems in the CCUSD Quad-campus neighborhoods, I would ask that the Council implement a reduction in the speed limits around those schools from 25 mph to 15 mph under Assembly Bill 321. I would remind you of some of the reasons I have become committed to obtaining traffic safety changes in my neighborhood:
I was not thinking the September 2009 morning I awoke to find my street filled with emergency equipment responding to the pedestrian vs. vehicle accident that injured School Board President Scott Zeidman's son or I would have that footage to join this from January of 2011.
I would ask your support in finally solving the traffic safety issues in the CCUSD Quad-campus neighborhoods specifically, and Culver City in general.
Excerpt from http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/state/network/california:
“AB 321 – Helps reduce school zone traffic speeds On January 1, 2008, a new law took effect that will help bring down traffic speeds in school zones. This law, authored by Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), enables local government to extend school zones to 1000 feet and reduce the speed limit within 500 feet of a school site to 15 mph at schools that are located in residential areas, or on highways with a speed limit of 30 mph or less.
“At 15 mph, most pedestrians will survive a crash, often sustaining only minor injuries. Yet minor increases in impact speed have a profound effect on crash severity. At 20 mph, most pedestrian crashes result in serious injury, and almost half are fatal. At 40 mph, 90 percent of crashes are fatal. Reducing traffic speeds will enable more children to walk or bike to school safely.
This law is voluntary. In order to benefit from it, parents and school administrators need to go to their city councils, or boards of supervisors, if living outside city limits, and ask them to enact this law at qualifying schools.”
Mr. Heyl, a Culver City resident since 1973, may be contacted at john_heyl@sbcglobal.net
