West LA neighbors fed up with dangerous driving paint their own crosswalks around popular park
Stoner Park, located on Stoner Avenue in the Sawtelle neighborhood, is known for it's long list of activities that draw people from all over, including swimming, fields for sports, biking, skating and plenty of room for kids to play.
The group of concerned residents say that lack of action from the city of Los Angeles led them to draw crosswalks around the park, something they believe will lead drivers to slow down while driving through the area.
"Los Angeles is dangerous for pedestrians, and it's not built for pedestrians," said Jonathan Hale, one of the organizers who credits Crosswalks Collective as the inspiration for the project. "It shouldn't be the case that we need to have a pedestrian injured or killed before we decide to take basic safety improvements."
They painted yellow-striped crosswalks on each of the four intersections surrounding the park.
"Traffic definitely stops now," said Niel Ims, a resident in the area. "I think perhaps before they would just kind of blow through it, but that slowed everybody down of course."
Hale said that he's hopeful it spurs the city to take additional action, while he waits to hear if he faces any consequences from the project, since the city says that unauthorized alterations to public streets is illegal — even if done in good faith.
"It would take a lot more effort to actually get the approval necessary to get it done, than actually do the work," he said. "So, I figured why not just do it myself."
CBS News Los Angeles has not yet heard back from the Department of Transportation upon request for comment on the new crosswalks.
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