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Scramble Crossings Coming to L.A., but Not for the First Time

By Eric Richardson
Published: Tuesday, August 05, 2008, at 09:11PM
L.A. Times

This photo of a scramble crossing at 7th & Broadway ran in the August 22, 1956, edition of the L.A. Times.

This morning, the Times' transportation guru, Steve Hymon, , including four in the Fashion District. The first would go in Westwood, at Le Conte and Westwood. Scramble crossings save all pedestrian movements for one time, allowing unimpeded right turns for cars and giving walkers the ability to cross an intersection diagonally.

While Hymon calls the Westwood intersection L.A.'s first, it's hardly that. One pilot program turned seventeen Downtown intersections into scramble crossings, way back in August of 1956.

The 1956 experiment was conducted in the area bounded by 5th, 8th, Main and Hill. Initial reactions were that the pilot was a success, with various city departments saying that the new movements reduced congestion.

An October report on the system told that midday traffic flow was improved by the new crosswalks, while the evening rush hour traffic was slightly impacted. In all, "its advantages outweigh its drawbacks," according to reports in the October 15, 1956, edition of the Times.

The system, originally a 90-day trial, hung on until 1958 and expanded to 25 intersections. In the end, delays in vehicle movement were cited as the cause for its demise. Downtown's scramble intersections reverted to normal behavior on April 25, 1958. In typical L.A. fashion, no mention was made on how the scramble system or the "shared green" plan that replaced it benefited or harmed pedestrian movement.

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Conversation

Guest 1

Pimmy on August 06, 2008, at 01:03AM – #1

I love scramble crossings, first encountered them in Christchurch, New Zealand last summer and thought they were great. I deal with that Westwood/Le Conte intersection almost every day and that would be a huge help there.


Guest 2

Los Angeles Go Card on August 06, 2008, at 06:56AM – #2

This should help that area, they have been know to help in the past.


Guest 3

JM on August 06, 2008, at 09:21AM – #3

Sweet! There are some good ideas floating around at the moment. Might be something worth considering on 7th near Macy's Plaza and Figueroa, and the Disney Concert Hall as well.


Guest 4

weston deboer on August 06, 2008, at 09:23AM – #4

doesn't pasadena have one of these?


Guest 5

desmo on August 06, 2008, at 09:30AM – #5

There are a few in old town Pasadena, they really seem to help. I also thing the intersection of Hollywood and Highland is in desparate need of this.


Guest 6

carter on August 06, 2008, at 09:39AM – #6

Any major intersection where crowds gather or major bus lines cross should be considered. How often do you see people missing their bus just because they missed the traffic light after getting off another bus. but le conte/westwood is a very good place to start, as would several intersections on Wilshire, like Westwood, Gayley and Glendon, for example!


Guest 7

Ted on August 06, 2008, at 10:01AM – #7

Downtown Beverly Hills has had them as far back as I can remember.


Guest 8

Atwater Village Newbie on August 06, 2008, at 10:11AM – #8

It's funny how a big city like LA is re-discovering tricks that podunk Midwestern towns have used for years. Diagonal crosswalks? Letting pedestrians cross a few seconds before cars? Such a no-brainer, they even already do it in Colorado.


Guest 9

David on August 06, 2008, at 10:22AM – #9

Judging from the hanging of a third Walk/Don't Walk signal on various polls around campus it also looks like a few intersections near USC are about to get the same treatment.


Guest 10

sebastian on August 06, 2008, at 10:54AM – #10

Whe should have one on olympic and figueroa, and figueroa and 11th since that is where the L.A. live complex will be.


Guest 11

Karen on August 06, 2008, at 11:04AM – #11

Pedestrians often don't actually look at the signage and just cross when the car signal turns green, making the entire system fall apart, as demonstrated at the Old Town Pasadena scrambles.


Guest 12

Evan on August 06, 2008, at 03:45PM – #12

I work for UCLA in the Kinross Building (in Westwood, not on campus), and we all got emails earlier this week about the "scramble crosswalk," the first time I've ever heard them called that before.

Anyway, apparently Hizzoner is going to be at Westwood & Le Conte Thursday for a 10am press conference. I was at the intersection this morning, and saw no indications of the coming diagonal crossing--no new crosswalk lines, no signs, etc. Guess they've got a lot of work to do before tomorrow.


Guest 13

brian on August 07, 2008, at 02:28PM – #13

off topic here . . .

where is blogdowntown's coverage of the 1/2 cent transportation tax circus going on at city hall? seems like a worthy story for the "movement" section, and i need some trustworthy perspective from all the folks here (contributors and commentors).

i'm getting very, very, very discouraged about the long-term prospect of living in los angeles. should i be?


Eric Richardson () on August 07, 2008, at 03:14PM – #14

Brian: The controversy is everywhere but City Hall. City Council passed a motion in support, and asked Metro to include funding for the streetcar. We covered that as it went to Council. I'd include a link, but I'm sitting on the taxiway at JFK at the moment.


Guest 14

Karin Liljegren on August 08, 2008, at 12:23AM – #15

Particularly good in downtown because if you drive anywhere you have to make 15 right turns to avoid "no left turn" hours and one way streets


Guest 15

The Daily Bonus on August 08, 2008, at 12:36AM – #16

Scramble crossings work great as long everyone follows the rules, but I see so many LA pedestrians not following the current rules. If they don't adhere to the new rules, the scramble crossings will become a congestion nightmare!


Eric Richardson () on August 08, 2008, at 08:41AM – #17

Daily Bonus: That's not just an L.A. phenomenon. I was in Denver a few weeks back, and while people would cross diagonally when they were supposed to, just enough would also cross normally when they weren't supposed to. That defeats the right turn benefit for the cars, and makes the performance analysis look bad.



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