Since January 31, when Palisades Charter High School senior Nick Rosser died in an automobile accident on Palisades Drive in the Highlands, the Los Angeles West Traffic Division and numerous residents have partnered to discourage speeding. ’I am really proud and impressed with the community on their participation in trying to save lives and for taking this issue so seriously,’ said Nancy Lauer, commanding officer for the West Traffic Division (which includes Pacific Palisades, Westchester, Brentwood, Westwood, Century City, Venice, Hancock Park and Miracle Mile). Starting in March, the division began training community volunteers to use radar speed guns. The volunteers take photographs of speeders, record their license plate numbers and write down vehicle descriptions. They report their findings to the division, which sends out warning letters. So far, the division has sent out hundreds of letters, which Lauer thinks are effective because they either encourage the vehicle owners to slow down or alert them that a family member was speeding. In the past few months, the number of volunteers participating has declined from 14 to 6, said Paul Glasgall, a Highlands resident and volunteer organizer. He and the other volunteers are actively recruiting through local homeowners associations. On May 19, the volunteers’ most recent outing, they spotted 75 vehicles driving at least 15 miles per hour over the 35-mph posted speed limit near Avenida de Santa Ynez and lower Palisades Circle, Glasgall said. One vehicle, driven by a teenager, was traveling 78 mph. The speed limit on Palisades Drive is 35 mph in the commercial area near Sunset Boulevard, 25 mph in the Calvary Christian School zone when school is in session, 45 mph through the canyon and 35 mph near the residential area at Avenida de Santa Ynez. In addition to the volunteers’ efforts, the West Traffic Division’s Community Traffic Services Unit was out on May 9, May 13, June 16 and June 23. The unit issued about 20 citations, primarily to speeders. The LAPD reserve motor officers patrolled on May 25, May 30 and June 6 and issued warnings to more than 50 drivers and cited several others. ’There has really been an ongoing effort,’ Lauer said. Since January, the division has received three reports of traffic collisions on Palisades Drive. A speeding vehicle hit a stationary object (most likely a parked vehicle) on June 17 near Palisades Drive and Palisades Circle. A vehicle improperly turned and hit another vehicle on March 3 and again on May 16, close to the intersection of Palisades Drive and Sunset. ’None of these crashes involved serious injuries, so I would say that the shared enforcement efforts of the LAPD, the community, concerned parents and Palisades High School have been a success,’ Lauer said. This spring, PaliHi hosted an assembly about safe driving. Lauer said the division ‘will continue to be highly visible and working in the area, and we hope the community keeps working as well.’ In other traffic-related news, Lauer said she continues to receive complaints about motorcycles driving recklessly and noisily on Sunset Boulevard at night, [‘Residents Upset by Loud Motorcyclists,’ Palisadian-Post, October 30, 2008], and she plans to increase enforcement this summer. LAPD Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore reported at the Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting last Thursday that the police are discussing setting up a checkpoint on Sunset to discourage the motorcyclists from speeding. To volunteer as a traffic monitor on Palisades Drive, send an e-mail to speedwatch@safepalisades.com or pglasgall@aol.com.
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