Spurred by the tragic death of 25-year-old motorcycle rider Patrick O’Dell, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is evaluating the western intersection of Marquez Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. On November 20, O’Dell, an aspiring actor from West Virginia, died when his motorcycle broadsided a Santa Monica Big Blue Bus at that intersection. O’Dell was on his way to work at Gladstone’s. ’LADOT has visited the location with Los Angeles Police Department, Council District 11 staff and members of the Pacific Palisades community but is still in the process of evaluating the conditions leading to the accident and working with the stakeholders,’ said LADOT spokesperson John Hui in a letter to the Palisadian-Post. Unlike other vehicles, municipal buses traveling westbound on that stretch of Sunset at Marquez have been legally allowed to turn right on Marquez and maneuver around the large triangle in order to return to Sunset and head back towards town. A sign at the intersection, which has been removed, had indicated that buses were exempt from the traffic law prohibiting other vehicles from making a left turn at the stop sign. Regular vehicles are only allowed to make a left turn from the traffic light adjacent to the triangular divider. Since the accident, the Post has observed bus drivers using differing methods when making left turns at that intersection. Some have been seen going straight through the stop sign, some halt at the stop sign before moving onto Sunset, some wait for the traffic light to turn green, some don’t wait for the light at all and others simply drive over the triangular marking separating the stop sign from the signal.’ According to Post sources, part of the DOT evaluation may include looking at alternative bus routes for buses normally making U-turns at the intersection. This could include having the buses travel along Marquez Avenue instead of Sunset. ‘
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