DON MEREDITH
Glendale, the "Jewel City," lies at the base of the San Rafael and
San Gabriel mountains. Our city is the third-largest in Los Angeles
County, 14th-largest in California and 94th-largest in the United
States. We're known for our small, unique neighborhoods -- the "gems"
that make up the Jewel City: Rancho Riverside, South Glendale, Chevy
Chase Canyon, Glenoaks Canyon, Verdugo Woodlands, Montrose, La
Crescenta and many more.
Each of these has its own distinct flavor and is linked to one
another and the downtown core by 368.5 miles of paved streets, 67.2
miles of arterial roadways, four freeways and a number of fire roads
and hiking trails. Together they comprise a substantial
transportation system that requires careful oversight and hard work
to make it safe for our residents.
Public safety is a high priority, and to meet this goal, the city
has worked in partnership with a number of groups on traffic safety
issues. This partnership includes many organizations, such as the
Glendale Unified School District, Glendale College Police Department,
city of Glendale Park Rangers, the Public Works Department, Traffic
Engineering, the Fire Department, Mothers Against Drunk Driving,
California Office of Traffic Safety, the Public Information Office
and the Glendale Police Department. Together and individually, they
have developed ideas and strategies to reduce traffic fatalities on
the streets of Glendale.
This past year, the city implemented a Pedestrian Safety program
that featured multilingual public service announcements and newspaper
columns. The city also hired the nonprofit group Safe Moves to run
traffic-safety presentations.
This pedestrian safety program features "Walkin' Willie," a
character that was incorporated into coloring books, signs on city
refuse trucks and other safety materials. To date, Safe Moves has
made numerous presentations to students in the Glendale Unified
School District and at local senior citizen centers.
Another innovative program developed by Glendale Police Sgt. Lewis
Guay and adopted by many other agencies is Student Knowledge Through
Interactive DUI Simulations. The program provides a visual, hands-on
experience of how dangerous driving under the influence really is.
Licensed drivers, under the supervision of an officer, drive an
electric car through a specific course outlined by traffic cones.
After an initial run through the course, the driver puts on "DUI"
goggles that simulate vision impairment comparable to having consumed
