Camino Seguro: Safe Streets for Boyle Heights

Community safety

Research (initial work to identify and understand the problem)

Boyle Heights faces significant traffic safety challenges, with a traffic fatality rate 53% higher than the city-wide average. The neighborhood's youth and older adults are particularly vulnerable, as 30% of those killed or severely injured while walking or biking are under 18 or over 64 years of age, according to LADOT’s High Injury Network data. This issue is exacerbated by systemic inequities affecting low-income, predominantly Latino communities. Unlike more affluent areas, Boyle Heights lacks adequate infrastructure to protect pedestrians and cyclists. The American Community Survey (2015-2019) shows that one in five households lack access to cars, leading to more people commuting by transit, walking, and cycling. Our understanding is that these disparities stem from historical neglect, a highly dense neighborhood, insufficient investment in safety measures, and socio-economic factors that place residents at greater risk.

Our project, Camino Seguro (Safe Passage), is dedicated to improving community safety in Boyle Heights through a collaborative approach. Camino Seguro has been a cornerstone in Boyle Heights for over 27 years, initiated in response to a tragic incident. Volunteers stand vigilantly on sidewalks every day, ensuring the safety of students as they walk to and from school in the neighborhood surrounding Dolores Mission School. We will partner with experts to train community members in conducting a comprehensive safety study focused on bicycle and pedestrian safety. This study will not only assess current safety conditions but also compare them with those in more affluent neighborhoods, highlighting disparities and identifying root causes such as built environment and socio-economic factors.
Volunteers will actively participate in data collection and analysis, empowering them with valuable skills and knowledge. This inclusive approach ensures that the study reflects the lived experiences and priorities of Boyle Heights residents.
The study's findings will serve as a foundation for enhancing Camino Seguro, refining our strategies and interventions to make them more impactful and sustainable. This includes advocating for systems-level changes and infrastructure improvements that address identified safety gaps. By leveraging community input and data-driven approaches, we seek to create long-term changes that promote safer streets.

Our initiative will bring about transformative changes in traffic safety across LA County, starting with Boyle Heights. By addressing the root causes of traffic accidents and safety inequities, we envision:
Significantly reduced traffic fatalities and injuries, particularly among youth and older adults, leading to safer streets and improved public health outcomes county-wide.
Empowered communities equipped with essential skills in data collection, analysis, and advocacy, fostering a culture of proactive safety engagement and community resilience.
A replicable model for effective, community-driven safety initiatives that can be scaled and adapted to other neighborhoods throughout LA County, ensuring equitable access to safe transportation infrastructure.
Our long-term goal is to expand Camino Seguro to additional schools and neighborhoods, guided by insights from our safety study, to create lasting systems-level changes that prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety across the county.

Camino Seguro’s grassroots efforts have helped ensure the safety of Boyle Heights youth over the last 27 years. Camino Seguro volunteers, who run this program, collect qualitative data and actively seek to gather more insights into community safety issues. An LA2050 grant would help build staff and community capacity to research the issue and track the impact of these efforts quantitatively.
One measure of success will be the number of volunteers trained in conducting safety studies. Success will also be measured by staff and volunteers' increased ability to effectively gather and analyze data, providing valuable insights into traffic safety issues in Boyle Heights. Additionally, success will be demonstrated by tangible improvements to Camino Seguro programming. Ultimately, we hope to see decreased occurrences of vehicle vs. pedestrian and vehicle vs. bicycle accidents in Boyle Heights and across LA County.