WESTWOOD CHARTER'S 59th ANNUAL HALLOWEEN HOOT:
Date Posted: October 25, 2006

On Sunday, October 29 from 10am - 5pm, the Westwood Charter School yard is filled with games, rides (moonbounce, giant slide, haunted house), magic shows, music, food, prizes, and costumes. Neighborhood parking is limited. Please use the $5 valet parking provided by the school. Admission is free -- bring cash for rides, food, and activities.

RALPH'S PARTNERS WITH WESTWOOD CHARTER SCHOOL:
Date Posted: October 25, 2006

Here's an easy way to help out Westwood Charter School. Just register your 13-digit Ralph's Club Card with the school and every time you shop, you will be helping to raise much-needed funds for Westwood Charter School. It costs nothing to join and takes just a minute of your time.

Send the following information to supportwestwoodcharter@westwoodsouth.org. We'll take care of the paperwork.

Ralph's Club Card Number (13 digit number beginning with 2, on the back of your card) Last Name
First Initial
Address
City
State
Zip
Phone Number

If you don't know your Ralph's Club Card number, you can call the Ralph's Hotline at 1-800-660-9003. Thank you for helping our neighborhood school!

Note: Neither your personal information nor the record of the products purchased will be sold or disclosed by Westwood Charter School or Ralph's Grocery Company to any third party. You will not receive solicitations or junk mail as a result of signing up.

OAC Makes Television News:
Date Posted: August 15, 2006

On Friday, August 11, 2006, on NBC Channel 4's most watched newscast, as one of the lead news story for the 6:00 p.m. broadcast, reporter David Cruz aired an entire news segment regarding the continuing efforts of Little Overland Avenue residents to make our street a safer place for our children, our visitors, and the surrounding community.

According to reporter Cruz, he wanted to do a follow up piece to his June 10, 2005 news report and was appalled to see what he perceived to be little progress on the part of the City to address our concerns. Our problem is apparently significantly serious enough that, not only did he again dedicate an entire news segment on our efforts, but he also spent several hours researching the issues involved through resident interviews and by taping footage in preparation for his news piece.

The residents of Little Overland Avenue would like to commend and thank NBC reporter David Cruz for readily understanding and taking the time to highlight our continuing concerns as well as for bringing these safety issues to the forefront of public awareness.

Another Accident:
Date Posted: August 6, 2006

At approximately 4:00 AM on Friday August 4th, a couple of loud booms and screeches woke up some of the neighbors on the 2300 block of Overland Avenue.

A pickup truck traveling northbound on Overland first crashed into a Mercedes Benz properly parked on the street. Then continuing approximately 20 yards and skipping a couple of other parked cars, the truck crashed into another properly parked car, a Honda Accord. The power of the first impact left the Mercedes completely blocking the driveway of one of our neighbors. While the second impact left the Honda Accord half way on the sidewalk.

Both parked cars as well as the pickup truck were left in what appeared to be a "total" financial loss condition.

Judging by the impacts with the parked vehicles, the pickup truck apparently was traveling at least at or above 60 MPH. See photos.

Meeting: Little Overland Traffic Problems:
Date Posted: July 30, 2006

Discussion Topics:

1. Has the Planning Department prepared and completed the plan amendments to the General Plan, Community Plan and any other plan elements (collectively, the “Plans”) to reflect the re-designation of Overland Ave.?

According to Paul, re-designation still has to go through the Planning Commission. CD 5 Council Member Jack Weiss, CD 5 Planning Deputy Lisa Trifiletti and Paul have to meet with the Planning Director for the Planning Department to see if they can push this through. Typically, this change would be made when the West LA Community Plan is updated. The next question is when will the Community Plan be updated? Paul is to find this out and get back to the OAC.

2. When will the westbound left turn arrow on Olympic Bl. at Overland Ave. be removed?

Prior to the installation of the westbound left-turn arrow at Olympic Bl. and Westwood Bl. and the eastbound left-turn arrow at Pico Bl. and Beverly Glenn Bl., DOT took counts of the westbound left-turn arrow on Olympic Bl. at Overland Ave. After three months, DOT will take new counts to see if the new arrows have created a reduction in the left turn queue to justify the removal of this left turn arrow. It was requested that this arrow be dialed down to allow no more than three cars to get through so that the cars are encouraged to use the new arrows thereby reducing the numbers of cars using this left and giving us a reduced count for removal.

3. When will Overland Ave. between Santa Monica Bl. and Pico Bl be approved for the installation of speed tables?

According to Paul, DOT’s John Fisher and Glen Ogura are working on it and supposed to be getting back to Paul. Due to the citywide implications of putting speed tables on such a busy street, they are working on a way to get around this problem without creating a city wide precedent.

4. When will the OAC get specific signage which will direct traffic to use alternate routes, other than Little Overland Ave., to Century City, to Westwood Village, and the 10 Freeway?

There already is a sign at Big Overland Ave. and Pico Bl. directing commuters to Century City via Pico Bl.. DOT will be installing a sign at the 10 Fwy exit at Overland Ave. directing traffic to continue westbound on National to northbound Westwood Bl. as the path to Westwood Village.

5. Based on the number of accidents, when will some sort of traffic enforcement camera at the intersection Olympic Bl. and Overland Ave. be installed?

Paul will set up a meeting between the OAC and LAPD’s West Traffic Division to discuss traffic enforcement at this intersection.

6. Could we please get traffic enforcement on our street?

Paul will set up a meeting between the OAC and LAPD’s West Traffic Division to discuss enforcement of overweight truck, speeding, stop sign and other vehicle code violations.

7. Could CD 5 ensure that traffic protections are put in place to offset the unsafe conditions that have and will continue to result from the Santa Monica Boulevard Project (the “Project”)?

The OAC will participate as part of the SMBP post construction mitigation task force and that the requested protections would come from the SMBP $700,000 post mitigation fund.

8. When will Little Overland Ave. between Santa Monica Bl. and Pico Bl. be repaved?

According to Paul, DOT requested that Overland Ave. be repaved so that the traffic control markings that have been painted on the ground stick better and last longer. Repaving is in the hands of CD 5 and depends on the amount money available in CD5’s budget. Stamped crosswalks for all of the intersections along Little Overland were discussed as a potential future item with funding to possibly come from the SMBP $700,000 post mitigation fund.

9. Could CD 5 please assist Westwood Charter Elementary School obtain the traffic safety measures they are requesting?

According to Paul, CD 5 has been in contact with the School’s Principal Judy Utvich, CD5 helped reinstate the crossing guard at Overland Ave. and Olympic Bl. and CD5 continues to work with the school to address their needs.

Overland Ave Community Update:
Date Posted: June 25, 2006

In our continuing effort to keep everyone informed about the status of developments affecting our community, below is an update on the measures we are seeking to address the unsafe traffic on our street.

The following are the items that we have requested from the City but have not yet been fully implemented or addressed:

1. Despite the full City Council voting unanimously to re-designate Overland Avenue between Santa Monica Boulevard and Pico Boulevard downgrading it from a Secondary Highway to a Collector Road with traffic calming measures to be implemented over a year and a half ago, the Planning Department has yet to prepare and complete the plan amendments to the General Plan, Community Plan and any other plan elements to reflect the re-designation of Overland Ave. as directed by the City Council.

2. Despite repeated requests by the residents, the City refuses to remove the left-turn arrow westbound Olympic Bl. at Overland Ave. to reduce the number of cars that take little Overland Ave. southbound to the 10 Freeway.

3. Despite repeated requests by the residents, the City has not added specific signage which would direct traffic to use alternate routes, other than little Overland Ave., to Century City, Westwood Village and the 10 Freeway even if only with arrows pointing underneath.

4. Despite repeated requests by the residents, the City refuses to install speed tables (wide speed bumps) in order to slow vehicles down.

5. Despite repeated requests by the residents, the City has not installed some sort of traffic enforcement camera at the intersection Olympic Bl. and Overland Ave. to address the accidents caused by red light violations.

6. Despite repeated requests by the residents, the City has not provided traffic enforcement on our street to address speeding, stop sign violations, and 6000lb weight restriction (LAMC 80.36.1(a)) violations.

The following are the items that we have requested from the City and that have been completed:

1. The City painted edge lines along the east side of little Overland Ave. demarking the parking lane in order to address side-swiping of parked vehicles.

2. The City changed the striping going northbound on Overland Ave., south of Pico Bl., to reduce the two northbound through lanes to a single lane before the cars cross Pico Bl. so that the cars will already be in single file when traversing Overland Ave. in order to address accidents by the alley behind the Exxon as cars jockey for position heading northbound.

3. The City has increased and improved the amount and types of signage on Overland Ave. (ie. 25mph signs, no trucks over 6000lbs signs, school zone, school crossing signs).

4. The City has improved the visibility of the crosswalks on Overland Ave. next to Westwood Charter Elementary School.

5. The City implemented a four-way stop with marked crosswalks at Tennessee Ave. and Overland Ave.

6. The City has added a left-turn arrow eastbound Pico Bl. at Beverly Glen Bl. to encourage traffic to use Beverly Glen Bl. to get to Century City.

7. The City has added a left-turn arrow westbound Olympic Bl. at Westwood Bl. to encourage traffic to use Westwood Bl. to get to the 10 Freeway.

Santa Monica Blvd. Project Update:
Date Posted: June 25, 2006

In order to address deviations from the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) that not only negatively impact Little Overland Avenue, but also every community to the north and south of the entire SMBP, members of the OAC have been working as a coalition with Tract 7260 Homeowners Association, Westwood Homeowners Association, Century Westwood Watch and Westwood South of Santa Monica Homeowners Association, to discuss and address the problems caused by the SMBP and to deal with SMBP Officials, as well as the appropriate City Officials, as one collective voice in an attempt to protect all of our neighborhoods.

As of November 30, 2005, the coalition met with both SMBP Officials and City Officials on three separate occasions (08/23/05, 09/09/05 and 09/30/05) in an attempt to correct project flaws. The results of those meetings as they pertain to Little Overland Avenue are as follows:

1. The Department of Transportation (DOT) agreed to reduce the size of the left turn pocket from westbound Little Santa Monica Boulevard onto southbound Little Overland Avenue from two blocks in length to less than half a block.

2. The DOT agreed to modify the freeway-style directional sign along westbound Little Santa Monica Boulevard that directs traffic onto southbound Little Overland Avenue or back up to Big Santa Monica Boulevard by reducing its size to the minimum allowable by transportation regulations and by deleting the portion of the sign referring to Overland Avenue and showing the southbound left turn movement.

3. The DOT agreed to close off westbound access to Little Santa Monica Boulevard at Beverly Glen Boulevard to ensure that there will only be local access on Little Santa Monica Boulevard, rather than allowing unsafe commuter traffic to cut through the neighborhood. Note: Little Santa Monica Boulevard (aka the South Frontage Road) will still have lanes traveling east and west from Pandora Avenue to Little Overland Avenue and have eastbound access to Big Santa Monica Boulevard and southbound Beverly Glen Boulevard.

1. The DOT refuses to implement any traffic mitigations on Little Overland Avenue as called for in the FEIR. To date, any traffic mitigations on Little Overland Avenue are the result of OAC efforts and not part of the SMBP proposed mitigations.

2. The DOT refuses to modify the freeway-style directional sign along eastbound Big Santa Monica Boulevard that directs traffic onto southbound Little Overland Avenue. The proposed sign will read "South Frontage Road, Overland Avenue, Local Access." The residents have unsuccessfully requested the sign be reduced in size and that the sign read "South Frontage Road, Local Access" or "South Frontage Road, 10400 – 10800 Santa Monica Boulevard, Local Access."

Santa Monica Blvd. Project Update:
Date Posted: April 20, 2006

For the latest on the Santa Monica Blvd. Project and related street closures, please visit our neighboring Homeowner's Association Tract 7260's website at www.tract7260.org.

Century City Development:
Date Posted: April 20, 2006

For the latest on Century City Development and its impact on the community, please visit our neighboring Homeowner's Association Tract 7260's website at www.tract7260.org.

In Remembrance:
Date Posted: January 10, 2006

December 6, 2005, marked the two year anniversary of the most devastating accident to occur on Little Overland Avenue.  Our neighbor, Richard Rowan, was killed by a speeding vehicle as he tried to cross the 30 feet of roadway to go home on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Let us remember him and his family in our prayers and let us continue our efforts to make Little Overland Avenue safe so that such a tragedy never repeats itself.