BRENTWOOD—A stop sign, installed at the intersection of Bundy Drive and Mayfield Avenue, continues to cause a debate amongst residents and elected representatives.
While Bundy Drive is a busy street, Mayfield Avenue is a quiet, residential road. Recognizing that the intersection caused for a potential safety hazard for both drivers and pedestrians, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) in early 2013 decided to place a stop sign at the juncture.
The response of Brentwood residents since then has been generally negative because it has caused severe traffic congestion, with cars often being held back as far as Wilshire Boulevard during peak traffic hours.
On March 10, a community gathering was held at the local Tenth Church of Christ to discuss the controversial stop sign. Representatives from the City of Los Angeles were in attendance, including 11th district Councilmember Mike Bonin, whose district includes Brentwood, and Zaki Mustafa, the principal transportation engineer of LADOT.
At the gathering, Councilmember Bonin described the Bundy-Mayfield stop sign as the most discussed intersection he had witnessed since taking office in July 2013.
Bonin, in response to popular demand, said he considered removing the stop sign altogether when he took office, but remembered there was a “balance of interest” that reminded him that “this was a genuine pedestrian safety issue,” he said at the meeting.
Councilman Bonin told Canyon News, “The ongoing conversation about the Bundy/Mayfield intersection in Brentwood demonstrates the sometimes-challenging balance we must strike between protecting pedestrian safety and reducing traffic congestion in neighborhoods.”
“This issue has been intensely debated among neighbors in Brentwood and I am currently weighing their input and working with LADOT to find a solution that strikes this delicate balance. I launched an online survey…and I encourage everyone who lives in and commutes through the area to take a moment to let me know what you think.”
Bonin’s survey asks the public to help choose from a number of options including leaving the four-way stop in place, adding a pedestrian crossing with flashing lights, and removing the signs and replacing them with a roundabout.
Both Bonin and Mustafa appear to favor the alternative of a roundabout.
In a PowerPoint presentation sent to Canyon News, Mustafa referred to a Washington State Department of Transportation study that shows that roundabouts are safer than traditional stop sign or signal-controlled intersections.
“Roundabouts typically achieve a 37 percent reduction in overall collisions, a 40 percent reduction in pedestrian collisions, a 75 percent reduction in injury collisions and a 90 percent reduction in fatality collisions,” Mustafa cited.
And, Bonin described the roundabout option as a “balanced measure that can address both pedestrian safety and traffic congestion.”
Mustafa mentioned to Canyon News that he has already begun working with the Los Angeles County Fire Department to test aspects of a potential roundabout and create a blue print for the project.
The pros of a roundabout, Mustafa argues, include a decrease in driver speed, an increase in pedestrian safety, a reduction in congestion, and better aesthetics. The primary con, he says, is cost, as it is significantly more expensive than the other options.
Mustafa told Canyon News that the implementation of a roundabout would include two phases and that “Phase 1 of the roundabout would [cost] around $50,000 and phase 2 can go over 200K.”
To provide your thoughts about the Bundy-Mayfield Intersection, visit 11thdistrict.com/bundy_mayfield_intersection_survey.
