Pedestrians

CITY HALL — Glendale could eventually be connected to Griffith Park like never before, according to recently released design concepts for a pedestrian bridge over the Glendale State (5) Freeway that range from $2 million to $30 million. The City Council will consider design options for the proposed pedestrian bridge in coming the months to help parks officials secure grant funding for the project. The bridge is planned as a later phase of the long-awaited Glendale Narrows Riverwalk along the the Los Angeles River, which is set to break ground this summer after years of trying to secure funding and rights-of-way.

As part of the city's effort to develop a "Safe & Healthy Streets" plan, Glendale officials and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition are seeking responses to an online survey. Officials are especially interested in responses from people who live, work, or go to school in Glendale, but anyone can complete the survey, which will be used to complement information gathered from community meetings held in the fall of 2009. The information could also be used in an upcoming update of the city's bicycle master plan.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Two people suffered minor injuries Tuesday morning after they were struck by a motorist while using a crosswalk at San Fernando Road and Chevy Chase Drive, police said. The collision is the second involving pedestrians reported in four days. The crash occurred about 8:50 a.m., Officer Larry Ballesteros said. The Subaru bumped a man's hip, causing him to fall into a woman, whose head hit the ground, Ballesteros said. The driver of the Subaru told police he had been monitoring opposing traffic and did not see the pair when he turned into them.

A motorist struck a woman who was standing in a parking spot Saturday at the Glendale Galleria in an attempt to save it for her friend, police said. The woman was not seriously injured and refused medical treatment, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Still, she complained of pain to her knee, he added. The motorist apparently didn't see the woman when pulling into the parking spot, he said.

The city of Glendale created a new strategy to establish a secured environment for both drivers and pedestrians (“Stings go on, sans bunny,” April 2). According to the article, “Glendale Police Officer Tom Broadway dressed in a pair of shorts and T-shirt, a far cry from the furry Easter costume that he sported a day earlier. On Thursday, he walked back and forth at two crosswalks, one lighted and marked, the other not.” The city’s police chose two intersections in which the number of accidents is high.

SOUTH GLENDALE — As part of an uphill dash to keep pace with a growing number of bicycle-friendly communities across the Southland, avid cyclists and pedestrians Saturday took to the street to improve a key cross-town corridor. About 25 volunteers dedicated their morning to planting 16 trees around Maple Park in Glendale in an effort to transform the Riverdale-Maple corridor into a better, greener pedestrian and bicycle route. About 100 new trees will be planted along Maple Street, Riverdale Drive, Rock Glen and Lincoln Avenue, officials said.

There seems to be a lot of recent debate on the pedestrian-versus-driver issue in Glendale. Bill Wesiman’s comment on this matter (“Clearing up the pedestrian laws,” April 7) is entirely correct. In California, the pedestrian has the right-of-way regardless of whether or not the oblivious pedestrian is crossing in the middle of the street, or even against a red light. Should there be a police officer nearby to ticket the errant pedestrian with a death-wish, so much the better.

Clearing up the pedestrian laws Since education is a vital component in the ongoing struggle to make Glendale?s streets safer for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists, I cannot pass up this opportunity for a ?teachable moment? inspired by letter writer Jessica Diaz (?Confused by police sting operation,? April 3). Diaz seems to be under the impression that she was acting above and beyond what was required by occasionally having stopped for pedestrians who were walking across the street in an unmarked crosswalk.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Glendale police officers went forward with another pedestrian enforcement operation Thursday, a day after Councilman John Drayman took them to task for an earlier sting in which an officer dressed in a rabbit costume. Glendale Police Officer Tom Broadway dressed in a pair of shorts and T-shirt, a far cry from the furry Easter costume that he sported a day earlier. On Thursday, he walked back and forth at two crosswalks, one lighted and marked, the other not. All the while officers cited drivers who failed to yield, while giving them a rundown of pedestrian safety rules.

Police on Sunday continued an educational effort to encourage pedestrian safety in a year when the frequency of auto-pedestrian collisions is already troubling, officials said. A 49-year-old man was struck Jan. 1 and eventually died of injuries suffered in a hit-and-run collision with a driver who fled the scene. Then, a string of collisions on Central Avenue this month prompted concerns about pedestrians on a road with seven incidents a year ago, Sgt. Dennis Smith said. “What’s more disturbing: So far this year since January we’ve had four auto-pedestrian collisions” on Central, Smith said Sunday, as he prepared for a day of telling pedestrians how to cross streets safely.