Northridge Community Bike Ride November 13th

On Sunday November 13th Sal Palaez of Northridge South Neighborhood Council will be leading a fun and family friendly bicycle ride to Get Shaved Ice Cream shop on Reseda and Prairie. The ride will gather at 3pm and leave at 3:15. Come out and enjoy a Sunday afternoon!

If it's been a while since you've ridden your bike please make sure it is working condition. Tires inflated, brakes tested and so forth. If you are not sure, you can always take it to Bicycle Johns on Reseda just south of Rayen and have it checked out. I recommend you wear a helmet as well. Here is a map of the route!




View Northridge Community Bike Ride in a larger map

Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee 8/25/11 Meeting Report

Northridge Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee

On Thursday August 25th I had the privilege of chairing my first Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee meeting. We had a great turn out and a lively conversation about several agenda items in the neighborhood as well as public comments about non agenda items. As a result, the committee has crafted 3 agenda items to be placed on the September 13th agenda for the Northridge West Neighborhood Council board meeting. I hope you come out to provide input and I'm looking forward to serving the neighborhood to the best of my ability moving forward by hosting the Planning Land Use and Zoning committee meetings at least once every two months.

Planning, Land Use, and Zoning Committee Meeting Minutes:
Meeting Minutes, Thursday, 25 August 2011 

Location: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Restaurant (Patio)
18705 Devonshire Street Northridge CA, 91324 7:00 pm to 8:45 pm

Members Present:
Theresa Bidner
Mary Finley
Paul Kirk
Marcy Orkin
Mike Orkin
Bryan Reff
Don Ward (chair)
Glen Wilson

1.    Non Agenda Public Comment
Fraternity House complaints and issues on Lassen Street across from Nobel Middle School.  There may be possible violations of their conditional use permit. There are parking issues on small street south and parallel to Lassen due to teacher parking overflow and student pickup drop-off.

2.    The Oakridge Estate PAB (Park Advisory Board) - Discussion / Public Comment
There were concerns of a lack of transparency by the PAB toward community constituents.. Plans and renderings presented at the last PAB meeting were not posted publicly or to the internet. Plan and rendering presented on poster boards were shown at the PAB meeting but not elsewhere. Post-it note public comments collected at the meeting should be posted to Internet. NWNC Planning and Land Use Committee members are concerned that some PAB committee meetings have NOT been open to the public. Meeting times and place not convenient. Seeking meeting place for January board meeting to occur in Northridge rather than Granada Hills and in the evening rather than during the day. Possible meeting place suggestions: Wilkinson Center, Chase Bank and Devonshire House.

Resolution: Craft resolution urging Oakridge Estate PAB to increase transparency to community, reexamine PAB meeting times and locations, and post proposed plans, renderings, and public comments at local libraries and on the internet.

3.    Northridge Vision – Discussion / Public Comment
Very little information to be found. Awaiting presentation of plan Oct 11th NWNC meeting.
The committee is concerned about additional car traffic to the area. The committee encourages robust public transit, walking and cycling facilities. Like idea of college town feel.

Resolution: Craft resoultion urging walking, cycling, transit facilities be part of the plan. Encourage college town feel.

4.    Rydell Chevrolet Additional Repair Stall - Discussion / Public Comment
New repair stall faces south towards homes on Lemarsh Street. There is a potential for noise. If neighbors are disturbed by noise consider erecting a berm / sound wall. No motion was proposed. Rydell organization noted to be friendly people. The addition may provide more jobs in the area.

5.    Walgreen CUP - Discussion / Public Comment
The committee has concerns about selling small-sized bottles of spirits and wine, and individual cans or bottles of beer. This may encourage alcohol abuse in the immediate vicinity of the Shopping Center and beyond resulting in a negative impact to our community.

Resolution: Craft resolution urging Walgreens not to sell beer in individual cans or bottles, spirits in miniatures or half-pints, and wine by splits, snipes, or ponies.

3 RESOLUTIONS for 9/13/11 NWNC Agenda

TITLE: Oakridge Estate PAB Transparency and Convenience Resolution
AUTHOR: Don Ward, Chair Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee
REFERRED TO: Northridge West Neighborhood Council by Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee

WHEREAS The Oakridge Estate Park Advisory Board was set up with the intention of community involvement; and

WHEREAS constituents in the immediate surrounding neighborhood have expressed concerns that the Oakridge Estate Park Advisory Board meetings are difficult to attend due to current meeting time and place; and

WHEREAS constituents have expressed concerns of a lack of publicly available up-to-date information, sketches, renderings, plans, and meeting minutes posted to the Internet as well as posted to physical locations; be it

RESOLVED that the Northridge West Neighborhood Council urges the Oakridge Estate Park Advisory Board to consider evening meeting times within the immediate neighborhood; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Northridge West Neighborhood Council urges the Oakridge Estate Park Advisory Board to make available all information, current plans, renderings, and meeting minutes to be posted publicly on the Internet and public locations in the immediate surrounding neighborhood of the Oakridge Estates proposed park location



TITLE: Northridge Vision Transparency and Convenience Resolution
AUTHOR: Don Ward, Chair Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee
REFERRED TO: Northridge West Neighborhood Council by Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee

WHEREAS The Northridge Vision plan will have a profound affect on the neighborhoods and surrounding areas of CSUN (California State University Northridge); and

WHEREAS constituents in the surrounding neighborhood have expressed concerns that the Northridge Vision project is lacking in transparency and available information; and

WHEREAS constituents have expressed fears of additional car traffic due to lack of alternative transportation options; be it

RESOLVED that the Northridge West Neighborhood Council urges Northridge Vision to consider evening meeting times within the immediate neighborhood of CSUN; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Northridge West Neighborhood Council urges Northridge Vision to make all information, current plans, renderings, and meeting minutes publicly available by posting on the Internet and in public locations in the surrounding neighborhood of affected areas and surrounding communities; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Northridge West Neighborhood Council urges Northridge Vision to include planning for robust alternative and public transportation facilities at CSUN and affected areas including additional cycling and pedestrian friendly facilities; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Northridge West Neighborhood Council urges Northridge Vision to facilitate, and encourage Northridge towards a small college town character.




TITLE: Walgreens Conditional Use Permit Resolution
AUTHOR: Don Ward, Chair Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee
REFERRED TO: Northridge West Neighborhood Council by Planning Land Use and Zoning Committee

WHEREAS Walgreens located at 18515 Devonshire Northridge, CA 91324 seeks a conditional use permit to sell carry off beverages of beer and wine; and

WHEREAS constituents in the immediate surrounding neighborhood have expressed concerns about the selling of small-sized bottles of wine, and individual cans or bottles of beer which may encourage alcohol abuse in the immediate vicinity of the Shopping Center and beyond resulting in a negative impact to the surrounding community; be it

RESOLVED that the Northridge West Neighborhood Council urges the CUP commissioner  to consider prohibiting Walgreens from engaging in the sale of beer by individual cans or bottles and wine by the pint or half pint, splits, snipes or ponies.

Alleged Hit and Run Killer captured. Father arrested as co-conspirator.

Alleged Killer: Dominique Marie Rush

On Tuesday, LAPD Valley Traffic Division Detectives announced that Dominique Marie Rush 23, and her father Steven Rush 44, were arrested in connection with the April 20th hit and run killing of Alex German Romero 17, a Chatsworth high school student who was run down while riding his bicycle.

LAPD credits email tipsters and online media with providing the information needed to complete their investigation. Dominique Rush, a resident of a gated community in Porter Ranch, was observed taking refuge at her grandmother's residence in Oxnard where she was ultimately arrested. Steven Rush is alleged to have aided in the conspiracy to conceal the crime. Police have reported that the vehicle was immediately driven from the scene of the crime to the Palmdale area where the father maintains a residence and then driven to a business address in San Pedro before it disappeared for a period of time and has since been recovered.

Media frames crime as "helpful."
What was particularly disturbing, was that during the press conference announcement that the killer and conspirator were caught, the media framed their questions as a father "helping" his child by concealing her crime (see video.) While I can sympathize with a father wanting to help his daughter, what kind of world do we live in where "help" is defined as avoiding responsibility for one's actions?

Alleged Co-Conspirator: Steven Rush

Quoting Sgt. Krumer, LAPD from the LA Times blog on the proper way to "help" one's child: "You hold their hand as they walk into the Police Station...claim there was a terrible lack of judgement at the time...and take responsibility for what occurred. If they had done that than all she would be looking at is a civil lawsuit and a slap on the wrist."

Indeed, a slap on the wrist is sadly the truth of the matter. People who kill others by vehicle, are surprisingly rarely even cited. A quick Google search for "Los Angeles killed in crosswalk" reveals hundreds of links rarely a case in which a person is charged with a traffic violation. Without significant repercussions, the killing will continue and people will remain hesitant to choose walking and cycling to their local destinations.

Dangerous street design encourages wreck-less driving.
Streetsblog LA points out that De Soto itself is partly culpable as a 7 lane residential street. If we want to reduce traffic, we need to make the streets safer for people to choose alternate forms of transportation. If we want the population to trend away from obesity, we need to provide safe accommodations for people to use people powered transportation options.

De Soto, a seven lane street, has residential character.

Northridge West Neighborhood Council endorses Life Before License Campaign

Good news for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists who will one day become victims of hit and run crimes... A grass roots push has begun towards stiffening the consequences for committing a hit and run, one of the more common person on person crimes on our streets. In a unanimous vote Tuesday June 14th, the Northridge West Neighborhood Council voted to endorse the Life Before License Campaign. I introduced the motion to support this campaign because I have been frustrated by the lack of accountability that hit and run perpetrators have faced in the rare times that they are prosecuted and punished. Indeed, the punishment for hit and run crimes is typically far less than that of DUI and thus the reason that nearly 1/3 of traffic collisions are hit and run crimes.

Campaign author, Dr. Alex Thompson states: " In LA, 32% of ALL collisions are hit and run [2008 SWITRS data, California Highway Patrol.] In other words, Los Angelinos involved in a collision have a nearly 1 in 3 chance of being left to fend for themselves.  Worse, in those cases where a hit and run perpetrator is caught and convicted, judges rarely take away the convicts driving privileges.  Life Before License, a campaign started by the cycling advocacy organization Bikeside, will seek mandatory loss of driving privileges for convicted hit and run perpetrators."

The language of the campaign seeks to suspend the license of a driver who commits a hit and run. Many would be surprised to know that the DMV does not suspend the driver's license of hit and run perpetrators. In other words, a person can leave a victim to die on the streets, and drive the days before and the days after the person is convicted of the crime. 



LIFE BEFORE LICENSE CAMPAIGN:

WHEREAS 32% of all collisions in Los Angeles are hit and run, AND

WHEREAS leaving the scene of a collision is a failure to take responsibility for one’s actions and the safety of others, and therefore demonstrates a tendency to drive unsafely, AND

WHEREAS currently there is not a mandated loss of driving privileges for those convicted of hit and run, AND

WHEREAS judges sentencing convicted hit and runners rarely take away the perpetrator’s driving privileges,

Safe Streets Northridge hereby endorses the Life Before License campaign to change California law so that once convicted of a hit and run, perpetrators will automatically lose all driving privileges, and that the duration of the loss will correspond to the severity of the impact of the hit and run as follows:

1. A hit and run which results in fatality will result in the loss of driving privileges for 10 years.
2. A hit and run which results in permanent disability, or causes a life threatening injury will result in the loss of driving privileges for 5 years.
3. A hit and run which results in injury, but which does not lead to permanent disability or a life threatening injury, will result in the loss of driving privileges for 2 years.
4. A hit and run which results in the damage of property only will result in the loss of driving privileges for 1 year.

---

 

COMMUNITY ALERT: Killer's Vehicle Traced to Porter Ranch Address

Romero's parents hold photo of promising Chatsworth high soccer star

Important news was revealed at our last regularly scheduled Northridge West Neighborhood Council meeting by Glenn Bailey of the LABAC. During public comment Bailey revealed that police detectives working on the Alex Romero hit and run fatality had traced the owner of the car to a gated community located in Porter Ranch. LAPD has independently confirmed this fact.

According to Bailey, detectives have not released the name of the registered owner but have information that the owner has retained legal representation. Detectives allege that shortly after the collision that took the life of Alex Romero near the intersection of De Soto and Valerio, the driver of the vehicle fled to a location in Palmdale where relatives of the registered owner reside. Detectives allege that the car was then driven to a to a business address associated with the registered owner in San Pedro. Police are not able to determine where the car is currently located and have distributed a community alert to the public to be on the look out.

2003 Silver/Gray Toyota Corolla

SUSPECT WEAPON(S): VEHICLE
SUSPECT VEHICLE:
2003 TOYOTA COROLLA 4 DOOR
LIGHT GRY OR SILVER
LIC PLATE: 5FCA061
(REGISTERED TO ADDRESS
IN PORTER RANCH)

MISSING RIGHT SIDE MIRROR &
FRONT EMBLEM, DAMAGE TO RIGHT
PORTION OF WINDSHIELD, AND
POSSIBLE FRONT GRILL DAMAGE

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Valley Traffic Detective Krajchir, at (818) 644-8034. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting the word "TIPLA" and the message to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. Tipsters may also go to www.lacrimestoppers.org, click on "Submit a Tip" and follow the prompts.


For additional information contact Valley Traffic Detectives at (818) 644-8000.

Installing a "Fix" at a Cost of 9000 Filled Potholes

The Mayall 45mph rated merge

The LA Times reported that a pothole fix costs between $5 and $21. By that calculation, the city is spending up to 9000 "pothole fixes" worth of money ($45,000) to paint in a 45mph lane merge right up to a residential intersection where local residents signed petitions asking to have a crosswalk installed. Not only is the city spending scarce funds to do it, they are spending the money on a street that less than a year ago was freshly paved and striped with a much needed safe street configuration designed to discourage speeders and encourage multi-mode use. Commuters to the north, who were used to cutting through the neighborhood (typically at high speeds) raised an angry protest backed by Councilman Smith's office will ultimately get their "fix" at the cost of a safer pedestrian friendly neighborhood intersection to the south. The lines are currently chalked and paint is set to be laid some time soon... possibly this weekend.







A parent speaks out against the Mayall 45 mph rated merge:

Bike lanes shoved to the gutter....

This father of two loses some on street parking with the Mayall merge

How did this happen?

The 1998 Northridge Community Plan with specific reference to Wilbur

The process that led the LADOT to re-pave and re-stripe Wilbur Ave. a second time in only 10 months was driven by a rift between local and outside interests but could not have happened without the ultimate decision of Councilman Smith's office to move forward with a "compromise plan" that was rejected by the public for different reasons. The root of the issue is that Wilbur Ave. is contradiction in civic planning. The street, designed decades ago is wide and fast yet distinctly residential. There are many homes along the street with frontages and driveways with no access to alleys or outlets other than Wilbur Ave. itself. The street does not connect across the valley and is therefore under traveled during off peak hours which means drivers had a wide open street to speed on under the old "4 lane" configuration. This lead to chronic problems of collisions and even death. SWITRS (a CHP maintained statewide database) statistics analysis reveals that in just 10 years 5 people died and more than 300 collisions occurred on the two mile stretch in which the new configuration was striped. The problem was significant enough that the 1998 Northridge community plan - part of the city wide general planning document - focuses on Wilbur specifically by name and calls for "narrowing of travel lanes, chokers or sidewalk bulges" to calm speeders.

Despite the calls in the LA City General plan for a safer more residential Wilbur, in 2009, the LADOT attempted to remove the crosswalks at Prairie and Superior posting small signs at the crosswalks to alert the community of their impending removal. The people in the community reacted fiercely, signing 600 petition signatures in favor of keeping the crosswalks and showing up to Northridge West and Northridge East Neighborhood Council meetings. People voiced demands that the crosswalks stay and that peak hour lanes not be installed on Reseda Blvd. in the residential area north of Devonshire. Both meetings featured heated and passionate public comment directed at the LADOT representatives from the local residents.

CHP/LAPD statistics re the 2 mile stretch of Wilbur now cured by the road diet.

Fast forward to 2010 when Wilbur was scheduled for a re-pavement. The LADOT, perhaps responding directly to the lashing from the year before, installed what is called a road diet on Wilbur Ave. A road diet takes a 4 lane street and converts it to a 3 lane street with bike lanes and added parking. This configuration gave drivers an option to use the center turn lane to slow and turn from rather than stopping in the path of (often) speeding traffic. With a contiguous center turn lane, left turns into driveways and street-locked communities became much safer. The statistics showed left turn collisions were the majority of crashes that were occurring under the 4 lane configuration.  Drivers were vulnerable to speeders zooming up from behind who then either had to slow down or move to the right to pass - a dangerous situation especially in a residential area. With the road diet in place, drivers could now avoid stopping in the "fast lane" in order to make a left.

The road diet ultimately engineered slower more reasonable speeds of 35-40 mph which of course was not received well by those who were used to speeding on Wilbur. One LA Times reporter and Porter Ranch resident lamented the loss of her "speedway." Parents dropping their kids off at the area schools became infuriated at the initial backup caused by the road diet. An angry mob hurled insults at Rita Robinson, the LADOT General Manager at the time who happened to have a speaking engagement scheduled at the Porter Ranch neighborhood council shortly after the road diet was striped. One NC member famously called her an "idiot" in a fit of anger. The situation was only made more hostile by the fact that Councilman Smith, whose office is located on the south end of Wilbur was vehemently opposed to the road diet.


The Wilbur Working Group Ad-Hoc Committee is formed

To address the anti-road diet crowd, Councilman Greig Smith formed an ad hoc committee headed up by Chief of Staff Mitch Englander. Smith put Porter Ranch NC and Northridge West NC in charge of assigning members to the committee. After the committee came to a decision Smith proclaimed, there would be a joint NC vote on the matter. Immediately, the committee was stacked with anti-road diet people. 3 from Porter Ranch, 2 from the Ridgegate and Belcourt gated communities and 3 from Northridge West. The only pro-road diet voice initially was Paul Kirk a resident of a street-locked community south of Plummer. Two other representatives chosen by Northridge West lived North of Devonshire and were vehemently anti-road diet.

Wilbur Residents express support for the road diet:

Representation by people living on Wilbur aggressively quieted

Alternative plan rejected by LADOT and CD12

One problem for Smith and the anti-road diet crowd... The people that actually lived on Wilbur and within the street-locked neighborhoods were in favor of the new configuration and wanted to be heard. Many felt that having a calmer safer street with better turning ability and bike lanes as a "buffer zone" between traffic and their homes was an improvement. People from the community circulated petitions and made phone calls in support of the new configuration. With no representation of the people that actually lived on the street I pleaded to become a member of the committee arguing that people that live on the street itself should have a say. Smith's chief of staff Mitch Englander, himself an anti-road diet advocate, actively blocked my attendance to the crucial first meeting of the Ad-Hoc committee. This, despite presenting petition signatures from nearly every resident that lived on Wilbur from Nordhoff to Chatsworth requesting my attendance as their representative. By the time the second and third meeting of the Wilbur Ad Hoc committee adjourned, the Mayall high speed merge was a part of the plan. Despite my objections, the LADOT explained there was no other possible alternative design available. Stop signs, street lights, 4 lanes to Devonshire - all possible remedies to the speeding and the morning school drop off issue were flatly rejected. Furthermore during the meeting city officials refused to address the cost of the 2nd re-striping despite repeated questions from both pro and anti road diet voices regarding the matter. Traffic counts and cost were not considered.

The Town Hall Meeting

The conclusion of the matter was a March 15th townhall meeting where the joint Porter Ranch and Northridge west NC panel would decide the fate of Wilbur. Even the location of the meeting became an issue as the anti-road diet voices pushed to have the meeting at the regularly scheduled Porter Ranch NC meeting place. This did not seem fair after all, the entirety of the road diet existed within the boundaries of Northridge West. The meeting was moved to Nobel Middle School auditorium where an estimated crowd of 500 people showed up. About 2/3 of the people were clearly anti-road diet, most of which were from Porter Ranch. The other 1/3 were pro-road diet and pro-residential Wilbur.

Presentation against the Mayall merge:



The LADOT presented their design to the crowd, along with cases presented both for and against the LADOT proposed re-design. The joint panel ultimately voted against the LADOT proposed plan Members of the joint panel, disgusted with the compromise plan and the process itself, abstained in protest that they were only given one option. This apparently was not understood by Councilman Smith who was not present at the meeting but moved ahead with the rejected LADOT plan choosing to override the entire process that many people spent hours of volunteer time attempting to reach a compromise on.

Mitch Englander addresses a packed town hall meeting

The final cost...

Only 10 months after the initial re-pavement of Wilbur, the Bureau of Street Services and the LADOT are back to re-pave and re-stripe Wilbur. Instead of a crosswalk, the community gets a $45,000 "finish line" at Mayall, in a residential area of Wilbur,  a block west of Nobel Middle School and adjacent to a streetlocked community to the east. Meanwhile not 2 miles away, a worn out crosswalk on Zelzah, recently the site of a collision that sent 3 pedestrians to the hospital, deteriorates... in need of a new paint job.

ACTION ALERT! Tell Congress: Fix pedestrian safety, don't make it worse!

If a jumbo jet went down every month, Congress would pass laws left and right. If a consumer product injured someone every seven minutes, the feds would shut down production.

Well, that’s exactly how many Americans are being killed and injured in the act of walking pedestrian-unfriendly streets, according to our report, out today. But in the case of pedestrian safety, our federal tax dollars actually go to build streets that are designed to be perilous to children, the elderly and everyone else.

And yet, right now, some in Congress are trying to kill funding for projects to make it safer to walk and bicycle!

Join us - ask your representative and senators in Washington to show us that they take pedestrian and bike fatalities seriously.

Our Dangerous by Design research found that more than 47,700 Americans were struck and killed while walking and another 688,000 were injured from 2000 to 2009. The highways-only lobby insists that pedestrian safety is a “frill” and a local responsibility. But 67 percent of these fatalities over the last 10 years occurred on federal-aid roads — roads eligible to receive federal funding or with federal guidelines or oversight for their design.

That’s right: Federal programs have encouraged state departments of transportation to prioritize speeding traffic over the safety of people in our neighborhoods and shopping districts.

The irony is that fixing these conditions is relatively cheap: Existing funds for that purpose – now targeted for elimination -- amount to less than 1.5 percent of the current federal transportation outlay. A policy of giving federal support only to “complete streets” that are designed for the safety of people on foot or bicycle as well as in cars would cost next to nothing.

Tell Congress: it's no time to start cutting funding that helps keep pedestrians safe.  

Thank you for helping fix our transportation system to make it safe, reliable, and accessible for everyone!

Stephen Lee Davis
Deputy Communications Director
Transportation for America

Read our new report, Dangerous by Design, at t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011
And a map of Complete Streets policies across the country: http://www.completestreets.org/complete-streets-fundamentals/complete-streets-atlas/ 

Another Month, Another Hit and Run Killer At Large in the West Valley

Northridge West President Tom Johnson just passed this info on to me. If any one has ANY info please contact 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or the LAPD detective listed below.

71 year old bicyclist fatally struck by hit and run vehicle in Canoga Park On Saturday, May, 14 2011 at approximately 1215 pm, a vehicle described as a small black 4 door sports utility type vehicle was traveling eastbound on Sherman Way. The vehicle negotiated a right turn onto Canoga Avenue where it struck a bicyclist that was traveling eastbound on the south crosswalk of Sherman Way. The impact caused the bicyclist to collide with the ground. The driver left the scene failing to render aid and exchange information as required by law. The bicyclist sustained severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he died two days later as a result of his injuries.

The bicyclist was identified as 71 year old Eduardo Perez a resident of Canoga Park. 

The hit and run driver and vehicle remain outstanding.

Anyone who may have witnessed the traffic collision is being asked to contact LAPD Valley Traffic Division Officer Martinez at (818) 644-8032, or Detective I Krajchir at (818) 644-8034. During non-business hours or weekends, calls may be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800)-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most key pads) using a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” 

Tipsters can also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on “web tips” and follow the prompts.

For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/4691964/?sub_id=474305.

Scene of the crime: Sherman Way facing eastbound at cross street Canoga Park

3 High School Students Hospitalized after collision on Zelzah

Three high school students were hospitalized on Friday after being clobbered in a crosswalk by a motorist who was not cited by police reports the Daily News. It makes you wonder what it will take to issue a ticket to someone who does not pay attention while driving. Motorists are to give right of way to pedestrians in a crosswalk. That's the law. If we do nothing to punish drivers who violate the law, the streets will continue to be dangerous for everyone.

Zelzah is of particular interest because of successful moves by the LADOT to increase speed limits on this stretch and other streets in the valley RIGHT NEXT TO SCHOOLS. They got their way. So when will it end? Not long ago Councilman Smith finally got the message and compelled the LADOT to install a better crosswalk on Reseda.

The LADOT allows crosswalks to fade like this one at Zelzah, the scene of the crime.
In fact they actively remove them whenever possible.

Enforcing the rule of law city wide and reinforcing the importance of crosswalks could save lives and money but instead the LADOT chooses to remove them or drag their feet on installing them creating a self full filling prophecy. The less common pedestrian crossing points become, the less likely drivers will be watching out for them, the more likely people will be injured or die, the more likely people will choose not to walk the more obese our nation becomes.

Why I support the Life Before License Campaign - a personal story

One of the more common person on person crimes committed on our streets is that of Hit and Run. Because these crimes are under-reported, they occur more than we realize. My suspicion is that the number of incidents have increased over the years and in direct correlation to the escalation in punishment for drunk driving. People, when faced with DUI charges, have an enormous incentive to run due to the disparity in punishment between DUI and hit and run crimes. I've learned a great deal about hit and run law the hard way... through experience.

Photo taken after I was helped to the
curb from the middle of Glendale Blvd.

As a hit and run survivor, I know the lonely feeling of being left for dead after a collision. On May 19th 2009 I was riding a bicycle on Glendale blvd. I was doing everything right, I had the brightest lights money could buy, I was wearing a helmet, and I was riding in a legal, vehicular fashion when a driver plowed into me from behind at an estimated speed of 50 mph. It was 1 AM and the streets were relatively empty. My bike crumpled as it collided with the grill and my body sunk in to the hood of the gray 4 door 2009 Jaguar. I was carried and thrown some 50 feet and then.... left to fend for myself in the middle of the street. I saw it coming. The driver was speeding, swerving and out of control. I tried to move out of the way but it all happened so fast. Laying face down on the ground, blurry eyed, and in shock I still managed to get most of the plate numbers. Before I even moved I tweeted them on my smashed phone, afraid I would forget the numbers. Fearful of getting hit by another car I was able to crawl to the curb with the help of a security guard and a friend who arrived minutes later. I was taken to the hospital and released that morning - luckily - with only bruises and injuries to my spine, back, elbows and tailbone. Fortunately my helmet and street clothes had protected my body to a degree. Not everyone is as lucky as I was. In fact, just months before, a hit and run victim died not 30 yards from where I had landed.

You can see my phone in hand
which I used to tweet the plate number.

Still in great pain, the next day I called the LAPD thinking that having the plate numbers would mean an all out man hunt. On cop shows they always move quick when there are leads in the case right? Sadly, I was dead wrong. The officer who answered seemed almost annoyed that I called. "Did you get hurt?" I was smashed and thrown 50 feet onto the pavement, taken to the hospital and my bike was destroyed. "Did you break any bones?" No, but I'm bruised up, I can barely walk, and my back sustained heavy injury. "Well, it's going to take a couple weeks to run the plates. You only got 6 of the 7 numbers and you didn't break any bones..." I was told to "drive around the area" and "see if I could spot something." I was truly dismayed. What I didn't understand at the time was that hit and runs are so common on our streets that the police and city hardly have the resources lest someone dies. In fact, hit and run crime priority for the police is measured by the injury sustained not by the crime alone.

Video still of the car at the shop

6GYC611... I will never forget that plate number, which turned out to be registered to a car belonging to a man named Glenn Gritzner a politically connected person of sorts who had no priors on his record and seemed to otherwise be an upstanding financially responsible citizen. I was fortunate enough to have friends in high places my damn self, namely a young and scrappy lawyer named Danny Jimenez who had a connection in the CHP. It took all of 10 minutes to run the plates and car description turning up a potential match just two miles from the point of impact. It is worth noting that this officer put his neck on the line by handing over the info to Jimenez. The City Attorney pushed me hard to find out who the source of the plate ID was. I refused at first not wanting this person to get in trouble, but the courageous officer whose first name is Gio was vehement in moving forward. I am truly thankful for this man's dedication to justice and I consider him and Jimenez to be true heroes.
 

Video still of the car at the shop

Armed with the registered owner's info, Jimenez and I scoured Google, Facebook and everywhere else. We uncovered a lot of information and miraculously found the location where the car was being repaired. Rusnak Pasadena. According to the repair order, Gritzner himself had turned in the car just hours after the incident. 9:39 AM to be exact. "Yes the car is getting repaired - new bumper, grill and  hood it will be ready by Friday" said the receptionist. 


Just 4 days after the incident, I made my way down to the LAPD Central Division, and turned in the comprehensive evidence Jimenez and I had gathered. Photos, Blog posts, Facebook archives, address, phone number, maps, even video of the car being repaired... "Wow. You did all the work for us." proclaimed the detective on duty. "Sign here please and check back in a couple weeks." By now I wasn't expecting much from the police and to their defense, the men and women of LAPD Central Division work in complete squalor. The station, located in the heart of Skid Row was dark and dingy, the computers were old and there was paperwork stacked everywhere. Our city is broke and it showed. Detective Wilson was eventually assigned to my case and she worked hard - sometimes even on her days off - going out of her way to subpoena crucial evidence from the insurance company. The police report states that Gritzner admitted to hitting me, but sadly the judge ruled that this evidence could not be used against him in court due to "attorney client privilege."

In the end, Gritzner never actually had to set foot in the courtroom. After a ferocious fight through his private attorney, Gritzner plead no contest to one count of misdemeanor hit and run "stipulating to the facts in the case" which meant that he did not dispute the official version of what happened that night and that I could move forward with relative ease in the civil matter. It was a long process to justice, taking  about a year for the criminal side and an additional 6 or 7 months for the civil side. His punishment? A $500 fine and 30 days of Cal Trans clean up. It became clear to me at that point why some people choose to run.

Truth is, we can never know why most hit and run perpetrators leave their victims behind since most are never identified.. but hypothetically speaking, if a driver is drunk, running away pays off. The punishment for hit and run crimes is far weaker than DUI let alone DUI with a collision resulting in bodily harm. When a driver stays at the scene and is found drunk, they usually spend at least one night in jail and have a whole mess of legal issues and expenses to deal with. This alone is enormous incentive to run. I hold he system accountable above all else.


As of this posting the killer of Chatsworth High student German Alex Romero is still at large along with countless other hit and run criminals. Romero will unfortunately not be the last person killed on our streets.


SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE....





LIFE BEFORE LICENSE CAMPAIGN

Safe Streets Northridge proudly endorses the "Life Before License" campaign. An initiative put together by Dr. Alex Thompson and Bikeside LA. It calls for the automatic suspension of a driver's license for ANY hit and run crime be it against drivers, cyclists or pedestrians with varying lengths of suspension pending the severity of the damage and injury with death carrying the heaviest punishment. We forget in this car-centric country that driving is a privilege, not a right and judges and the system are far too lenient in the way it treats drivers. This results in a lax atmosphere of accountability on our streets, a recipe for death.

Join me in endorsing the Life Before License campaign. If you know of any group or political figure who can help PLEASE contact myself or Alex Thompson. I will be introducing a motion this Tuesday at the Northridge West Neighborhood Council where I expect unanimous support. Come out and support this very important initiative to make our streets safer.

LIFE BEFORE LICENSE CAMPAIGN:

WHEREAS 32% of all collisions in Los Angeles are hit and run, AND

WHEREAS leaving the scene of a collision is a failure to take responsibility for one’s actions and the safety of others, and therefore demonstrates a tendency to drive unsafely, AND

WHEREAS currently there is not a mandated loss of driving privileges for those convicted of hit and run, AND

WHEREAS judges sentencing convicted hit and runners rarely take away the perpetrator’s driving privileges,

Safe Streets Northridge hereby endorses the Life Before License campaign to change California law so that once convicted of a hit and run, perpetrators will automatically lose all driving privileges, and that the duration of the loss will correspond to the severity of the impact of the hit and run as follows:

1. A hit and run which results in fatality will result in the loss of driving privileges for 10 years.
2. A hit and run which results in permanent disability, or causes a life threatening injury will result in the loss of driving privileges for 5 years.
3. A hit and run which results in injury, but which does not lead to permanent disability or a life threatening injury, will result in the loss of driving privileges for 2 years.
4. A hit and run which results in the damage of property only will result in the loss of driving privileges for 1 year.

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 Dr. Alex Thompson states:

In LA, 32% of all collisions are hit and run [2008 SWITRS data, California Highway Patrol.] In other words, Los Angelinos involved in a collision have a nearly 2 in 5 chance of being left to fend for themselves.  Worse, in those cases where a hit and run perpetrator is caught and convicted, judges rarely take away the convicts driving privileges.  Life Before License, a campaign started by the cycling advocacy organization Bikeside, will seek mandatory loss of driving privileges for convicted hit and run perpetrators.

 

The cycling community has been a leader in identifying this problem, which is ironic given that cyclists involved in collisions are less likely to be left as victims of hit and run, 23% [LAPD, 2008 SWITRS data analysis], not more likely.  Hit and run is a problem for everyone on our streets.

It’s a problem by definition.  A hit and run perpetrator leaves the scene, and continues to drive.  In leaving the scene they send a signal - they will not take responsibility for their actions, they will not take care of another person in need.  In continuing to drive, they put us all at risk.

Of all the people who we can issue drivers licenses to, aren’t these the worst candidates?  And yet prosecutors have refused to ask for revocation of driving privileges on the basis that they will have difficulty getting to their job, and therefore difficulty paying restitution.  Similarly, judges in the same breath have given the convicted a litany of treatments for driving under the influence, and then done nothing to address the convicted drivers driving privileges.  This is not sane - to put drivers who have demonstrated their lack of respect for life and property behind the wheel again.

So, Life Before License seeks mandatory loss of driving privileges for those convicted of hit and run, to commence at the termination of any related period of incarceration, with the length of loss directly tied to the impact of the convicts hit and run:

1. - fatality --> 10 years

2. - permanent disability or life threatening injury --> 5 years

3. - other injury --> 2 years

4. - property damage only --> 1 year.