Abstracts Category : Other

Connecting Reseda Boulevard & CSUN: One Great Street

by Alen Estrada

Public safety is one of the most vital issues we faced as we attempted to increase mobility on Reseda Boulevard by making the street more comfortable and pedestrian friendly for the residents, students and visitors of Northridge, while enhancing the connection to the CSUN campus. The concept of safety as discussed in this section, is addressed in two primary categories, relating to the security and well being of the community. Pedestrian and bicyclist safety pertains to the ability and expectation to create an environment in which public streets, including sidewalks and roadways, can be shared by all motorists and non-motorists, in order to incorporate a multi-modal transportation system throughout the area that is both safe and secure for all parties wishing to utilize the public space. Crime safety focuses on the need for adequate environmental design that can help reduce or prevent potential criminal activity in the neighborhood, while protecting the lives and property of the community members from physical danger. The following report has been created to help improve public safety throughout Reseda Boulevard, from Nordhoff Street to Lassen Street, in order to protect the well-being of all residents and visitors of the area from unforeseeable peril, physical risk and/or harm. The proposed tactics are supported by six hours of non-participant observations and site analysis, a total of 440 pedestrian survey responses, existing literature concerning pedestrian safety and crime prevention through environmental design, archival research and statistical data analysis of professional secondary sources, including the Los Angeles Police Department, the University of California Berkeley, the Northridge Community Vision Plan, and City Planning Departments, among others.Advisors/Committee Members: Olwert, Craig T (advisor), Toker, Zeynep (committee member).