A Los Angeles City Council committee Tuesday advanced a motion for a report on the feasibility of establishing a pilot program allowing street-safety advocates and volunteers to repaint existing crosswalks throughout the city.
The three-member Public Works Committee approved the motion introduced in late October by Councilwomen Katy Yaroslavsky and Eunisses Hernandez. It now heads to the City Council for consideration.
The motion calls for city staff to report back within 90 days on:
— A citywide inventory of marked crosswalks, including current inspection and repainting practices, the number of outstanding 311 requests for deteriorated crosswalks and repainting expenditures during the past two fiscal years.
— The feasibility of a volunteer pilot program for community organizations and residents to repaint existing, city-approved crosswalks, similar to the city’s Adopt-A-Median program.
— Legal, labor and safety requirements, including concerns involving labor agreements, insurance, traffic control, potential city liability and safety obligations.
The councilwomen said pedestrian safety remains a major concern and clearly visible crosswalks are particularly important near parks, schools, houses of worship, transit stops and commercial districts.
They said crosswalks can deteriorate because of weather, vehicle traffic, utility construction and roadway maintenance.
“Los Angeles residents have shown a strong commitment to improving pedestrian safety, and recent community-led crosswalk-painting efforts have highlighted both the public’s desire for safer streets and the need to improve crosswalk maintenance practices,” the motion reads. “While these efforts demonstrate civic engagement, unauthorized pavement markings raise legitimate concerns regarding traffic safety, code compliance, liability and labor agreements.
“While installing new crosswalks requires professional engineering review, repainting existing approved crosswalks may offer an additional opportunity for community involvement, if appropriate safeguards can be implemented,” the motion continues.
The proposal follows crosswalk-painting efforts by People’s Vision Zero, a group founded by Los Angeles resident Jonathan Hale. The volunteers have painted crosswalks around the city without authorization for more than a year, citing frustration with the pace of City Hall’s street-safety response.