Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Los Angeles

Streetfilms: The Pedestrian Scramble Returns to L.A.

3:56 PM EST on November 7, 2008

Clarence Eckerson's newest Streetfilm captures the bustle of pedestrians and cyclists using diagonal crosswalks near the USC campus. It's entrancing footage, even without the benefit of time-lapsed film. LADOT recently added 10 of these crossings around the metro area, but as Clarence discovered in the course of making the video, the "pedestrian scramble" isn't completely novel to L.A.:

...as it turns out, this new idea is something old. Thanks to some nifty sleuthing, Eric Richardson of blogdowntown uncovered the fact that the downtown L.A. area was once littered with two dozen diagonal crosswalks in the late 1950s.Removed in 1958 because a city engineer's report found they impeded cartraffic flow, the lesson is obvious: let's not wait another fifty yearsto deploy a tool to keep pedestrians safe.

And if you want to watch something that now seems extra silly, we did something fun on Barnes Dances early in the year. You have been warned.

Ben Fried
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Congestion Pricing

Stockholm Leader’s Message to NYC: ‘Congestion Pricing Just Works’

"In Stockholm, people really thought that congestion pricing would be the end of the world, the city will come to a standstill, no one would be able to get to work anymore and all the theaters and shops would just go bankrupt. None of that happened."

May 3, 2024
Today's Headlines

Friday’s Headlines: Trump Trial Trumps Safety Edition

Is anyone going to bother to fix the dangerous mess on the streets and plazas around the Trump trial? Plus more news.

May 3, 2024
Congestion Pricing

Adams Offers Bare Minimum to Seize Congestion Pricing’s ‘Space Dividend’ Opportunity

The mayor's list of projects supposedly meant to harness congestion pricing's expected reduction in traffic is mostly old news, according to critics.

May 2, 2024
Congestion Pricing

OPINION: Congestion Pricing Will Help My Family Get Around As We Navigate Cancer Treatment

My partner was recently diagnosed with cancer. Congestion pricing will make getting her to treatment faster and easier.

May 2, 2024
Today's Headlines

Thursday’s Headlines: NYPD Discovers Chained Bike Locks Edition

May 2, 2024
See all posts