The Pico Aliso Neighborhood Project

Thank you for helping us fund Phase 1 of our project! Visit our Phase 2 fundraising page to learn more about our current work and to make your gift to make Boyle Heights safer for pedestrians: 

https://www.ioby.org/project/pico-aliso-neighborhood-project-phase-ii

In the Boyle Heights community's Pico Aliso Neighborhood, pedestrian safety is a top priority for Proyecto Pastoral’s Comunidad en Movimiento (CEM). Each week, over 20 volunteers oversee children crossing the streets to ensure that they reach school safely through our Safe Passage/Camino Seguro program. As CEM leaders work to address the conditions that make our pedestrians unsafe, they have sought training from transit experts and have collected 1,000+ surveys from parents and students to understand the safety needs in the neighborhood.

En la comunidad de Pico Aliso, la seguridad peatonal es una prioridad para el grupo de Proyecto Pastoral Comunidad en Movimiento (CEM). Cada semana, más de 20 voluntarios supervisan que los niños crucen las calles para asegurase que ellos lleguen a su escuela sin peligro atravez de nuestro programa de Camino Seguro. Nuestros líderes de CEM trabajan para hacer frente a las condiciones que ponen en peligro a nuestros peatones inseguros, ellos han buscado el apoyo de expertos de tránsito y han colectado más de 1,000 encuestas de padres y estudiantes para entender las necesidades de seguridad en la vecindario.

Now, our CEM leaders have been selected in a nationwide competition by ioby (our nonprofit partner) to complete a project that will improve pedestrian safety around a transit stop in Pico Aliso. Please JOIN our leaders as they engage transit experts and community residents to improve the perilous conditions at either 1) 1st Street near Mendez High School, or 2) 4th Street between Gless and Clarence.  Through this project, the community will lend input, develop solutions, and test a temporary installation to improve safety at a selected site. This project will serve as a model for a more permanent change to the unsafe conditions that our children and families face as they walk in the neighborhood.

For every dollar you donate before August 5 (up to $100 per person), our project partner ioby will match it!

1. Review existing data.
2. Host a kickoff event to gather community feedback on which hotspot we should target first and how.
3. Assess feedback and design a project!
4. Spread the word to local residents and schools.
5. Implement the safety improvement project!
6. Debrief to discuss what worked, and how we can make longer-term improvements.

1. Revisar la información colectada.
2. Ser el anfitrión un evento comunitario para colectar las sugerencias de la comunidad sobre el área de prioridad y como se implementaría.
3. Evaluar las sugerencias y diseñar el proyecto!
4. Correr la voz con los residentes locales y las escuelas.
5. Implementar el proyecto de mejoramiento de seguridad!
6. Reunirse para discutir sobre lo que funciono y cómo podemos hacer mejoramientos permanentes.

According to the U.S. Census:

• 12% fewer people drive alone to work from Boyle Heights than from LA City
• 8% more people use public transportation to get to work from Boyle Heights than from LA City
• 3% more people walk to work from Boyle Heights than from LA City. 

So what does this all mean?  In short, these statistics reflect the fact that you will often find Boyle Heights residents getting where they need to go on foot or using public transportation.  And when you consider the fact that Boyle Heights is surrounded by six freeways, with busy entrances and exits to those freeways being used by people plowing in and out of Downtown on their way to work, our residents are vulnerable indeed.

But through CEM’s Pico Aliso Neighborhood Project, we can make Boyle Heights safer… together!