The Vermont Avenue and 28th Street intersection was ranked the twelfth-worst intersection in Los Angeles, according to an L.A. Times analysis of the 14 worst intersections in the city.
The T-intersection, near USC and the Interstate 10 and 110 interchange, is affected by heavy freeway traffic. Nearby residents and establishments said they’d experienced the chaos firsthand.
“We’ve had people on scooters get hit. We’ve had people hit buses on this corner. We’ve had people get dragged on bicycles down the street, multiple car accidents coming out of the AutoZone, just multiple,” said Ashley Bruce, a receptionist at University Tire & Auto Service.
The auto repair shop is down the street from the intersection.
“I probably see three [collisions] a month,” he said.
The intersection has seen 28 collisions since 2010 and has the fifth-highest traffic volume of any L.A. intersection, according to the L.A. Times.
Bruce said that the traffic congestion was usually bad on Vermont Ave. He noted it could get worse during rush hour or events at the BMO Stadium or Expo Center.
He added that employees often had trouble commuting to the business because of traffic.
Shivani Patel often walks through the intersection on her way to school. She said the intersection feels more stressful to cross compared to others.
“There are no stop signs or anything for the traffic making a left here, so I have to be very careful when I’m crossing,” said Patel.
Bruce felt the same as Patel.
“They definitely need to put a turn signal light there that specifically tells you when to turn left, because a lot of people just take it and misjudge it all the time,” said Bruce.
James E. Moore II, a USC professor emeritus of industrial and systems engineering, said that pedestrians had “perfectly credible concerns” with the intersection.
“In terms of protecting pedestrians, L.A. has not done nearly as well as it has in serving the interests of automobiles,” said Moore.
He added that implementing a protected left turn wasn’t an unwarranted concern.
Although Moore said the intersection was problematic for pedestrians, he explained that Vermont Ave and 28th Street are among the best intersections for L.A. motorists.
“In terms of throughput, it’s a success story,” he said.
Moore had offered analysis for the L.A. Times article that covered the worst intersections, but he didn’t fully agree with their rankings.
“Los Angeles is better than any other city, not just the country, but probably the world, in managing signalized traffic intersections. I tried to explain that to them, but that really didn’t fit the narrative,” he said.
Moore shared that L.A. County still has work to do on pedestrian safety.
He said that despite L.A. implementing Vision Zero, an initiative to eliminate traffic deaths by 2035, there has been no measurable reduction in pedestrian traffic deaths.
Fortunately, he shared that the L.A. Department of Transportation could be responsive to any USC-related concerns regarding student safety.
“When USC has reached out to them because we perceived a particular problem for pedestrians and students and on streets adjacent to the campus, they’ve been responsive,” he said.
Moore said “higher design pedestrian crossings” would be a good change to the intersection, which sees a lot of foot traffic.
“More alerts for pedestrian use would probably pay off in terms of safety for students,” he said.
It is ultimately up to the LADOT to implement changes to our intersections.