Los Angeles has a reputation as a dangerous place for pedestrians, but local officials are working to change that in a neighborhood known as a hotspot for car-versus-pedestrian accidents.
In Boyle Heights on Thursday, City Councilmember Kevin de León and officials from the L.A. Bureau of Engineering will unveil improvements to intersections along Olympic Boulevard.
One of the targeted intersections is Olympic and Orme Avenue, where a Los Angeles Times study of collisions between 2002 and 2013 found 10 pedestrian incidents, including one that was fatal. At nearby Olympic and Soto Street, there were 15 collisions, including one fatality.
That’s not to say the danger is limited to those specific intersections, however.
Joshua Mora, an eighth grader at Hollenbeck Middle School, lost his leg in a collision at Orme and Whittier Boulevard in March. He was in a marked crosswalk when he was struck by a motorcyclist who then fled the scene, police said.
Even before Mora’s injury, officials have been working to make Boyle Heights safer for pedestrians.
Olympic Boulevard was also the target of improvements implemented last year, according to a release from de León’s office.
“Whether you’re in Pacoima or Pacific Palisades, Wilmington or Westchester, Brentwood or Boyle Heights, you should be able to cross the street safely without worrying about getting killed,” he said in the statement.