"Depressing" Homework Assignment

I'm sorry folks, for suggesting such a dismal homework assignment. Please forgive me. I did it for good intentions, I think.

Western Avenue is in trouble, right now. The Task Force which wrote the document accepter a one percent growth in population, per year, during the next 20 years. Their recommendations illustrated that implication. They were not able to calculate the added traffic that a 2,300 home development might have on Western Avenue. I think this means that we must have another task force take a look at the conditions Western Avenue might really have in store for it, should all the proposed and imagined projects actually are built.

One of the best outcomes from Task Force were calculations that showed all of us how bad the conditions on Western Avenue are now. Their studies imply that we all need to know the facts as they are now, and prepare for the future.

The Task Force successfully had their immediate goal completed, and on time! The City of Los Angeles controls the signals on Western between 25th. Street and Summerland. Cal Trans controls the signals between Summerland and P.V. Drive North. The timing of the signal lengths were different. L.A. City had their signals timed to change every 90 seconds. Cal Trans had their signal timing set to 75 seconds. Cal Trans changed their signal timing to match the City of L.A.. Now all the signals are timed for duration of 90 seconds.

Short term and med term goals reflect the needs to improve the striping, control, and signal synchronization along Western Avenue. There is a lot of information within a separate document detailing the "Intersection Geometric Improvements" as part of the "Western Corridor Improvement Project." I recommending downloading this document. There are many photos and explanations about improving access to and from Western Avenue.

A long term goal is to have three lanes in each direction along Western Avenue between 25th Street and P.V. Drive North.

Note: Mr. Bisno and the Bisno Development are looking into paying for the widening of Western Avenue only along their Western Avenue boundary.

Here is my recap on the Western Avenue Task Force Documents.

Eight of the twenty-to intersections along the study route already have a letter grade of "F" in the amount of traffic, delays, and timing. These intersections have over 100% capacity for the roadbeds design. By 2025, even without 2,300 homes, the number is predicted to go up to 11 intersections out of the 22.

The Task Force could not calculate the added congestion predicted when Mary Star High School is completed, opened, and have Western Avenue as its only access.

The Task Force could not calculate the possible added congestion with the addition of a 2,300 home development, and/or a 2,025 seat senior high school, the possible new home of Eastview Little League, and a possible combination development at Ponte Vista that could include a high school and housing within 61.53 acres. Every vehicle dealing with any development of the area would have as the only access, Western Avenue.

Now that I have gone through the Task Force's documents, I am looking forward to reading the Traffic Study concerning both the Ponte Vista project, and the proposed 2,025 seat high school. I think we all need to compare all the studies to find out how much change may be likely from the forecasts documented in the Western Avenue Task Force study.

I feel we owe Mr. Jerry Gaines, Mr. Sal Sotomayor, and others many thanks for their volunteer work with the Task Force. We should also thank them, I feel for volunteering to be on the Community Advisory Committee for Ponte Vista at San Pedro. I am looking forward to their take on the two upcoming traffic studies. They already have the facts as they are. I bet they will be able to spot the B.S. from quite a distance.

Now for a more personal note about any Traffic Study coming out concerning Ponte Vista. I went to Dodson Junior High School at the same time kids from the Navy Housing were attending. Back then there seemed to be too many children hit by cars crossing Western Avenue at the vicinity of Avenida Aprenda. During that time, school kids from lower Eastview used to walk through Navy housing to get to Dodson, too. There were lots of kids crossing Western Avenue for many years back then at Avenida Aprenda. I hope the folks who have written the Traffic Study for Ponte Vista have taken into account the records from long ago concerning pedestrians hit by cars in the area. With perhaps hundreds of kids needing to cross Western Avenue in the future, we might have similar terrible articles that found their way into the News Pilot when I was a teenager.