LAX Leader

County of Los Angeles issued the following announcement on Feb. 10.

The County of Los Angeles was awarded $21.49 million in Federal funding last week to address traffic safety on County unincorporated roads with the highest number of fatal and severe injury collisions.

The County’s grant award — part of the White House’s historic new $800 million Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program — will fund a series of traffic safety measures in the unincorporated community of Florence-Firestone. Located in South Los Angeles, Florence-Firestone has 10 of the top 100 Collision Concentration Corridors identified within the County’s Vision Zero Action Plan. Between 2017 and 2021, the community experienced 32 traffic fatalities and 177 serious injuries. Half of those collisions involved pedestrians and bicyclists.

The funding will allow the County to install traffic safety improvements at over 50 locations throughout Florence-Firestone to reduce the likelihood of fatal collisions between people driving, walking, and biking. Improvements include reconfigured intersections, enhanced signal timing, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps, crosswalk upgrades, median islands, and other improvements to reduce excessive speeding.

The County will also implement a traffic safety education and engagement program focused on teen drivers to prevent street racing and distracted driving, as well as a Safe Routes for Seniors Program.

“We all deserve the right to feel safe while traveling in our community,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. “This investment demonstrates Los Angeles County’s commitment to Vision Zero, and our commitment to infrastructure investments where our communities need it most. Car crashes have claimed too many lives in Florence-Firestone and I fully expect this funding will get us closer to our goal to end traffic deaths.”

The Federal award is a big win for the County’s Vision Zero traffic safety initiative, which was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2020.

“Vision Zero is the County’s multi-faceted plan to increase traffic safety and save lives,” said Mark Pestrella, P.E., Director of Los Angeles County Public Works. “Florence-Firestone is a community that has experienced a disproportionate number of serious crashes, and we will work swiftly to put these improvements in place.”

“Creating streets that are safer and more comfortable for walking and biking is a high priority,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “The County is developing a community pedestrian plan for Florence-Firestone directly informed by residents and their experiences walking in their community. Through this grant, we look forward to working with our residents and with our partners at Public Works to deliver these needed improvements.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the award on Feb. 1, along with more than 500 other traffic safety projects nationwide. The competitive grant program, established by President Joe Biden’s historic infrastructure law, provides $5 billion over five years for regional, local, and Tribal initiatives—from redesigned roads to better sidewalks and crosswalks—to prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.

Among the other grants awarded in the package is $9 million to the City of Los Angeles for safety improvements to the La Brea Avenue corridor.

Click here for more information about the Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program, and here to learn more about Los Angeles County’s Vision Zero initiative.

Original source can be found here.