Park La Brea Impacted Residents Group (PLBIRG) is a non-profit watchdog group made up of multi-family residents in the historic Park La Brea apartment community. We focus on land use, transportation and public safety matters on the the Park La Brea perimeter.
PLBIRG was born in 2018 when a group of neighbors banded together to advocate with City officials over concerns that a major development proposed on the PLB perimeter would exacerbate existing traffic congestion and pedestrian safety issues.
Among our concerns was that the project’s doubling in density would increase the number of people using unsafe midblock crossings to go to and from the site. PLBIRG photodocumented an alarming frequency of pedestrians crossing Fairfax in the vicinity of Blackburn going to and from CVS and Whole Foods without the benefit of a marked crosswalk. This included elders and the disabled in wheelchairs crossing in traffic— because the nearest crosswalk entailed a two block detour (up to 3rd St., wait for signal to cross at the collision-prone intersection, then walk back down beyond Blackburn) just to cross the street to go to the pharmacy! At our request, LADOT conducted pedestrian counts which confirmed that the volume of people crossing Fairfax in the vicinity of Blackburn far exceeded LADOT’s 20 per hour benchmark for installing a marked crosswalk. We also observed an even more alarming amount of pedestrians were navigating through busy traffic to cross 3rd Street in the vicinity of Gilmore Lane going back and forth between the Grove / Original Farmers Market and the shopping center on the other side of Third. The nearest crosswalk was across Ogden, connecting Ross Dress for Less with…nothing. The public still had to double back to Gilmore Lane to enter the Grove or original Farmers Market. PLBIRG obtained collision data via a public records request confirming that these sections of Fairfax and 3rd Street were highly dangerous to pedestrians.
Yet in spite of all of this evidence, the City told us they would not consider installing new crosswalks due to budget shortfalls. The city said the existing crosswalks involving two to four block (round trip) detours were adequate.
Undaunted, PLBIRG appealed a major development project out of concern the increased density would exacerbate the existing pedestrian hazards, and ultimately negotiated a legally binding commitment to pay for signalized crosswalks to be built at both the Fairfax Blackburn and Third Gilmore Lane locations, with expected completion in 2026. Watch for our for our updates.
PLBIRG’s Fairfax Blackburn Crosswalk Initiative
APRIL 2026 UPDATE: PLBIRG has manifested the fabulous new Fairfax Blackburn Hawk Signal crosswalk which debuted in April 2026 to the acclaim and benefit of Beverly Grove residents, small businesses, Whole Foods Market, CVS, and community at large. School crossing signage was required by law due to the nearby elementary school (which was not involved in securing this infrastructure).
PLBIRG fought for six years to provide the community with this crosswalk!
Third Street Gilmore Lane Crosswalk Initiative
APRIL 2026 UPDATE: Work is nearly complete on a new crosswalk at Gilmore Lane connecting the Grove and Original Farmers Market to the new Whole Foods mixed use complex on Third St. between Ogden and Gilmore Lane. Pedestrians will no longer have to walk over to Ross to cross between the Grove and the south side of Third safely. Stay tuned for updated images when the new crosswalk opens this Summer 2026. This project is a proud achievement for PLBIRG who went to the mat to negotiate the funding and installation commitment from a major developer after City officials refused to mitigate the massive hazard or require the new development project to do so.
3rd Street, looking northeast toward Gilmore Lane. After PLBIRG documented that hundreds of people per day were crossing unsafely between the Town and Country shopping Center (former site of K-Mart) and the Grove/Farmers Market, the City failed to act despite fatalities. In 2022 PLBIRG negotiated a binding commitment from a third party to install a signalized crosswalk at Gilmore Lane, estimated completion in 2026.
Before the new Fairfax Blackburn crosswalk was completed in April 2026, the public was often seen crossing back and forth on Fairfax by navigating through traffic to visit CVS or Whole Foods, or the shops on the west side of Fairfax. Residents on the west side of Fairfax, who in theory lived in walking distance of CVS and Whole Foods as the crow flies, instead got in their cars and drove to retail center because the nearest crosswalk connecting the west side of Fairfax with the shopping on the east side was at 3rd St., making for a ridiculous 500-foot detour (up to Third, then back down to Blackburn) to access the entrance in front of CVS. In 2019 PLBIRG submitted photographic evidence proving the volume of pedestrians unsafely crossing Fairfax between Blackburn and 4th Street far exceeded the City’s benchmark for installing a marked crosswalk, which LADOT confirmed with its own pedestrian count. Yet City officials still failed to act! In 2022 PLBIRG negotiated a binding commitment from a major developer to fund and build signalized crosswalks at Fairfax Blackburn and Third St. Gilmore Lane so the public could enjoy safe passage on foot going to and from the pharmacy and grocery market, and between the new Whole Foods development at Third and Ogden and the Grove across the street, reducing the need for making a vehicle trip.
BELOW: (BEFORE) The public lacked protection to cross the street to access a major pharmacy and grocery market until PLBIRG’s efforts manifested the Hawk signal marked crosswalk in April 2026.
PLBIRG’s Campaign for a Safe Crosswalk on Sixth Street to visit LACMA and the Tar Pits
2017
2024
At left: Prior to PLBIRG’s efforts, the Spaulding gate was the only entrance to the Tar Pits on Sixth St., yet the closest crosswalks were two blocks (Ogden) and three blocks (Curson) away. Hundreds of Park La Brea residents living directly across from the Spaulding entrance had to detour 4 - 5 blocks to and from Ogden or Curson to enter the Tar Pits campus directly across from Park La Brea’s pedestrian gate — either that, or jaywalk in traffic (see image at left). Abundant free parking lines the north side of Sixth St., which attracted families and even County workers to park across and navigate through traffic to enter the Tar Pits rather than walk a four+ block loop just to cross the street. PLBIRG’s campaign for a safe crosswalk began in 2017 after a grandmother parked directly across from the Tar Pits entrance only to be run over crossing here to take her family to the museums..
2019
Among PLBIRG’s most significant accomplishments are the 2019 installation — and 2024 safety upgrade — of a crosswalk spanning Sixth St. at Spaulding, location of the Tar Pits only entrance on Sixth Street. This PLBIRG-initiated crosswalk connects the Museum campus with thousands of Park La Brea residents living across from the entrance. It also serves the museum-going public who park at the curb on the north side of Sixth St. Prior to our efforts, the nearest crosswalk connecting the Tar Pits with the north side of Sixth required walking two blocks to Ogden, or three blocks to Curson, then doubling back to wind up right across from where you started out! This dysfunctional 4-5 block detour motivated hundreds of people every day to cross Sixth St. “midblock” in traffic to enter or exit the Museum campus’s Spaulding gate.
In 2017 a 67 year old woman was fatally struck crossing Sixth at Spaulding after her family parked at the curb directly across from the museum entrance. After realizing this was no random jaywalking, but a well traveled pedestrian “Desire Path,” PLBIRG co-founder Barbara Gallen petitioned then-councilmember David Ryu and LADOT to install a marked crosswalk with a pedestrian activated signal to prevent further tragedy. To her astonishment, the City said it wasn’t needed, citing the Ogden and Curson crosswalks two and three blocks away, respectively, as sufficient!
Barbara and her neighbors photodocumented hundreds of pedestrians crossing midblock in the vicinity of the museum’s Spaulding entrance— including museum employees and County workers. And no wonder— the LACMA/Tar Pits campus is one of SoCal’s premier tourist and family destinations and their parking lots cost $20, while street parking across from the Spaulding entrance on Sixth was free. To gain support for the crosswalk petition, the newly formed Park La Brea Impacted Residents Group (PLBIRG) reached out to other agencies like the Department on Disability and the County of Los Angeles, and mobilized museum-goers and Park La Brea residents to send emails to the councilmember’s office. With persistence and patience, PLBIRG eventually persuaded then-councilmember Ryu to support it, too.
When the HAWK signal crosswalk was installed in summer 2019, it was safety-challenged from the get-go. It lacked eye level signage and had nothing to stop drivers from barreling down the restricted center lane when they got frustrated with the slow moving through lane. After PLBIRG reported the danger, LADOT installed a set of six plastic bollards in the center lane although we had asked for a concrete island with eye level signage. Within six months, traffic had demolished half of the bollards—showing just how vulnerable pedestrians crossing here were. In 2023 PLBIRG mounted a new campaign to achieve a truly safe crosswalk, which this time was embraced by a responsive LADOT staff. In November 2024, the much-upgraded crosswalk (see photo) debuted with a concrete refuge and high visibility eye-level signage.
Below: The City’s first effort to respond to PLBIRG’s advocacy, in 2019, was inadequate. Most of the flimsy bollards were quickly demolished by traffic, leaving elders and slower moving pedestrians in the crosshairs when drivers failed to come to a complete stop (or any stop) at the flashing red light, an all too frequent occurence.
More safety improvements coming in 2026!
We’re excited to report that PLBIRG’s ongoing advocacy campaign for safety upgrades at two perilous crossings on Hauser Blvd. have borne fruit. The first of the two (Hauser Fuller) was completed earlier this year and the crosswalk upgrade at Hauser Fourth St. is set to begin construction in Summer 2026. Images are forthcoming.
We’re also excited to announce our partnership with Natural History Museum of LA County (Tar Pits) to address the chaos and pedestrian hazards associated withthe Museum’s midblock entrances on S. Curson. Stay tuned for updates!
At left: In response to PLBIRG’s 2023 follow-up advocacy campaign, in Nov. 2024, LADOT installed this concrete island and eye level signage, dramatically enhancing pedestrian safety going to and from the Museum campus. Now, if slower moving pedestrians can’t finish the crossing before the solid red changes to flashing, they can take the crossing in two phases, out of harm’s way.