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Council orders study of new Fifth Street school crossing guard after residents and council split on value
Summary
Council kept a temporary crossing guard at Fifth Street in place but directed staff to collect pedestrian counts and report back with options for funneling students to established safe crossings and signage; council was split over adding a permanent guard given nearby Eighth Street crossing and limited recorded counts.
Hermosa Beach 'A temporary crossing guard added Aug. 20 at Fifth Street drew heated debate at the Oct. 28 City Council meeting, where neighbors, council members and the police chief debated whether the stop is needed and whether the city followed an adequate process before adding it.
Councilmember Keegan had asked the council to review and potentially pull funding for the new crossing guard after conducting on-street checks that showed low pedestrian counts. Other councilmembers, notably Councilmember Jackson, said the guard was requested by parents and validated during the first days of school by police counts. Chief of Police told the council the first 8 days of counts averaged about 23 pedestrians per day at the site and that crew staffing for crossing guards is typically funded from Prop C in the short term, with council review deciding long-term continuation.
After public testimony both for and against the guard'including concerns that it was added without broad outreach'the council voted to continue the guard temporarily and directed staff to: - Conduct a more systematic pedestrian count across Second Street to Pier Avenue (including Fifth and Eighth streets); - Return with a report on whether signage or education could funnel pedestrians to the existing safe crossing at Eighth Street; - Work with the school district and parent groups and report recommended next steps and a timeline.
Councilmember Keegan argued the new guard created an expensive and perhaps redundant staffing allocation that should be reassessed; Councilmember Jackson replied that the guard was requested by parents and the chief's initial observations supported continuation at least through the school year. The motion to maintain temporary service while staff studies the corridor and returns with data passed by council vote.
The council asked staff for a short study with counts, a public-education plan and suggested a brief pilot and reevaluation at the next convenient date.
