Join LA's Pedestrian Revolution!

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¡Hola! It's me, Peatónito, the Mexican luchador superhero. Did you watch our video about the Pedestrian Revolution in LA? Great! Now we need you to be a superhero and help us take the streets, fight against the car-oriented nightmare, and build a walkable paradise.

First and foremost, think about a name for your superhero alter-ego. Something related to road safety, pedestrians, cyclists, or transit. Something like "The Sidewalk Vigilante" Ready?... Now, let's start this revolution and fight against our nemesis, "The Speedy Creepy Motorist."

Your first mission?

• Subscribe to Los Angeles Walks Newsletter to follow our campaigns!
• Follow Los Angeles Walks (@losangeleswalks) and Peatónito (@Peatonito) on Twitter for updates!
• Share the Peatónito's Pedestrian Revolution Video with your friends and followers!

Done? You are awesome! Now you are ready for your following missions, which are more challenging but don’t worry, you don’t have to accomplish them right away. We designed the missions below so that you can follow them throughout your career as a pedestrian champion.

• Revolutions start locally! Support and defend pedestrian-oriented improvements in our streets, such as road diets, traffic calm devices, and safe crosswalks. Participate in community meetings, hearings, and outreach events every time you have an opportunity. Here are some good places to start:
  • LA City Council, they're responsible for transportation budget and policies. You can find your City Council Member here.
  • LA Department of Transportation, they're the City agency responsible for designing and planning our streets. You can find their programs and services here. 
  • LA Metro, they're the largest operator of our region's buses and trains. You can find their meetings here.
  • LA Neighborhood Councils, they are locally elected community members who often review and give opinions on street design. You can find your local neighborhood council here.
• Revive and Fund the City's Dignity Infused Community Engagement strategy (DICE)! The City of LA should do genuine community engagement in local neighborhoods, especially in communities of color, towards building popular support for safe streets. For that reason, the City must revive DICE. This program recognizes historic and systemic injustices and looks for opportunities to rebuild trust and work together to achieve zero fatalities and zero severe injuries in LA due to road crashes. Find more info here.
• Tell your state legislators to get rid of the 85th Percentile Rule! In California, we have a state law that says if enough people are driving at a certain speed, that should be the speed limit. That results in “speed creep,” where our streets get faster and faster, by law! The alternative that we propose is a pedestrian-friendly harm-minimization method to set speed limits. SPEED KILLS! Learn more here.
• Decriminalize jaywalking! Jaywalking is a horrible legal term coined by the automobile industry to blame pedestrians and not drivers in a crash. Also, jaywalking is used as an excuse by police enforcement to criminalize people of color disproportionately. That is why we support AB 1238, the Freedom to Walk Act, a new law proposing to eliminate penalties for “jaywalking.” Authorities should not penalize people for decades of infrastructure neglect and auto-first street design. Learn more here.

Thank you, my walking rebel friend! I salute you from the chaotic streets of Mexico City, hoping that the pedestrian revolution reaches every corner of our cities. Now that you are a pedestrian superhero, keep up the excellent work, and remember that the streets are ours! Viva la Pedestrian Revolution! We will win the Pedestrian Battle of Los Angeles!

Here are the references from our video:

• Cáñez, J. (2020). The Pedestrian Battle of Los Angeles: How to Empower Communities to Plan and Implement Pedestrian Road Safety Infrastructure. UCLA: Institute of Transportation Studies. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/02q817k3
• City of LA. (2018). Vision Zero 2018 Action Plan + Progress Report. Retrieved from https://ladot.io/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2018-Action-Plan-Progress-Report.pdf
• NACTO. (2016). Global Street Design Guide (1st ed.). Washington, D.C., U.S.A.: Island Press. Retrieved from: https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/global-street-design-guide/
• Nelson, L. J. (2020, May 14). L.A. traffic deaths surge back to pre-coronavirus levels. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-14/traffic-deaths-speeding-los-angeles-coronavirus-pandemic-vision-zero
• Toda, R. (2018b, May 30). Could California set better speed limits? Retrieved May 13, 2020, from https://transfersmagazine.org/2018/05/30/how-does-california-set-speed-limits/