Compton is turning to small, yellow dots in the city’s effort to stop dangerous “street takeover” events, which have plagued the city for years.
The first “Botts’ Dots,” which are most commonly used as lane markers, were recently installed at several Compton intersections including Santa Fe Avenue and Compton Boulevard, and Wilmington Avenue and Caldwell Street.
Botts’s Dots are round, raised pavement markers that are named after Elbert Dysart Botts, a Caltrans engineer who oversaw research that led to their creation.
City officials say the dots are designed to make the road too bumpy for drivers to do donuts and “burn rubber” – two activities inherent to street takeovers.
“This has been going on for quite a while,” Compton Mayor Emma Sharif told KTLA. Tuesday. “It’s just getting worse…to the point now where it’s become a safety issue for this whole community.”
In recent months, several people have been injured in crashes and killed in shootings at street takeovers throughout Los Angeles and elsewhere. They often lead to other criminal activity, such as the looting of a 7-Eleven in Harbor Gateway early Monday morning.
Mayor Sharif says the Botts’ Dots pilot program has cost the city $4,000 for three intersections thus far, and the early results are encouraging. If they prove successful in preventing street takeovers, Compton city officials plan to expand them to additional intersections.
“Before y’all get on the posts asking/demanding we put them in your suggested intersections…we have already identified the intersections MOST used,” Compton councilmember Andre Spicer posted on Instagram. “IF they are as effective as we hope they are, THEN we will explore placing them in other intersections.”