Rosemont Middle School takes safety very seriously. Every morning, at the back gate, students are told to cross at the crosswalk higher than the entrance to the school to reduce the chances of being hit by the many cars. Even if it adds time to their walk that they might need to get to class, students’ safety takes the highest priority. However, road crossings at the back gate cause people to question whether our school is actually safe.
There are two problematic intersections that are dangerous for Rosemont students who enter and leave by the back gate. The first is on Raymond St. between Los Olivos and Alabama where there isn’t a crosswalk where many students need to cross Raymond to enter through the middle field in the morning. The second is the corner of Los Olivos and La Crescenta after school where a crosswalk is also needed.
According to Mika Bush, an 8th grade student, “There’s a lot of cars there. Traffic is usually congested and you have to be careful about where you are walking, making sure you aren’t in the middle of the street.” Since hundreds of parents are picking up their students from school, there is normally a huge line of cars that sometimes run stop signs and ignore pedestrians and crossing guards alike. This is a very dangerous situation for teenagers to be in, especially with a “missing” crosswalk.
On the common student walking path to the library after school, it can be very unsafe. “There’s one intersection, one road [crossing] that everyone uses and there is no crosswalk, and the other three intersections, there is,” said Bush. The crossing guard has to cross all students from the parallel street while they run across, fearful of the hazardous crossing.
The district’s abysmal crosswalk placement is clear with the crossing at Stevens and Los Olivos that goes straight into a bush. “When my son started in 7th grade, I was absolutely appalled by what I saw,” said Una Chung-Iwasaka, a parent at Rosemont and activist for student safety.
The La Crescenta Town Council had refused a crossing at the bottom of Raymond for many years. Their reason was because of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed in 1993 which gives people with disabilities equal access. However, this exempted all of the buildings or other facilities built before 1993 including the crosswalk at Stevens and those on La Crescenta. The fear comes from the lack of sidewalks commonly seen throughout La Crescenta. Without sidewalks, the ADA does not permit crosswalks. “The district and the city and the county don’t want to face a lawsuit for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. But in the meantime, it’s so dangerous [for Rosemont Students],” said Chung-Iwasaka.
On August 28, 2024, town council held a traffic meeting. Claire Kim, last year’s ASB president, argued in her speech to the council, “Students don’t know where they’re supposed to cross and so they cross and so they end up crossing anywhere and everywhere! It’s so dangerous… [students] shouldn’t have to worry about dodging cars to avoid being hit on our way to school.” In another speech commenting on the lack of action from the council, Tevyn Yong demanded, “Will it take a tragedy before someone will do something?”
Finally, after two years of hard work by parents and Rosemont Principal Suzanne Risse, the LA County Department of Public Works agreed to put in a crosswalk across the intersection of Raymond and Los Olivos that will (hopefully) be put in over winter break. This is a good first step to improving student safety. Many students and parents hope the other intersection at Los Olivos and La Crescenta will be next.
