


#ALESSA WEET FOR FREE#
the number of students who qualify for free or reduced price meals.the number of students who live within a quarter-mile of campus.
#ALESSA WEET DRIVER#
#ALESSA WEET DRIVERS#
In a Vision Zero safety study published in 2017, officials ranked all of L.A.'s neighborhoods based on the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed or severely injured by drivers per mile of street. Pedestrian deaths rose more sharply, up about 65% over the same five-year span. In 2019, the combined death toll for pedestrians, cyclists and people killed in vehicles was 244 people, about a 31% jump. In 2015, 186 people were killed in collisions on city streets. Since the initiative was announced five years ago, traffic deaths in L.A. The story has been notably different in Los Angeles. cities, including Seattle and New York City. And there are signs of progress in some U.S.

Vision Zero advocates believe such progress is possible because traffic deaths are a result of systemic flaws in street design and cultural priorities.īy fundamentally changing the approaches to managing speed and driver behavior, the initiative argues, cities can save lives and improve mobility for all road users. The program, adopted from a European safety philosophy, set an ambitious goal to eliminate all traffic deaths in Los Angeles by 2025. Quinche is one of a growing number of Angelenos criticizing city leaders for not following through on the promise of Vision Zero, a safety initiative launched by Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2015. "What we are lacking is the courage and the conviction from our city council members, our mayor, the Department of Transportation to stand up and say that safety matters more than speed, and that someone's life is more valuable than a driver losing 10 seconds on their way to work." "We have all the tools and solutions to solve this crisis," local cyclist Andrés Quinche told me at a protest in December 2019. in 2019, according to our analysis of preliminary city data. News of their deaths led a group of street safety advocates to protest outside City Hall, calling on the city to take meaningful action to save the lives of pedestrians and cyclists, who together represent roughly 60% of all fatal crash victims in L.A. when a driver hit him and fled the scene. The first victim was Efrain Espinoza, a father of five who was walking to catch his bus in West L.A. She was the second pedestrian killed in the city that October morning. She can't find her phone, so she borrows one to call Jaime, who runs to the scene.Īlessa Fajardo was one of 134 people killed by drivers while walking L.A. But Alessa isn't breathing.įellow parents who witnessed the collision rush to their side. "Everything is going to be fine," she tells her. Her only thought: Where is my daughter? Erica finds her a few yards away. Seconds later, Erica is lying on the asphalt. People screaming, "Watch out!" The roar of a revving engine. They're about halfway across, still holding hands, when Alessa looks up at her mom and smiles. Then she checks for drivers turning onto Olympic. When the traffic light and pedestrian signal turn green, Erica looks over her left shoulder to make sure no drivers are turning right off Normandie from behind her. They cross here every morning, and Erica always keeps Alessa on her right side - as far from oncoming traffic as possible.

The campus is directly across the street. They walk north up Normandie toward the intersection with Olympic, Alessa in her Minnie Mouse sweater, carrying her little backpack.
