Tarzana : Crossing Guard Extended for 1 Month

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted to keep a crossing guard at Wilbur Avenue Elementary School for one more month while the city decides how badly the school needs one compared to other schools.

The issue at hand was whether the city should pay to extend the crossing guard’s assignment at the school for another year, at a cost of $8,300. But when it became clear that keeping the guard at Wilbur could mean that another school in the city would not have one, seven council members joined the discussion.

Ultimately, on a motion by Councilman Richard Alarcon, the council requested that the city Department of Transportation draw up a priority list of schools that need crossing guards, and consider revising its criteria for evaluating each school’s need.

The Transportation Department will report back to the council in a month with that information, as well as more details about the traffic situation at Wilbur Avenue School.

The City Council’s transportation committee, the city Board of Transportation Commissioners, and the Transportation Department had recommended that Wilbur’s crossing guard be removed because only 300 cars per hour passed the crosswalk during the peak traffic hours, compared to the 500 per hour minimum required for the department to authorize a guard.

But council members Marvin Braude, whose district includes the school, and Laura Chick, whose district boundary is near the school, had fought to retain the guard.

Two parents of Wilbur students testified at the public hearing that the traffic situation is worse than the numbers imply, saying that motorists frequently speed, run stop signs and double park.

“It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” said Karen Schreiber, PTA president at Wilbur Avenue School.