The streets round Stoner Park in Sawtelle are sometimes full of households on their option to the park, close by day care and surrounding colleges. Jonathan Hale, a neighborhood resident, believed the realm was missing a key security characteristic: designated crosswalks.
Hale lately took it upon himself to make a repair that he believed the town had neglected when he bought about $200 price of paint and recruited neighbors to color crosswalks across the park over a number of weekends.
It’s not the primary time Angelenos have taken issues into their very own arms to attempt to enhance avenue security by portray crosswalks at harmful intersections. Many get pissed off by how lengthy it takes for the town to reply to requests via 311 and simply do the job themselves. Generally the town removes the paint stripes; typically it strikes to make them everlasting.
In Sawtelle, Los Angeles’ Division of Transportation eliminated the unsanctioned DIY venture about two months after the primary stripe was painted, prompting an outcry amongst group members.
Town added everlasting crosswalks round Stoner Park after residents’ DIY efforts had been eliminated.
The Transportation Division mentioned crosswalks wanted to adjust to accessibility necessities earlier than everlasting set up. Then final week, the mayor’s workplace introduced that the crosswalks could be painted in any case — earlier than curb ramps and sidewalk enhancements had been made.
“Stoner Park is a key group anchor — a spot the place neighbors collect, youngsters play, and native occasions convey individuals collectively. After we discuss the place L.A. comes collectively, it’s locations like Stoner Park,” Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the realm and urged the town so as to add crosswalks across the park, mentioned in a press release. “That’s why it’s so vital to prioritize pedestrian security and ensure everybody can get round safely.”
Metropolis officers didn’t reply to questions on whether or not its actions ignored state and federal tips. And though the Transportation Division mentioned that no requests for crosswalks had beforehand been made on the location close to Stoner Park, the mayor’s workplace mentioned that the Bureau of Engineering had obtained “a number of sidewalk accessibility requests surrounding Stoner Park between 2017-2018.”
“The Metropolis makes 1000’s of vital infrastructure enhancements and upgrades annually,” spokesperson Clara Karger mentioned.
Metropolis businesses usually have pointed to funding constraints as a motive for delays, however the mayor’s workplace didn’t reply to questions in regards to the complete value for this venture, which finally will embody the set up of curb ramps and sidewalk enhancements.
“We are going to proceed doing all we are able to to maintain Angelenos protected — that features pedestrians and park-goers,” Mayor Karen Bass mentioned in a press release in regards to the announcement.
1. Members of Crosswalks Collective LA paint a crosswalk on the intersection of 4th and New Hampshire in Koreatown the place Nadir Gavarrete, a 9-year-old boy, was killed in a success and run. 2. Indicators used to manage site visitors are positioned on the bottom close to the portray operation. 3. A member of Crosswalks Collective LA unloads a highway closure barricade. 4. A member of Crosswalk Collective LA mixes paint at a crosswalk on the intersection of 4th and New Hampshire in Koreatown.
The choice raises questions on how infrastructure updates are prioritized by the town, which has struggled to maintain up with a backlog of requests for avenue enhancements amid ongoing considerations over site visitors security.
“The Bureau of Avenue Providers (StreetsLA) primarily makes use of our annual resurfacing program to find out the areas of entry ramps that we design and set up; we don’t work off a request-based system,” mentioned Dan Halden, the bureau’s performing director of exterior relations.
He mentioned the price range for this fiscal yr consists of the set up of roughly 300 entry ramps throughout the town.
Hale, who moved to Los Angeles a few yr in the past from the San Francisco Bay Space, was pleasantly stunned to study that the crosswalks could be restored after his preliminary efforts had been erased. If the town was struggling to enhance residents’ security, he questioned the pushback to residents’ personal efforts.
“We don’t want years of research to inform us that there ought to be crosswalks and gradual streets by a park and colleges and day cares — these are simply apparent issues,” mentioned Hale, 25. “In the event you stand on any one in all these corners for lengthy, you’ll see youngsters working round and also you’ll see shut calls … I figured that the crosswalk was one thing that benefited individuals and didn’t damage anyone.”
A person crosses a crosswalk painted by residents close to Stoner Park within the Sawtelle space of Los Angeles on Aug. 2, 2025.
Town’s 10-year-old Imaginative and prescient Zero plan to remove traffic-related deaths has not come to fruition in Los Angeles. A current audit discovered important failures in this system. And the price range strains on the town’s Transportation Division and the Bureau of Avenue Providers might additional delay targets round avenue security.
“We now have, per capita, a number of the most harmful streets within the nation to stroll round,” mentioned Michael Schneider of Streets for All. “I believe this [DIY effort] is a response to that and a response to a neighborhood authorities not taking motion.”
Schneider mentioned that the slowdown can partly be attributed to the town’s understanding of accessibility steerage, which seems to vary in interpretation even amongst metropolis businesses.
***
Final week in Koreatown, a 9-year-old boy was fatally hit by a automobile whereas crossing the road on an electrical scooter at 4th Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue. Issues over the security of that intersection beforehand prompted dialogue for the set up of a roundabout. LADOT solicited suggestions from the group in 2021, however nothing has been constructed.
A crosswalk memorial painted by Crosswalk Collective LA is at 4th Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue in Koreatown.
Griselda Paxtor lights a candle at a vigil on the intersection in Koreatown the place Nadir Gavarrete was killed.
The Crosswalk Collective LA — a security advocacy group whose tagline is “We paint crosswalks. Town of Los Angeles doesn’t hold us protected so we hold us protected” — gathered in Koreatown Saturday morning to color crosswalks on the intersection. The group bought the stencils that had been used at Stoner Park and served as inspiration for Hale, however was not concerned in his efforts in Sawtelle.
That night, residents gathered for a candlelight vigil to honor the younger boy who died. One of many newly painted crosswalk stripes on the intersection had not been stuffed in. As an alternative, there was an inscription within the heart: En Memoria De Nadir Gavarrete.
