Traffic signal aims to ease pedestrian danger near school

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — A proposed traffic signal at North Kenwood Street at Wilson Avenue will temper the pedestrian dangers for students at nearby Allan F. Daily High School, officials said.

City engineers have been monitoring the intersection for the last two years, as the conflict between vehicular and pedestrian traffic there has become a significant concern, according to staff reports.

Daily High School sits on the 200 block of North Kenwood Street on the northeast corner of the intersection with Wilson, creating a spike in foot traffic as students arrive to and leave the campus.

"As traffic has grown on the street and we see more kids using the area, we were concerned about the traffic safety issues at the intersection," said Steve Zurn, director of the city's Public Works Department.

Students who cross Wilson to get to the school have created an unsafe dynamic, a problem engineers say is best mitigated with a traffic signal.

"Given the traffic volume, it's technically difficult to cross the street," said Jano Baghdanian, the city's traffic and transportation administrator.

Currently, the intersection lacks any restriction, such as a stop sign or crosswalk, forcing pedestrians to walk either one block west to Louise Street or one block east to Jackson Street, both of which have traffic signals.

The school's 300 or so students use the crosswalks at those two intersections on a daily basis when walking south across Wilson to reach the Glendale YMCA on the 100 block of North Louise Street for physical education programs. They also use them when the head out to the facilities at the United Methodist Church on the 100 block of North Kenwood Street for special assemblies or events, said Daily High Principal Sherry Stockhamer.

"That's a daily concern," she said.

Engineers used a combination of electronic traffic-counting strips laid across the street with in-person observations in reaching their determination, Zurn said.

Other factors, such as topography, view-angles, average vehicle speed and meetings with Glendale Unified School District officials also went into the decision, he said.

The installation will be welcome safety addition and convenience to daily operations at the school, Stockhamer said.

"It would make student safety a lot better," she said. "We're excited about it."

Construction on the approximately $280,000 project — which includes funds for a closed-circuit television system at the Glendale Transportation Center to monitor train arrivals and departures — will begin late June and finish by late August, Zurn said.

City engineers will seek approval for the funding of the project at tonight's City Council meeting.