VIDEO: School Zone Safety

Student drop off and pick up in school zones can be challenging and stressful but the safety of our children always comes first, no matter what. Here are some safety tips to remember when dropping off and picking up children at school. 

2016 Year-In-Review

Watch our highlights reel to get a taste of some of our accomplishments for 2016, featuring housing, economic development, urban design, building & safety and more. 

Driving Tips Around Schools: Keeping Children Safe

With school year in full swing, sometimes parents and caregivers who drive children to schools may need a reminder of how they can play an important role in enhancing safety around school neighborhoods by following safe driving practices. 

We all know that drivers are often in a hurry and can be distracted during school arrival and dismissal times. This can lead to unsafe conditions for students and others walking, bicycling and driving in the area. 

Here are a few important safety tips to keep in mind when driving near schools.

Temporary Signs Raise Pedestrian Safety Awareness

The City just launched a temporary wayfinding & informational signage program directing residents and visitors to many of Glendale's landmarks and destinations. 

The signs are intended to stimulate walking and exploration within the City and to encourage the public to take an active role in making Glendale a safer and more pleasant place walk. They point to some of the City's most popular locations including the Alex Theater, Montrose Shopping Park, the Glendale Galleria and the Americana, local parks & libraries and feature interesting facts and statistics about walking.

Look for these signs throughout the City and post your selfies along with your thoughts on making Glendale more pedestrian safe. Use #GlendaleWalks to help raise awareness about this important issue.

About Glendale Walks
In 2014, the City of Glendale received $2.7 million in bicycle and pedestrian safety grants to fund educational projects around the city. As part of this funding, the City is developing a Pedestrian Plan which will present an analysis of current walking conditions and offer recommendations that will guide the development of future pedestrian infrastructure. Please visit GlendaleWalks.com to learn more.

Get Involved in Pedestrian Safety

With so many beautiful destinations, Glendale is an ideal place to enjoy a leisurely walk or bike ride. To ensure the safety of everyone who walks and bikes here, the City of Glendale has launched a Citywide Safety Education Initiative to help improve safety and raise awareness about being a safe driver, pedestrian, and bicyclist.

You can help us lay the groundwork for our efforts by participating in our online Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety Survey.  Share your suggestions about locations that may not feel safe. We also want to hear your thoughts regarding pedestrian, bicyclist & driver behavior and more.  

Visit our GlendaleWalks.com for more information about the Citywide Safety Education Initiative and to participate in our survey.  

Learning About Safety

Our Safe Routes to School Program drew a crowd at the 15th Annual Cesar Chavez Celebration this past Saturday, March 26, at the Pacific Community Center.  Children and parents had fun while learning life-saving lessons about pedestrian, bicycle, helmet and traffic safety. Participants enjoyed making smoothies on a Blender Bike demonstrating pedal power and played safety games for a chance to win a new helmet. Mr. Stop Sign and Ms. Railroad Crossing Sign were on hand to take photos with event participants.

Our partners from Safe Moves, the leading authority in traffic safety education in the country, brought along safety instructors who shared important street safety information with attendees including the health benefits of using alternative modes of transportation which also relieve road congestion and reduce emissions. Both children and adults were reminded of the rules of the road to be safer while walking, riding and rolling! 

Get Involved - Adults completed Pedestrian Safety Surveys in the ongoing effort by the City of Glendale to help our community be safe drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. If you're interested in helping improve safety throughout the City, you can start by completing this 5-minute survey.

Next Stop - Look for us at  Earth Day 2016 on April 30 in Central Park.

To learn more about our safety education program and how to get involved, please visit GlendaleWalks.com

Green Streets...What are they?

Green Streets...what are they and where can I find one?

Join us on Saturday, October 17th in front of the Glendale Central Library for the Harvard/Louise Green Streets Expo to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into planning a green streets project.

City staff will unveil plans and answer questions about the City's first Green Streets project during this free community festival featuring:

• Fun for the Whole Family
• Live Entertainment
• The Kogi and Coolhaus Food Trucks
• Chalk Art
• The "Glendale Rocks" Climbing Wall
• Prizes and Giveaways

EVENT DETAILS

What is the Greens Streets Demo Project?

The project is located along Harvard Street between Brand Boulevard and Isabel Street, and on Louise Street between Maple Avenue and Wilson Avenue in Downtown Glendale. It features greening and pedestrian safety improvements that include curb extensions, bioswales, mid-block crossings, sharrows or bike lanes and additional landscaping to the project area. 

The project will encourage people to walk and bike to Downtown Glendale destinations such as the Central Library, Adult recreation Center , Americana at Brand, Glendale Galleria, Central Park, the future Museum of Neon Art, Glendale High School and the YMCA. Overall , the project offers increased safety for all modes of transportation.

The Green Streets Demonstration Project is funded through a $997,900 Proposition 84, Urban Greening Grant.

City Receives $2.1 Million in Pedestrian/Bike Safety Grants

The City of Glendale was awarded two State Department of Transportation grants which will transform the way pedestrian safety is addressed in the City. The Active Transportation Program grants totaling $2.1 million will help the City implement recommended improvements outlined in various city plans including the Safe & Healthy Streets Plan, Downtown Mobility Study, Downtown Specific Plan and the Greener Glendale Plan. These grants will allow for the creation of comprehensive policies and infrastructure to improve pedestrian safety in a coordinated and centralized effort. 

Citywide Pedestrian Plan - $500K 
Funds will be used to create a comprehensive plan, identify viable bicycle and pedestrian corridors, assess intersections with high pedestrian/bicycle accident rates and target improvements at specific intersections.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Improvements Project - $1.6 million
Funds will be used to improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure along heavily traveled routes to the following schools:
• Hoover High School
• Toll Middle School
• Keppel Elementary School, and
• Along East Chevy Chase Dr. which connects six schools in southern Glendale to the Adams Square Park, Library and Business District.

SRTS Improvements will include enhanced accessibility and ADA compliance, repairs to damaged infrastructure and will provide trees and bicycle lanes or sharrows.

Safety for pedestrians and bicyclists is one of the City’s highest priorities. These grants will allow for a comprehensive approach to improving conditions by dedicating staff resources, implementing proactive community outreach efforts, updating policy and improving physical infrastructure. 

Green Streets Demonstration Project

                 Southwest corner of Harvard St. and Louise St.

Plans are underway to construct the City’s first Green Streets Demonstration Project. This environmentally friendly project will take place on approximately 1.1 miles of roadway on Harvard Street between Brand Boulevard and Isabel Street, and on Louise Street between Maple Avenue and Wilson Avenue in downtown Glendale. It will provide a safe and inviting pathway to encourage walking and biking to the Central Library, Adult Recreation Center, YMCA, Americana at Brand, Glendale Galleria and the future Museum of Neon Art. Plans are to expand this pilot project into a city-wide network of greenways as discussed in the City’s adopted Bicycle Transportation Plan.

The major features of this project include:

• Curb extensions with bioswales
  Curb extensions are an effective pedestrian safety tool. They shorten the distance a pedestrians must walk to cross an intersection and make pedestrians waiting to cross the street more visible to oncoming traffic. Additionally curb extensions create a traffic calming effect on busy streets. Bioswales and curb extensions often go hand in hand. Bioswales are landscape elements, created in order to clear away silt and pollution from surface runoff water. 

APA Recognizes Glendale’s Community Development Department

The Los Angeles Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) recognized the City of Glendale and the Community Development Department (CDD) with several awards at their annual Awards Gala on June 12, 2012 at the Historic Los Angeles Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. These awards set the City of Glendale apart from other municipalities for its overall excellence and innovative approach to community development.

Distinguished Leadership Award  – [Public] Agency for 2014

Recognizes CDD as a leader in its field. The main distinguishing factor is the Department’s multiple divisions’ ability to continue to perform at an outstanding level, with internal consistency and collaboration between the divisions, in the face of the recession, loss of Redevelopment funding, major staff cuts and increasing workload.