There's a reason people honk at us on this stretch of Hyperion in Silver Lake. Even before Pinkberry came along with its valet entrance snarling traffic across Rowena, we were always afraid to drive more than 25 MPH down this two-block slalom of shoppers and bar-hoppers. After all, pedestrians die here. And Trader Joe's employees who try to save their lives end up hospitalized.
So who will save Silver Lake from itself? This morning we "borrowed" from our landlord's driveway the latest Los Feliz Ledger:
Mitigation measures - such as speed bumps - on such so-called "secondary highways" aren't possible, according to Glenn Ogura, a city Dept. of Transportation engineer. "We're not able to [add those] because the [volume of cars is] so huge." However, some changes have been made or will be soon... The traffic signal at Hyperion and Rowena avenues was changed to better respond to changing traffic conditions to reduce traffic congestion. And this August, a traffic signal for the intersection of Hyperion Avenue and Monon Street, that was approved last year, is expected to be installed.
That is the same intersection where actor Bill Wingard was struck and killed while walking in the crosswalk last January and where a Trader's Joe employee was struck last spring.
Sitting through three traffic lights in a 900-foot stretch of Hyperion may not soothe the savage SUVs, but at least it'll keep the streets from flowing red with two-buck Chuck.
· Silver Lake's Deadly Stretch of Road [Los Feliz Ledger]
· Another Terrible Accident at Silver Lake Trader Joe's [Franklin Ave.]
· Dying at Trader Joe's [Intersections]