A traffic safety advocate was arrested by Los Angeles police after he was accused of vandalizing street property for painting an unpermitted crosswalk in West LA.
Cellphone footage shows the moment Jonathan Hale was handcuffed by officers in the middle of the Kelton and Wilkins Avenues intersection in Sawtelle on Sunday. He was arrested while painting an unpermitted crosswalk with his group, People’s Vision Zero.
“People need to realize lives are at stake,” Hale said. “The people of LA want livable, walkable streets.”
Hale said his mission grew out of frustration after he waited on the city of Los Angeles to improve intersections with marked crosswalks. When the city failed to do so, Hale said he and his group took action.
“This is a public health crisis, and it’s also a social crisis,” he said. “… People don’t feel safe going outside and it’s destroying our communities.”
In July, Hale and other community members painted an unpermitted crosswalk near Stoner Park in West Los Angeles. Soon after, crews worked to scrape the paint off. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation said in a statement over the summer that it’s essential for the city to have control over crosswalk installations for safety reasons.
“LADOT shares the community’s urgency to make our streets safer, and installs or upgrades thousands of critical safety treatments every year,” its statement read. “In order to meet safety standards set by the State of California, crosswalks can only be installed by LADOT or a contractor assigned by the department. We ask that residents request treatments directly with their Council Office or by calling 311.”
In total, Hale has painted 14 unpermitted crosswalks in Los Angeles, but was never arrested until this week.
In a statement, Mayor Karen Bass’ office said Hale had been contacted to work together to make streets safer.
“Mayor Bass is willing to work with any Angeleno who wants to make our streets safer,” the statement read. “To this end, the Mayor’s Office, Council District 10 and LADOT have met with Jonathan Hale to discuss his concerns, share the process for permitting and offered to collaborate to develop solutions to expedite the installation of crosswalks that meet legal and accessibility requirements. Despite communication about City, State, and Federal laws and parameters, Jonathan has chosen to continue to pursue his own course of action. Our office called him again today to offer to work together. Mayor Bass is determined to ensure the safety and accessibility of streets and sidewalks for Angelenos, no matter how they bike, roll, walk or ride.”
Hale said he intends to continue meeting with the mayor’s office and hopes to create a policy that would make it easier for contractors to get permits for painting crosswalks.
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