The Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Association

  Home Page    HB Web Community    Surveys & Forums    HB History 

  City of HB Info    HBNA Photo Gallery    HB Crime Info    HB Weblinks 

  The Importance of Neighborhood Watch in Hermosa Beach 


Pacific Coast Hwy and 16th Street

Intersection and Crosswalk


1.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

2.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

3.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

4.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

What Is Your Opinion?

Are Hermosa Beach Crosswalks and Intersections Unsafe  ?

Hit Counter



The following 7 photos were taken on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 around 5:30 pm.

PCH southbound curb lane.  The memorial to Ian Wright


The Daily Breeze – March 23, 2006

Letters to the Editor

 

PCH traffic signal comes too late

I park on Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach to go to the 24-Hour Fitness gym because I refuse to pay a parking fee on top of a gym membership fee. I use the crosswalk at 16th Street and PCH to get to the gym, and many times I wondered what it would take to get a traffic signal installed there.

Many cars do not stop -- even if the vehicle in the next lane has stopped to wait for a pedestrian. Instead, they race through, narrowly missing people. It's amazing. Why haven't I ever seen a policeman parked at 16th & PCH? Think of all the money the city could be making by giving citations for vehicles illegally entering the crosswalk when pedestrians are present.

Monday evening, as I went to 24-Hour Fitness, I saw that a traffic signal has miraculously been installed -- just a few days too late. It took a 15-year-old boy being tragically killed while in the crosswalk last week.

Regardless of his being on a scooter in the crosswalk, he was in the crosswalk, and the vehicles should have stopped -- but as usual, they raced on through.

 K. JONES

 


The Intersection of Pacific Coast Hwy and 16th Street, Looking South and East.

The memorial to Ian Wright is just below the crosswalk sign on the right curb, on the center right of the picture.


Excerpt From:

 

The Beach Reporter - March 23, 2006

 

By Whitney Youngs

 

A 25-year-old West Covina woman driving a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer hit Wright as she drove southbound on the busy highway that sees an estimated 60,000 cars pass through Hermosa Beach on any given day, according to city officials.

Is it safe to cross?  Notice how the white Volkswagen Bug on the left.

The white Volkswagen, in lane 3 of the southbound PCH traffic has its view of the crosswalk blocked by a pickup truck in lane 1 and a SUV in lane 2, which is the lane to the left of the Volkswagen.

The car the hit Ian Wright was in lane 3 heading south on PCH, just like this white Volkswagen. 

But the car that struck Ian did not have cars stopping in the crosswalk in lane 3, as in the picture above, so the car drove thru the crosswalk without stopping.


Excerpt From:

 

The Beach Reporter - March 23, 2006

 

By Whitney Youngs

“As he continued across the busy intersection, at least one southbound driver slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting the teen,” said Wolcott. “He continued to the next lane, closest to the curb, the No. 3 lane. The collision smashed the windshield of the Mitsubishi and propelled the teen to the street where he sustained massive head injuries.”

A man is walking west in the the setting sun around 5:30 pm on Tuesday, March 21, 2006.  Ian was struck around 5pm on Thursday, March 17, 2006.


Excerpt From:

 

The Beach Reporter - March 23, 2006

 

By Whitney Youngs

Along PCH, all three lanes are open to traffic depending on the time of day. Cars are towed if they are parked on the east side of the street during the morning hours of 7 to 9 a.m. as a way to open up three lanes of traffic. The same law applies on the west side of the street for cars heading south from 3 to 5 p.m., which was the scenario at the time of the accident.

Three vehicles are traveling south on PCH, these vehicles are quickly approaching this man in lanes 1, 2 and 3. 

These three vehicles show up in the picture below.


Excerpt From:

 

The Beach Reporter - March 23, 2006

 

By Whitney Youngs

According to Public Works Director Rick Morgan, there are 13 crosswalks that run over PCH from Longfellow Avenue to Herondo Street, four of which do not correspond to a traffic signal. They are located at 16th Street, Fourth Street, Third Street and First Street.

Two SUV's in the southbound PCH lanes 1 and 2 have slowed for the man in the crosswalk. 

The dark pickup in lane 3 the curb lane, with its brake lights on has come to an abrupt stop, after he saw the man in the crosswalk. 

The SUV's in lanes 1 and 2, block the view of the crosswalk for cars approaching in lane 3 of the southbound PCH traffic. 


Excerpt From:

 

The Beach Reporter - March 23, 2006

 

By Whitney Youngs

 

“The No. 3 lane when it is open, some commuters think they have a ticket to fly, but capacity of course is a huge issue. It's a major corridor and we can't close it down. I just wish there was a way to get people to drive that lane slower,” said Morgan.

In this case the dark pickup in lane 3 braked heavily and had enough time to stop for the man in the crosswalk and there was no accident.


Excerpt From:

 

The Beach Reporter - March 23, 2006

 

By Whitney Youngs

“My guess is many pedestrians who cross there will have all five lanes stopped for them, but many drivers don't realize that the cars are stopped for a pedestrian and are rather stopped because of traffic and so many think that the lane is open in the same way a carpool lane is when the freeway is jammed.”


1.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

2.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

3.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

4.  Photos of Pedestrians Using The PCH and 16th St. Crosswalk

What Is Your Opinion?

Are Hermosa Beach Crosswalks and Intersections Unsafe  ?


The Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Association

  Home Page    HB Web Community    Surveys & Forums    HB History 

  City of HB Info    HBNA Photo Gallery    HB Crime Info    HB Weblinks