Pedestrian killed downtown was in crosswalk legally, LAPD says

Police are now saying that a pedestrian killed Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles was legally in a crosswalk when the accident occurred.

Gwendolyn Coleman, 58, of Burbank was hit by a city of Los Angeles DASH bus at 5th and Flower streets about 6:35 a.m. Coleman had the green light to cross and the driver of the bus did not see her because of a blind spot, said Richard French, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The DASH bus was turning from 5th onto Flower when the accident happened. First Transit, the company that operates the buses for the city, said Thursday that the driver of the bus had been put on suspension pending an investigation.

--Steve Hymon

Comments

[Cathy]

The bus driver gets a suspension? How about murder charges, with the city being charged as accessories to murder?

Steve, could you please enumerate the conditions under which murder of pedestrians is legal in LA? Or maybe it would be easier to list when it isn't legal.

[Cathy]

There is something that can make any intersection safer, and it has been around since at least 1951.
from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/barnes.cfm

Addendum: The Barnes Dance

After reading this article, several people commented on the reference to the "scramble," during which all traffic at an intersection is halted so pedestrians can cross in any direction, including diagonally. The readers suggested that Henry A. Barnes, who had been traffic commissioner in Denver, Baltimore, and New York City, invented the concept, which became known as the "Barnes Dance."
In Barnes' autobiography, The Man With the Red and Green Eyes (E. P. Dutton and Company, 1965), he doesn't claim to have invented the Barnes Dance. He traces his involvement in the concept to a presentation he made in Los Angeles to the Institute of Traffic Engineers while was working in Denver. (Throughout the book, Barnes is vague on years, but the presentation, "Denver Installs a Modern Signal System," was delivered in September 1951.)
He decided to talk about pedestrians, inspired by dropping his daughter off at school and watching her and her friends dash across the street between parked cars. Then he had watched adults trying to cross streets, and found they were taking their lives into their hands:

As things stood now, a downtown shopper needed a four-leaf clover, a voodoo charm, and a St. Christopher's medal to make it in one piece from one curbstone to the other. As far as I was concerned--a traffic engineer with Methodist leanings--I didn't think that the Almighty should be bothered with problems which we, ourselves, were capable of solving. Therefore, I was going to aid and abet prayers and benedictions with a practical scheme: Henceforth, the pedestrian--as far as Denver was concerned--was going to be blessed with a complete interval in the traffic signal cycle all his own. First of all, there would be the usual red and green signals for vehicular traffic. Let the cars have their way, moving straight through or making right turns. Then a red light for all vehicles while the pedestrians were given their own signal. In this interim, the street crossers could move directly or diagonally to their objectives, having free access to all four corners while all cars waited for a change of lights. [See pages 108-110]
Barnes pointed out that he did not invent the concept. He said, "There were a few such installations in Kansas City, Vancouver, and a couple of other cities. But we would put them throughout the entire business area." [Page 110]
After predicting doom before the concept was put into effect, the local newspapers had to admit the concept worked well-and it didn't take long for people to get used to it. Barnes added:
There were other stories, too, including a feature article by the City Hall reporter, John Buchanan. For me, it was very pleasant reading, and John ended it by saying, "Barnes has made the people so happy they're dancing in the streets." And that's how the name, "The Barnes Dance," came into being." [Page 116]

[David Galvan]

There are indeed intersections around L.A. where it is difficult to see pedestrians when you are turning until it is close to being too late. One example in my neighborhood is the intersection of Sepulveda Blvd and Camarillo St., on the northern end of the Sherman Oaks Galleria. I often drive northbound on Sepulveda, and then turn right onto Camarillo. When making a right-hand turn with a green light, the pedestrians there also have a green light to walk across Camarillo. However, there used to be several tall bushes on the right that make it difficult to see whether there are pedestrians there waiting to cross or not. I can think of two times where I began to turn onto Camarillo only to have to stop sharply when pedestrians stepped out onto the street. The pedestrians were not at fault, to be sure: the trees were making it difficult for me to know whether there were pedestrians or not, because you can't see them as you approach the intersection to turn right if they are standing on the other side of the bushes. Of course, the correct action is to come to a complete stop before you make a right-hand turn and just wait a few seconds, even when you have a green light and don't see any pedestrians. . . but how often does everyone do that?

Some time within the past couple of months, I notice that those tall bushes have been removed, eliminating the blind spot. I don't know why the bushes were actually removed, but I think that corner is much safer for pedestrians now. I wonder if there is some similar action that can be taken for the corner of 5th and flower. . .

[Cathy]

Last week I watched (and photographed) an attempt by a woman running with her dog to cross San Vicente Blvd. at Pico at about 8:45 a.m. She started with a fresh green light and walk sign, and since she was running she made it almost all the way across with the Walk sign still on. At the right lane, she had to stop as a stream of cars turned right from Pico onto San Vicente going West and she was stranded there until the light almost turned yellow. At least she finally got across safely.
I now carry a brick to cross the street. I make sure drivers see it, especially those trying to turn right as soon as they get the green light, even though they see me and know that I am trying to cross the street on the green with the walk sign on. Illegal? Come arrest me. I will plead not guilty and defending myself in fear for my life. I want a test case with lots of publicity.

[Anonymous Cyclist]

A blindspot?

At very best, Ms. Coleman would have been directly to the left of the driver, and more likely was to his left and front.

If the Dash buses have a "blindspot" that obscures this portion of the driver's view, then I would say that is a major design flaw, and these buses should all be taken off the road.

If the driver didn't see her, then he didn't see her. However to attempt to pass blame onto a "blindspot" only calls into question how safely ALL those buses can operate.

[Stephen]

This intersection at 5th/Flower is terrible! Lots of blindspots, and the amount of time given to cross the street 'legally' on the east-west path is a mere 5 seconds! Last September, during a recent 'town hall' event with city officials - to include the mayor - I told the official in charge of street/crosswalk mangement about this. She did not appear happy that I mentioned this in public, and replied with the token "I'll look into it". I then told her it may be a good idea to look at how Chicago and New York City manage their pedestrian infrastructure, because Los Angeles pales in comparison.

I hope this victim's family gets their due reward due to the negligence and pure incompetence of this city's pedestrian management structure.

Finally, the public transportation bus drivers have been given free reign to run red lights downtown. Sometimes the drivers have the courtesy to blow their horn at pedestrians legally crossing the street to get out of the way; more often they do not. I have often witnessed police officers observing these bus drivers running red lights, and then do absolutely nothing about it.

[Scott Hill]

LA must do an educational program on pedestrians. I have been hit by a car in a crosswalk. Daily, I am fighting cars not wanting to stop when I have the right a-way.