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Which LA Intersections Are Most Dangerous for Pedestrians? LADOT’s Top 10
Los Angeles’ own traffic safety study names the ten intersections it ranks highest for pedestrian safety work. Here is that list, how the city built it, and what its crash data show about when and where people on foot are seriously hurt.
Dangerous intersections for pedestrians in Los Angeles
LADOT's top 10 priority intersections for pedestrian safety
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) published its Vision Zero Safety Study in January 2024. Its High Injury Network chapter lists these top-scoring intersections on the city’s pedestrian High Injury Network, in LADOT’s order:
- 8th St & Alvarado St
- Avalon Blvd & Century Blvd
- La Brea Ave & Obama Blvd
- Santa Monica Blvd & Sawtelle Blvd
- Reseda Blvd & Victory Blvd
- Florence Ave & Vermont Ave
- Alvarado St & Wilshire Blvd
- Century Blvd & Main St
- Santa Monica Blvd & Vine St
- Slauson Ave & Vermont Ave
Florence and Vermont, Avalon and Century, and La Brea and Obama are also the top three on the study’s list for all travelers combined.
How LADOT ranked LA intersections
What the ranking measures, and what it doesn't
The list is a priority ranking, not a simple count of crashes. LADOT scored High Injury Network locations using collision factors, such as crash severity and whether vulnerable travelers were involved, and contextual factors, which count for more in the priority ranking. Those contextual factors include high-speed roads or transit, heavy foot or bike traffic, other roadway risks, and being near a school or in an equity emphasis area.
- Data years: the study used collision data for 2017 through 2021 from the City’s RoadSafeGIS database.
- Coverage: it covers City of Los Angeles streets. Intersections in other cities, such as Santa Monica or Long Beach, aren’t ranked.
- Purpose: LADOT built the ranking to focus its Vision Zero safety investments, and it favored locations on the city’s 2035 Mobility Plan Enhanced Network, so a high score reflects both risk and priority.
Pedestrian High Injury Network corridors
The ten corridors on LADOT's pedestrian list
The study found that 72.3% of the city’s pedestrian collisions involving a death or severe injury happened on its pedestrian High Injury Network, which is 7.5% of the street network. Its top-scoring pedestrian corridors are:
- La Brea Ave, Exposition Blvd to Veronica St (0.7 miles)
- Western Ave, 91st St to 77th St (1.1 miles)
- Central Ave, 93rd St to 71st St (1.7 miles)
- Avalon Blvd, 98th St to 115th St (1.2 miles)
- Florence Ave, Budlong Ave to Avalon Blvd (1.7 miles)
- Manchester Ave, 110 Fwy to Central Ave (1.4 miles)
- Hollywood Blvd, Gower St to La Brea Ave (1.4 miles)
- Alvarado St, Hoover St to Clinton St (2.3 miles)
- 8th St, Green Ave to Fedora St (1.7 miles)
- Century Blvd, Vermont Ave to Avalon Blvd (1.6 miles)
Los Angeles pedestrian crash data
When and where people on foot are seriously hurt
The same study gives a picture of risk across the city, drawn mostly from 2017 through 2021 crash data:
- Out of proportion: pedestrians were involved in 38% of collisions that killed or severely injured someone, while 16% of trips in LA are made on foot.
- Signals: 11% of LA intersections have traffic signals, but they account for more than half of fatal and severe injury collisions for all travelers.
- Turning drivers: about 13% of drivers in these serious pedestrian collisions were turning left, and 4% were turning right.
- After dark: serious pedestrian collisions were frequent between 9 p.m. and midnight, and they happened more often in darkness with street lights than in daylight.
- Commercial areas: over half of serious pedestrian collisions happened next to commercial land uses.
Pedestrian rights at LA intersections
Who has the right of way at a signal or crosswalk?
California law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and in unmarked crosswalks at intersections (Veh. Code §21950). Drivers on a green light, including those turning, must yield to pedestrians lawfully in the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk (§21451(a)). Our guide to California pedestrian right-of-way laws explains these rules in more detail.
Talk to Wilshire Law Firm
Were you hit by a driver at a Los Angeles intersection?
Wilshire Law Firm represents pedestrians hurt by drivers across Los Angeles, with free case reviews 24/7 and no fees unless you get paid. Our Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyers review the crash report, any video, and the insurance that may cover your injuries.
This article is a general overview of LADOT’s published data, not legal advice.
FAQs
8th Street and Alvarado Street is first on the pedestrian list in LADOT’s January 2024 Vision Zero Safety Study. Avalon Boulevard and Century Boulevard is second, and La Brea Avenue and Obama Boulevard is third.
Not only. LADOT’s score weighs 2017 through 2021 injury crashes, counting severe crashes and vulnerable travelers more heavily, together with risk factors such as speed, transit, foot traffic, schools, and equity emphasis areas. It is a priority ranking for safety projects, not a raw crash count.
The study reports that, as of its publication, LADOT had installed more than 6,700 safety treatments on the High Injury Network since 2017. It also cites a City evaluation that found a 45% drop in pedestrian injury crashes where concrete curb extensions were built.
Get medical care first. Then, if you can, note the intersection, the signal phase, and whether and which way the driver was turning, and photograph the scene. Ask for the police report number and the names of witnesses, and note any nearby businesses with cameras.
Send it to someone who could use it, or copy it into ChatGPT, Gemini or your notes.
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