Pedestrians urged to walk safely

SOUTHWEST GLENDALE — A group of representatives from the Glendale Police Department took to the streets Saturday with an important safety message for the city’s pedestrians.

And no more than two minutes into their shift, Lusine Akopian, office services supervisor for the office of the police chief, and Sherri Servillo, who works in media relations for the department, spotted a man diagonally crossing Central Avenue near Windsor Road, well outside a crosswalk.

The two wasted no time in approaching him, informational fliers in hand.

The outreach effort Saturday was not about issuing tickets, but getting the word out to pedestrians about the dangers they face on city streets, Sgt. Dennis Smith said.

The program comes in the wake of 252 vehicle-pedestrian accidents in 2006 and 2007, 10 of them fatal, according to Glendale Police Department statistics.

Police have conducted enforcement details once or twice a week to target people who violate pedestrian laws, but the public outreach effort is a new thing this year, Smith said.

Funding from a $133,000 California Office of Traffic Safety grant helped police put together informational fliers, providing tips and warnings for pedestrians.

Among tips listed on the flier are instructions to always use a crosswalk, stay alert, make eye contact with the driver and to not cross the street until the approaching driver can see you and they are coming to a stop.

“I’m hoping we can make an impact,” Smith said.

For Community Service Officer Anna Marie Diaz, who was hit by a car while walking in Glendale, reaching out to pedestrians on Saturday about safety held personal significance.

“I was in a crosswalk, and [the driver] didn’t even see me,” she said.

Diaz sustained six broken bones and had to recover at a convalescent hospital, she said.

“It took a while to hear, and it was hard,” she said. “I wouldn’t want anyone to have that happen to them. And if we can reach even one person it would be great.”

When the grant was written to secure funds for the campaign, police planned to concentrate outreach efforts on Central, where a large number of vehicle-pedestrian accidents have happened, Smith said. But with incidents rising in the city, police are also reaching out to other streets, such as Glendale Avenue.

“This year it seems like it’s a little more widespread,” Smith said.

The Police Department has plans to conduct another nine of the outreach efforts in five-hour blocks throughout the year, Smith said. So far in 2008, vehicle-pedestrian accidents have dropped a bit, according to the Office of Traffic Safety, except in the 60 or older age category, Smith said.

The upcoming Behind the Badge television program on GTV6 will focus on traffic safety, Servillo said.

“This comes hand in hand with teaching the public what’s going on,” she said.

 CHRIS WIEBE covers public safety and the courts. He may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at chris.wiebe@ latimes.com.