Running Head: SIDEWALKS IN THE VALLEY 1

Sidewalks in the Valley

Elyssa Flores, Alexis De Luna

Mr. Lopez

San Fernando Senior High School

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Table of Contents

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………...............3

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..4

Community or School Context……………………………………………………………4

Research Question………………………………………………………………………...4

Relevant Literature………………..……………………………………………….……...5

Methodology………………………………………………………………………………..…….6

Results………………………………………………………………………………………..…...6

Implications……………………………………………………………………………………….7

Conclusion and Recommendations…………………………………………………………….....8

References….…………………………………………………………………...………………..10

Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………..…...11
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Abstract

In this paper, sidewalks in the North East San Fernando Valley are discussed. Many people do

not realize that some sidewalks are missing, broken, or made of dirt. We realized that a sidewalk

we see every day is missing and it is quite dangerous for people who walk on it daily. The

research discovered that Los Angeles has a plan to fix sidewalks, but lack of awareness of how to

report leaves the area low on priority. Surveys were sent to San Fernando High School students

to get opinions of sidewalks are in their community. Many people did say their sidewalk was

normal, but others said their sidewalk was not in the best condition. Sixty students had answered

this survey. If more people of the community filled it out, the statistics would increase

significantly. We also wanted to bring this issue to many people's attention so they can help

make a change.
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Sidewalks in the Valley

Introduction

Community and/or School Context

The area of focus throughout this research is the North East San Fernando Valley (see

Appendix A). Specifically the cities of Arleta, Mission Hills, Pacoima, and San Fernando. A lot

of the streets in these areas lack sidewalks (see Appendix B). This is not confined to residential

streets but extends to busy main streets. The lack of sidewalks leaves pedestrians walking in the

way of traffic and makes it not only inconvenient but a hazard. Many of the existing sidewalks

are also in poor condition, some close to unuseful. The status of these sidewalks make it difficult

for those with strollers or visual impairments to use.

18.6% of the city of San Fernando live below the poverty line(Towncharts. 2018). 91.6%

of San Fernando is Hispanic. The median household income of the area is $55,734. Because of

the income level, the average families who consist of more than four members, may not have

access to a car and find themselves walking more often than not, making safety during this travel

essential. Sidewalks help provide this safety for parents and their young ones.

Research Question

Many sidewalks in the North East San Fernando Valley are missing, broken, or made out

of dirt. This topic is important to address because the lack of sidewalks can cause injuries for

everyone especially for handicapped, people who are blind, and elderly. The main research

question is “How does improper safety measures in sidewalks in the community and its

members?”
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Relevant Literature

The background research conducted covered general benefits of sidewalks and the

differences they make. According to the Federal Highway Administration, sidewalks reduce the

number of pedestrian accidents win motor vehicles by 88%. This is because it provides a

separate walking area and keeps the pedestrian out of traffic’s way. Sidewalks also pave the way

for a healthier community. This applies to both mental and physical health — the reason being

that sidewalks allows recreational exercise, such as walking or running.

Research also explained Los Angeles’s plan to repair the sidewalks. Los Angeles has

committed to spending $31 to $63 million a year for 30 years or $1.4 billion fixing sidewalks

(Barragan. 2015). Safe Sidewalks LA is the program running the repairs. The program is based

on complaints, meaning the sidewalks with the most reported complaints are prioritized. The

areas of focus have complained before, but seem to stop after nothing being done about it

immediately. It can be assumed that the members are unaware that the program is

complaint-based because the program is not promoted very much. The lack of complaints makes

it difficult for San Fernando to get the repairs in a timely matter. San Fernando has plenty of

sidewalks that are in terrible condition and are hazards, but newly gentrified areas such as

Downtown LA will get repaired quicker because the people complain about their sidewalks. The

plan to repair sidewalks does not benefit the people in the field of focus until it is promoted

more.

Methodology

A survey was the easiest way to get data because it can be sent out to San Fernando High

School students. Sixty students had filled out our survey. Majority of the students were from
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Pacoima. The cities in the survey were Arleta, Mission Hills, Pacoima, San Fernando, and if

people do not live in this area, they could put in a zip code. The type of questions was closed

such as “Does your street have a sidewalk?”. The types of questions that were asked for a reason

so we can see if the people in the community are affected by the condition of their sidewalks. We

also wanted to know if injuries had occurred because of the condition of the sidewalk Majority of

people had said that they do not know if injuries had happened, but some people did say they

knew of an injury that almost or did happen. That is still dangerous even if only 60 people had

taken the survey, and if more people in the community did answer it could expand.

Another way for conducting research was by using maps. Maps are beneficial because

they showd condition the sidewalks were in. Also, if people live near some sidewalks that were

not in the best condition, we could also see. By seeing the condition they were in we could

actually see if many sidewalks missing, broken, or made out of dirt. Although most sidewalks

were in its best condition some were still bad. Such as how a main sidewalk/street that people in

the community tend to see every day in is missing or broken which is a big problem because

mostly everyone walks on that sidewalk and an injury may occur. Although not many injuries

occur, there were some that almost did.

Results

In an attempt to understand the sidewalk dilemma in the Northeast San Fernando Valley,

the surveys read that 75% of people had normal cement sidewalks (see Appendix C). Making

another 25% with either broken or dirt pathways. The survey also reports that about half of the

people had known about injuries that almost occurred because of the quality of the sidewalks.
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According to the survey, many of the community members feel that the lack of sidewalks hurts

the property values in their neighborhood.

More attention was brought to this issue in their everyday lives after learning more about

this plight. This made everyday occurrences that one may often ignore or not take into

consideration a bigger issue. An example is a mother with a child in a stroller and another young

boy walking by her side. They cross from one side dirt pathway to the other that is terribly

uneven. She keeps hold of her older boys hand while trying to lift over the bumps and cracks of

the pathway.

Another example is two people going on their morning walk on the side of the street.

They walk the opposite way of traffic to be aware of oncoming cars. Instead of walking on a

sidewalk which allows them to communicate, they must walk one-behind-the-other to maintain

their safety (see Appendix D). These occurrences usually wouldn’t faze anyone, but once they

learn more about the effects of the sidewalks, their eyes are open up to how often it happens.

Implications

The number of students from the sample taken from San Fernando High School who has

pathways made of dirt and had broken sidewalks was astonishing. Although it may not seem like

a significant number of students are affected, the number would grow considerably. All of these

students do not have access to a safe walking space where they can exercise or commute, and

this applies to the whole neighborhood, including right outside their school. The sidewalk

directly in front of San Fernando high school is cracked and unlevel (see Appendix E). This

sidewalk is where hundreds of students walk on daily. As one may conclude, this is a terrible

hazard to everyone who passes this. The school’s very own magnet coordinator has fallen and
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broken her rib there in the past. In addition to this cracked sidewalk is the walkway across the

street where students may also walk before crossing(see Appendix F). This is a dirt pathway that

is somewhat level making it safer than most. It still presents a hazard in poor conditions. These

are issues just outside one school; the conditions only get worse as the radius of focus is

expanded.

The number of students that knew about an injury shows just how often it happens.

Imagine how many injuries would be reported if the survey had been taken by the whole

community. Some of these injuries result in lawsuits — this especially true around government

buildings, explaining why those sidewalks are prioritized. The money used to pay those lawsuits

could be going toward the actual fixing of the sidewalks, but since the issue was never resolved,

it will be paying someone off instead. The number of accidents not only demonstrates how

there’s no money going to repairing the area’s sidewalks but demonstrates how the conditions of

sidewalks affect the community’s health.

When given a designated area to walk, it is utilized by the people to the North East San

Fernando Valley. A great example is the new San Fernando Bike path (see Appendix G). It

became a place for people commute, exercise, walk their dogs, bike, and more (see Appendix H).

If more pathways like these were made, they would be extremely beneficial to the community.

Sidewalks would be a excellent first step toward more of these.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In conclusion, sidewalks are a big problem in the NorthEast San Fernando Valley and

that many sidewalks are missing, broken, or made of dirt. Recommendations for everyone is tell

more people about this issue and go to the Safe Sidewalks La website, click the 3-1-1 link, report
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a sidewalk/pothole, and continue to fill out the rest. An action could be that people in the

community will go to the city council and address the issue as many times as they can. This will

place the North East San Fernando Valley a bit higher on the priority list. The important part of

taking action is the repetition of these steps, so it is a constant pull on officials.

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References

Safety Benefits of Walkways, Sidewalks, and Paved Shoulders (n.d.). Retrieved October 27,

2018, from https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/walkways_trifold/

Our Valley News (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2018, from

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Safe-Sidewalks-LA.html?soid=1105979720716&aid=g7Zr

J_GoqjY

AARP. (n.d.). Livability Fact Sheet, Sidewalks, Age-Friendly Communities, Transporta...

Retrieved October 27, 2018, from

https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/info-2014/sidewalks-fact-sheet.html

Barragan, B. (2015, June 30). Los Angeles's Most Complained-About Sidewalks: Mapped.

Retrieved October 27, 2018, from

https://la.curbed.com/2015/6/30/9944600/los-angeles-worst-sidewalks

San Fernando Valley CA Demographics data. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2018, from

https://www.towncharts.com/California/Demographics/San-Fernando-Valley-CCD-CA-D

emographics-data.html
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Appendix A:
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Appendix B:
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Appendix C:
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Appendix D:
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Appendix E:
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Appendix F:
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Appendix G:
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Appendix H:
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Appendix I: