When the city scraped off our crosswalks, they also removed our memorial to Nadir. Today we went to put it back and the cops made us stop. But no matter how hard they try, the city can’t erase the memory of Nadir or their own negligence that contributed to his death.
Before and after photos of the same intersection. Top photo shows an intersection without any marked crosswalks. Bottom photo shows the intersection with two painted white crosswalks.
“We’ve been waiting for this crosswalk for 20 years,” one West Adams local told us as we were painting at this intersection, a block from the 10, which ripped up this neighborhood and displaced many Black residents in the 1960s.
Two crosswalks marked at 10th Ave. and 25th St. in West Adams.
Before and after photos of an intersection: Top photo shows the intersection without marked crosswalks. Bottom photo shows the intersection with two marked yellow crosswalks.
Crosswalk request: “The intersection of Echo Park Ave and Baxter constantly has cars blowing through stop signs, speeding down the hill. There is an elementary school, a preschool and a restaurant with zero crossing visibility.“
Two crosswalks marked at Echo Park & Baxter in Elysian Heights.
All it took to get this quick-build safety upgrade was 10 years, the death of Nadir Gavarrete, and the guerilla work of the @crosswalksla.bsky.social
Two photos of the same intersection. On the left is a painted white crosswalk and memorial bar reading “En memoria de Nadir Gavarrete.” On the right is the street with the crosswalk and memorial scraped off.
Hey @ladotofficial.bsky.social, you've had funding for 14 years to fix 4th & New Hampshire in Ktown, but instead you did nothing, which killed Nadir. Amazing that it only took you three months to remove our crosswalks and memorial. Put them back in or we will. Again. And again. And again.
crosswalksla.org/how-to-guide...
If you'd like to support the family, please consider donating to their GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/tragic-dea...
We started painting crosswalks because we couldn't count on the city to protect us, especially our kids and elders. 3 years later, it’s clear the city of LA still doesn't value the lives of Angelenos.
We'll continue our work, and supporting our network of other painters, until our streets are safe.
A white painted crosswalk. The last crosswalk bar is a white frame with the words "En memoria de Nadir Gavarrete" written inside the frame. In the background, the community gathers for a vigil in memory of Nadir.
En memoria de Nadir Gavarrete. Our city failed you. Ni una muerte más.
Before and after photos of an intersection: Top photo shows the intersection without any painted crosswalks. Bottom photo shows the intersection with four painted crosswalks. Both photos show a tribute of candles, flowers, and children's toys marking the corner where 9-year-old Nadir Gavarrete died.
Three days ago 9-year-old Nadir Gavarrete and his brother were hit by a driver at 4th & New Hampshire in Ktown. Nadir died and his brother is hospitalized. LA city officials are well aware of the dangers of this intersection and have done nothing.
Four crosswalks painted at 4th & New Hampshire.
At Crosswalk Collective LA, we love to support community members across the country who want to start painting crosswalks or red curbs in their neighborhoods. It only takes a handful of people, a stencil, and some paint. Our How to Paint a Crosswalk guide is here: crosswalksla.org/how-to-guide...
The city of LA has removed three of our crosswalks in the past two weeks amid a budget crisis. We're now getting requests to put in crosswalks that were planned and committed to by LADOT, then rescinded for lack of funds ... where is the money for removals coming from?
A before and after shot of an intersection. The top photo shows the intersection without any marked crosswalks. The bottom photo shows the same intersection with two marked white crosswalks.
Crosswalk request: "Too many cars run the stop signs. I've asked my city council field deputy for help and was told it will take YEARS to get a crosswalk due to sidewalk assessments, etc. Also told that there's no money in the budget."
Two crosswalks marked at Sycamore & De Longpre in Hollywood.
Unfortunately, there's no stop sign so it would be dangerous for us to add a crosswalk under current conditions. @ladotofficial.bsky.social can you work on the stop sign? And we'll take care of the crosswalk. These kids have been waiting for a safe path to school for 78 years.
While fulfilling an earlier crosswalk request, we noticed the park nearby was filled with kids playing but had no crosswalks, so we came back and put two in at Dockweiler and West in Mid-City.
Before and after shots of an intersection in Koreatown. Top shows a person crossing the street without a crosswalk; bottom shows the same street with a different person walking across a painted crosswalk.
Crosswalk request: "Tired of dodging cars here everyday with the stop line practically nonexistent too.”
Crosswalk marked at Wilshire and Kenmore in Koreatown. The stop line got a touch-up too.
Before and after shot of an intersection: Top shows the intersection without a crosswalk. Bottom shows it with a crosswalk and the word STOP.
October 1 crosswalk request: "It's near a park that's near two schools. This is a two way stop with no crosswalk paint."
Crosswalk and STOP painted at Dockweiler & Muirfield in Mid-City.
The shadows of five crosswalk painters shown in front of a freshly painted yellow crosswalk.
Whatever happens in the halls of power, you can still pick up a paint roller and change a little corner of your world. See you out there, friends.
A before and after shot of an intersection: Top shows the intersection with an unmarked crosswalk. Bottom shows the intersection with a marked yellow crosswalk and STOP letters stenciled in white.
Crosswalk request: "This is an intersection right across from a busy school … I never feel safe (and hate seeing moms having to run with/hurry their children even when they have the right of way)."
Two crosswalks marked at Council and Westmoreland in Koreatown.
A crosswalk stencil held down by a can of paint with a paint roller in the center rolling out white paint.
It's a beautiful gray day for painting!
On Saturday LA hustled out its crews for the important work of… removing crosswalks kids use to get to school. They made sure not to fix the streetlight that's been broken for months so now it will be extra unsafe. Wow, LA, great job!
A before and after shot: Top photo shows an intersection without painted crosswalks. Bottom photo shows the same intersection with two yellow crosswalks.
Following the recent death and destruction visited on families walking to school, we’ve focused on school-related requests.
Traffic control on this one was hairy but we got it done: Two new crosswalks at 22nd & Union in University Park.
