Safety

LOS ANGELES — A panel of train specialists and oversight experts revealed a wide-ranging plan Friday to address Metrolink’s most pressing safety and organizational issues, three months after a commuter train crash killed 25 people in Chatsworth. Among the findings, the panel told Metrolink’s Board of Directors that the commuter rail agency needs to upgrade its infrastructure, analyze the commuter rail company’s short-term projects and bring the entire rail system into “the modern age.” “This is a pretty complete look at how we can make this safer, which is what we set out to do,” said board member Richard Katz, who helped organize the panel.

The highway patrol, county fire department and American Red Cross are stressing one word this Memorial Day Weekend: safety. Hundreds of thousands of Southern Californians are expected to take to the roadways and head to parties and vacation spots during the holiday, and people are urged to buckle up, avoid drinking and driving, keep a watchful eye on children playing in and near pools and use caution when cooking with barbecue grills. Memorial Day Weekend is a maximum enforcement period for the California Highway Patrol, and every available officer will be on duty looking for drunk drivers and motorists who fail to obey seatbelt laws.

Buck Wargo DOWNTOWN -- Ford Motor Co. and "Sesame Street" are teaming up for a automotive safety campaign at the Glendale Galleria and Star Ford. Called "Buckle Up with Sesame Street," the child safety clinic will be 2 until 7 p.m. Thursday at Star Ford, 900 S. Brand Blvd. Safety professionals will check a child's seats for proper installation. Kids can have their picture taken with a "Sesame Street" character. On Friday through Sunday at the Glendale Galleria, there will be shows at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. by "Sesame Street" characters about safety.

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- A stricter law going into effect Tuesday aims to make car trips safer for small children. The new law requires children under 6 or who weigh less than 60 pounds to be in a safety seat or a car booster seat. The old law required safety seats until up until 4 years or 40 pounds. The law is designed to protect children, many of whom are too big for traditional safety seats yet too small for a seat belt to function properly.

Tim Willert CITY HALL -- A rash of traffic accidents involving pedestrians has prompted the City Council to take protective measures. The council on Tuesday is expected to adopt plans and specifications for upgrading pavement markings and warning signs at 48 crosswalks not protected by stop signs or traffic signals. "Anything we can do to make the crosswalks safer is a good thing," Glendale Police Lt. Don Meredith said Friday. The proposed safety features would include more durable paint to outline crosswalks, and clear reflective markers to increase crosswalk visibility at night and during poor weather.

CITY HALL — Toll Middle School parents again called on the City Council on Wednesday to step up the city’s police presence on Glenwood Road where 11-year-old student Meri Nalbandyan was struck and killed Oct. 29 while using the cross walk. Parents and board members of the school’s PTA said assigning a police patrol to the area of Glenwood Road that fronts three schools — Keppel Elementary, Toll Middle and Hoover High schools — between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m. would cause a interim shift in driving and pedestrian habits until a more comprehensive safety enhancement plan is settled on. They also asked for more crossing guards to assist the thousands of students who cross the street each day to and from school.

The News-Press’ front page Monday featured “above the fold” a man who “keeps an eye out for traffic as he crosses the street at the 3000 block of Foothill Boulevard” (“Rain fails to test basins,” March 8). And well he should! There is no indication of a crosswalk in your photo. And, is that a lane marker I see him about to cross? (Or a yellow-lane marker in the lower left-hand corner?) We hear much-well-deserved press about unsafe drivers in the area.

In reference to the Dec. 1 letter “Note to council: Show your human side” by Armando Suarez, the Doran Street crossing should be closed due to the danger that it poses to the public. There is no question that the Doran Street railroad crossing is a liability to the taxpayers due to its location and lack of safety. Being less than 100 feet from a propane gas facility is a major concern to the public. However, to uninformed and politically influenced individuals like Jim Kussman (“Don’t close crossing after accident,” Nov. 30)

Josh Kleinbaum Glendale will request $62 million in federal funds to separate railroad and vehicular traffic at three railroad crossings to improve safety, a move some transportation experts consider expensive and ineffective. The request, which officials expect to submit to Rep. Adam Schiff by Tuesday, is an attempt to address concerns raised after a deadly train crash Wednesday near Chevy Chase Drive. The crash killed 11 and injured nearly 200 after a Metrolink commuter train hit a Jeep Cherokee wedged on the railroad tracks, investigators said.

SACRAMENTO ? The state Senate approved Senator Jack Scott's legislation calling for improving drug safety by requiring all drug testing studies to be made available to the public, both the good and the bad. Under SB 606, all pharmaceutical manufacturers will have to publicly post the results of prescription drug trials they sponsored going back to 2002. "This bill would provide the least costly and most direct way to supply information to consumers," stated Senator Scott (D-Pasadena)

Community leaders, already working to improve local bicycle infrastructure, are targeting some of the city's youngest riders. The Glendale PTA Council and Walk Bike Glendale have teamed up to provide bicycle skills classes for local school-aged children, with the first taking place Saturday at Fremont Elementary School. The free classes will start at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., and will included helmet fittings and bicycle checks. The classes were scheduled in anticipation of the first Bike to School Day, which will take place Wednesday.

Police reinforced the need for community involvement Tuesday night to dozens of residents following a spate of vehicle thefts in the South Glendale area. The spike in vehicle thefts was partly due to residents leaving their keys inside the ignition while they run inside their homes for a few seconds, said the area's lieutenant, Todd Anderson. While police arrested two men who allegedly were responsible for some of the thefts, police still warned residents at a town hall meeting at the retirement community, Windsor Manor, to protect their belongings and to be vigilant.

The City Council this week agreed to accept more than $100,000 in state money to offer adult bike safety classes. The classes are a major step for the city, which established a Bicycle Master Plan in 2009 with goals of encouraging bicyclists to take to the streets safely and more often. “I'm glad we are getting a grant like this,” Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy said, adding that she was glad experts would be teaching the classes. The classes will be offered in Burbank each month on Saturdays through September and taught by licensed instructors with the nonprofit Sustainable Streets.

The Glendale Police Department earned second place among similarly-sized agencies in California for its education, enforcement and traffic safety efforts. California Highway Patrol Chief Steve Beeuwsaert bestowed the CHP-sponsored 2010 California Law Enforcement Challenge award to Police Chief Ron De Pompa and traffic officers during Tuesday's City Council meeting. “This is indeed in an honor,” De Pompa said. “We appreciate so much our working relationship with our regional partners, and traffic safety obviously is a regional problem.

Faced with an increase in bicycle-related crashes, Burbank officials say they plan to use a $100,000 state grant to educate the public on the rules of the road. Spending the money on safety classes aimed primarily at cyclists is seen at City Hall as a way to get more bang for the buck, especially as more people give up their car keys in favor of bikes, officials said. “The No. 1 priority for the project is the educational programs; it's not even infrastructure,” said Cory Wilkerson, an assistant transportation planner for the city.

Glendale schools will receive $1 million to improve safety on nearby roads and crossings to encourage more parents and students to ride a bicycle or walk to campus. The competitive grant was awarded through the Federal Safe Routes to School Program as a part an effort to increase safety around Glendale schools. The city also received $500,000 to fund educational programs that promote walking or cycling among students in 21 elementary and middle schools. “We are in an age where most kids are probably not riding or walking to school,” Public Works Director Steve Zurn said.

Burbank police officials are scheduled to update the public on response times, the status of department investigations and other issues at a community meeting Wednesday. It will be the third such forum, meant to open up access to the public, in two years, said Police Commission Chairwoman Elise Stearns-Niesen. In addition to police resources, officials are also expected to update the community on recent wildlife sightings - which have included coyotes and mountain lions - and the status of the ongoing repairs to the police building.

Glendale police are getting a $200,000 state grant to fund traffic and pedestrian safety education efforts, including speed and distracted driving enforcement. The Glendale Police Department was one of two law enforcement agencies to receive a California Office of Traffic Safety grant specifically for distracted driving enforcement or prosecution. The Fresno County Sheriff's Department is the other agency. While the funding is less than the $254,795 grant handed out last year, it will still pay for extra police enforcement aimed at speeding and distracted driving.

With just shy of four football seasons' worth of tackle football experience under his belt, St. Francis High senior Travis Talianko has already assured himself the opportunity of four more years of football. On Wednesday morning, the Golden Knights receiver and safety verbally committed to play football at San Jose State University. "They're the only team that's been straight up with me, they've been the most realistic," Talianko said. "I really like what they're doing, they're building something.