Nature Slows Lopez Canyon Road Repair

I am an administrator for the Forester Haven California Retirement Center and Nursing Home, which is on North Lopez Canyon Road.

Part of the road has washed away and is covered with uneven patches and potholes. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I had a car accident in which I hit an unpaved patch of road.

I have been trying to get the road fixed for at least two months but have been passed around to more than five people in various government departments.

The road is located in both the city and county’s jurisdiction, but only the county’s section of the road has been taken care of.

I transport nursing home residents between the ages of 70 and 98 to and from various appointments, and the uneven roadway is unnecessarily jolting.

How do I get the road fixed?

Lander Warren

Lake View Terrace

Dear Lander:

The Los Angeles Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street Maintenance, is responsible for repairing Los Angeles city roads.

The superintendent in charge of roads east of the San Diego Freeway said the road is on a list of streets to be repaired, but work hasn’t yet been scheduled.

Steve Burke, acting superintendent of the bureau who is familiar with the problem, said the road is close to Indian Canyon, which during rainstorms has water that flows from Angeles National Forest to Hansen Dam by way of Lopez Canyon Road.

The property nearest the road must be stabilized before the repairs on Lopez Canyon Road can begin, Burke said.

Geotech, a geological survey team, must first survey the area adjacent the road to determine what repairs are needed.

Options include sandbagging part of the water channel or building a bulkhead to redirect water away from the road’s edge and to prevent the edge from further eroding.

Once the geological assessment is complete and the city receives its allocation of federal funds for the work, the repairs will be scheduled, said Bill Robertson, a spokesman for the Bureau of Street Maintenance. The work should be done in June, he said.

Dear Traffic Talk:

My friend and I had a disagreement a few weeks ago when I stopped for a pedestrian trying to cross Balboa Boulevard at Labrador Street.

My friend said crossing there is illegal because there is no marked crosswalk.

It is my understanding that drivers must stop for pedestrians trying to cross at any intersection whether the street is marked or not. Who is correct?

Allison Spire)

Van Nuys

Dear Allison:

According to the California Vehicle Code, all intersections where streets with sidewalks meet “at about right angles” have a crosswalk for pedestrians even though there may be no painted lines.

The crosswalks, that part of the pavement where the sidewalk lines would extend across the street, are areas set aside for people to cross the street.

Pedestrians have the right-of-way at street corners, whether or not the crosswalks are marked by painted lines.

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