Park La Brea Impacted Residents Group (PLBIRG) is a non-profit watchdog group made up of multi-family residents in the historic Park La Brea apartment community. We focus on land use, transportation and public safety matters on the the Park La Brea perimeter.
PLBIRG was born in 2018 when a group of neighbors banded together to advocate with City officials over concerns that a major development proposed on the PLB perimeter would exacerbate existing traffic congestion and pedestrian safety issues.
Among our concerns was that the project’s doubling in density would increase the number of people using unsafe midblock crossings to go to and from the site. PLBIRG photodocumented an alarming frequency of pedestrians crossing Fairfax going to and From CVS and Whole Foods without the benefit of a marked crosswalk. This included elders and the disabled in wheelchairs crossing in traffic— because the nearest crosswalk entailed a two block detour (up to 3rd St. then back down to Blackburn) just to cross the street to go to the pharmacy! At our request, LADOT conducted pedestrian counts which confirmed that the volume of people crossing in traffic far exceeded LADOT’s benchmark for installing a marked crosswalk. An even more alarming amount of pedestrians were crossing 3rd Street between the Grove and the shopping center f/k/a “Town and Country” on the south side of 3rd St. Collision data obtained via a public records request confirmed these sections of Fairfax and 3rd Street are highly dangerous to pedestrians.
Yet in spite of all of this evidence, the City told us they would not address the known hazards due to budget shortfalls.
Fortunately, through a complex set of negotiations with a major developer, PLBIRG was able to secure a legally binding commitment to pay for LADOT-compliant crosswalks with enhanced safety infrastructure at both locations, with expected completion in 2025. Watch for our for our updates.
3rd Street, looking northeast toward Gilmore Lane. In 2022 PLBIRG documented that it was common for hundreds of people per day to cross here, but the City failed to act despite fatalities. PLBIRG successfully negotiated a commitment from a third party to fund a signalized crosswalk at Gilmore Lane, estimated completion in 2025.
Fairfax Avenue looking east just south of Blackburn. A resident crosses from driveway to driveway after visiting Whole Foods Market. The nearest crosswalk is 250’ to the north, at 3rd St., which makes for a 500’ roundtrip just to cross the street.
PLBIRG’s Campaign for a Safe Crosswalk on Sixth St. to visit the Tar Pits
Among PLBIRG’s many significant accomplishments are the 2019 installation — and 2024 upgrade — of a crosswalk connecting the Park La Brea community with the La Brea Tar Pits’ entrance on Sixth Street at Spaulding. When we began the campaign, the nearest crosswalk connecting the Tar Pits with the north side of Sixth St. required walking two blocks to Ogden, then doubling back two blocks to wind up directly across from where you started out. This 4-block detour incentivized people to cross in traffic to enter and exit the museum at the Spaulding gate.
After a woman was fatally struck crossing Sixth to take her grandson to the museum, PLBIRG’s founder, Barbara Gallen, petitioned the City to install a midblock marked crosswalk with a pedestrian activated signal. To Barbara’s astonishment, the City initially said it wasn’t needed, citing the Ogden crosswalk two blocks away!
PLBIRG proceeded to photodocument the extraordinary volume of pedestrians — including County workers — crossing “midblock” near Spaulding, and it was no wonder. The County-owned LACMA/Tar Pits museum campus is one of SoCal’s premier tourist and family destinations. We reached out to other agencies including the Department on Disability and the County of Los Angeles. We mobilized museum-goers and Park La Brea residents to send emails to the councilmember. With these resources supporting our quest, PLBIRG finally persuaded then-councilmember Ryu to support it, too.
When the HAWK signal crosswalk was installed in 2019, it was safety-challenged from the get-go. It lacked eye level signage and nothing to stop drivers from barreling down the restricted center lane when they got frustrated with the slow moving through lane. When PLBIRG reported the danger, LADOT installed a set of six plastic bollards in the center lane although we had asked for a concrete island with eye level signage. Within six months half of the bollards had been demolished by cars—showing just how vulnerable pedestrians crossing here were. In 2023 PLBIRG mounted a new campaign to achieve a truly safe crosswalk, which this time was embraced by a responsive LADOT staff. In November 2024, the upgraded crosswalk (see photo) debuted with a concrete refuge and high visibility eye-level signage. What’s more, LADOT heeded our request to program the signal to change the red on a fixed cycle without the need for a pedestrian to activate it.[3-15-25 UPDATE: AFTER RECENT RAINS THIS FEATURE WAS DEACTIVATED. WE ARE WORKING TO HAVE IT REINSTATED.]
At left: In response to PLBIRG’s advocacy, in Nov. 2024, LADOT installed this concrete island and eye level signage to enhance pedestrian safety going to and from the Museum campus. LADOT also obliged PLBIRG’s request for the signal to go on and off in a programmed cycle even when no person activates it. This is an important safety feature because some drivers don’t come to a full stop at this crossing. The perpetual cycling of the red light serves to slow traffic down for better visibility of pedestrians in the crosswalk.
Far left: PLBIRG’s campaign to get a crosswalk began after an elder was run over crossing here. Left: City’s first effort was inadequate, with most of the bollards demolished immediately.
More safety improvements coming in 2025!
We’re excited to report that PLBIRG’s ongoing advocacy campaign to get safety upgrades at other perilous crossings have received funding commitments for installation in 2025, on Hauser Blvd., Fairfax Avenue, and 3rd Street1
We’re also excited to announce our partnership with Natural History Museum of LA County (Tar Pits) to address the chaos and pedestrian hazards associated withthe Museum’s midblock entrances on S. Curson. Stay tuned for updates!