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Designs revealed for Whittier Boulevard scramble crosswalk; city to seek public input
Summary
Design consultants presented two concepts for an artful scramble crosswalk at Whittier Boulevard and Sixth Street, and staff said the traffic signal is nearly fully designed and could be completed this year.
Design consultants for the Whittier Boulevard and Sixth Street safety project presented two conceptual crosswalk designs to the City Council and said the city will seek public feedback before finalizing a preferred concept.
Amber Hawkes, co-director of HEAR, and colleague Shannon Davis described concepts developed from community outreach: “Embrace Montebello,” a stylized group-hands design celebrating diversity, and “Montebello in Bloom,” which incorporates the city flower and an identity element that reads “We are Montebello.” Hawkes said the consultant team had collected input at a pop-up event and through an online survey.
Staff said the scramble crosswalk includes a new traffic signal. Cesar (city staff) reported the traffic-signal design is about 95% complete; signal poles and equipment have long fabrication lead times (roughly 24 weeks) and staff said the signal and crosswalk work could be finished by the end of the year if bidding and fabrication proceed on schedule. Staff also said the next step is publishing the concepts on the city website and social media to solicit community votes on preferred designs.
Councilmembers emphasized the safety need at the intersection, which sits near Boulevard Market and the Angry Horse Brewing site. Councilmember Scarlett Peralta described the project as “extremely dangerous” for pedestrians currently and said the scramble crosswalk combined with a signal will add “much needed safety.” Council members asked staff to make the design options available to the public for selection by survey.
The consultants said color palettes may be adjusted during final design and that selected materials and colors must comply with traffic-safety and durability requirements before installation. The project team said they were aiming for a “quick-build” schedule for the crosswalk artwork and a conventional procurement schedule for the traffic signal.
