Safety Is Worth a ‘Look’

Broadway and Glendale Avenue got a new, safe “look” on Thursday.

As part of an ongoing public safety campaign, public works crews painted over a large stencil with the word “Look,” which was placed at the foot of the crosswalk as a warning to pedestrians to look for oncoming traffic before crossing.

The message in English, Armenian and Spanish will be placed at several intersections with high foot traffic as part of the city’s “Driven 2 Distraction” public education campaign aimed to curb distracted driving and encourage pedestrian safety, officials said.

Along with the word “Look,” the stencil includes an arrow pointing pedestrians to the intended direction of travel.

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To combat an increasing number of pedestrian-involved traffic collisions, Zurn said the city bought the customized sentence to get the word out about traffic safety to residents. Similar street signs have been used in England and Ireland, he added.

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The Police Department launched the public education campaign in November when it staged two badly wrecked vehicles on Glenoaks Boulevard and Verdugo Road with the messages “Slow down” and “Texting kills.”

The campaign–funded through a $254,795 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety–was also focused on city engineering, public education and targeted law enforcement operations.

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