By Mary O’KEEFE

CVW spent two days this week with California Highway Patrol officers in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County/La Crescenta-Montrose. Local residents contacted CVW regarding traffic safety around schools. Crescenta Valley Town Council (CVTC), Glendale Unified School District and law enforcement have all worked together to educate drivers on how to safely pick up and drop off their students at schools; however, there are still a few drivers who have not gotten the message, which puts everyone in danger.

Officer Bay and Officer Keller know the Crescenta Valley well and understand the community’s concerns regarding traffic. Though they have cited many drivers their focus is not just to write tickets but to educate drivers as to why their actions are endangering others.

Bay spoke about witnessing U-turns near elementary schools and CV High School where drivers will make the illegal turn directly in front of the “No U-turn” sign.

“Drivers will go right up to the crosswalks when pedestrians are there,” Bay added.

As witnessed by CVW in the previous article on traffic safety (see “Addressing School Traffic to Avert Tragedy,” Sept. 29, 2022) drivers will inch toward the crosswalk while a pedestrian is crossing – many times drivers will cross the yellow lines.

“And then parents stop in the red zone to let their child out,” Bay said.

There is no stopping in a red zone, not even for a minute to let a child out of the vehicle, not even if the driver stays in the vehicle. There are signs that state no stopping and yet CVW witnessed several drivers stopping in the red zone near a school. One driver stopped in the red zone just inches from a clear curb that allows a legal stop.

Another concern that officers have seen are Rosemont Middle School students getting out of a vehicle traveling northbound on Rosemont Avenue. The students get out into traffic and run across the street.

“Drivers just need to have common sense,” Bay said.

He praised the crossing guard at Rosemont Middle School, and all schools, for their work.

Angela Gutierrez is the cheerful crossing guard at Rosemont. She always has a smile and a “good morning” greeting for students. CVW was with CHP Officer Bay for only a few minutes at Rosemont Middle School before witnessing a driver go through the crosswalk at Los Amigos Street and Rosemont Avenue while Gutierrez was in the crosswalk with her stop sign.

Bay cited the driver who told him the crossing guard wasn’t holding the sign up high enough. Excuses are second nature when it comes to those who are stopped by officers for traffic violations, and Bay and Keller have heard a variety of reasons for the drivers’ actions.

Keller pointed out officers are not going to argue with drivers but they do explain why they were stopped and try to educate drivers on safe driving.

CVW noted though that the longer a driver takes to explain his/her actions, the longer the officers are not on the road protecting others.

One of the issues that was seen and is a concern of local residents was the double-parking traffic backup on Rosemont Avenue at the end of the school day. The students are released just after 3 p.m. but drivers would double-park, heading southbound on Rosemont Avenue, as early as 2:30 p.m. This created a traffic hazard for anyone traveling southbound on Rosemont Avenue who did not have a child to pick up.

The school administration worked with CHP and adjusted the time to 3:05 p.m. for the driveway to the school to be opened. According to Rosemont Middle School administration this has relieved the backup.

Officers Bay and Keller not only work with GUSD but with all other schools in their patrol area to come up with safe solutions to traffic issues. The CHP Altadena office, out of which Bay and Keller work, covers miles of area including Angeles Crest Highway/Angeles National Forest, the unincorporated areas of Altadena, east Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley area.

Another issue is speeding. Just a few minutes after meeting with the officers on Tuesday morning, several cars were seen speeding southbound on Rosemont Avenue. Once again Keller and Bay try to educate as they stop drivers.

Bay said speeding is an issue throughout the area, especially on Big Tujunga Road where he found one driver traveling up to 104 miles per hour.

“Speeding is a big issue,” Keller added.

School traffic is very hectic for about 20 minutes in the morning then is quiet with only a few parents speeding to the school to drop off their students. Then the area is quiet until pickups begin. When it quiets around the schools Bay and Keller will often go to local neighborhoods. This is the time when people often walk their dogs and as many areas in Crescenta Valley do not have sidewalks a speeding vehicle is even more dangerous for pedestrians.

Although CHP has specific areas they patrol that doesn’t stop them from assisting other agencies like Glendale police in areas like New York Avenue.

Residents will often contact the CHP with traffic concerns and officers do respond. If someone does have a traffic issue it is best to have specific times and locations to reference.

The CVTC is working with GUSD to conduct traffic studies around some schools. CHP has been working closely with GPD on hosting Start Smart classes for adults and young drivers and can be contacted for classes for other organizations. In addition CHP offers a child safety seat inspection. Keller and Bay are both trained in this area. For information on Start Smart or child safety seat inspections contact the CHP Altadena office at (626) 296-8100.

For now Keller and Bay will continue to patrol the schools in the area.

“We will have a rotation schedule,” Keller said meaning there are no set times or set areas officers will be. So the best thing for drivers to do is to simply obey traffic laws, be courteous and aware and use common sense.