I have a big problem with the 40 bus, montebello bus lines and the MTA (beyond its lackluster service). My issue surrounds the 40 bus stop at Beverly and Sadler in East Los Angeles. About 10 years ago, when the line was MTA operated, they decided to upgrade the concrete and wood bus stop with a metal shelter, sounds good right? Of course this being East LA, the MTA did a half arsed job of removing the bench because only poorer Mexicans ride the bus in East LA and who cares about them, its not like they're gonna complain. So some jerkoff did a poor job and left a serious safety hazard, enter my abuela/grandma.
Below is a pic of the sidewalk in front of the metal bus shelter. When they replaced the bench, they left the cement molding to protrude about 1.5 inches out of the sidewalk instead of grinding it down or replacing the concrete. This protrusion is about a foot outside of the new shelter bench to add to its danger and invisibility. The protrusion is hidden amongst a neglected sidewalk where one pavement piece rises above its neighbor about a half inch, with a few broken pieces to add in the portion where they adjoin. Here's the pic of the leftover cement molding which sticks out a little over an inch, which doesnt do the safety hazard justice but is still evidence:
Mind you this is in the middle of the sidewalk about a foot out front the edge of the bus shleter bench. Did I mention how neglected this stop and sidewalk is (which is a sad statement, as this is a nicer sidewalk for EastLos standards)? Below is a pic of the cement molding leftover, as well as the crumbling sidewalk which has one piece rising above the other to create another little safety hazard. Again, not too bad for East LA standards but still a safety hazard which would have people screaming if it were in Portland or say a nicer part of West LA.
As a lifelong barrio pedestrian, Im used to this kind of crap. Its much more productive to remove crosswalks, leave neglected sidewalks, narrow sidewalks and shave curbs for the safety of drunk or speeding drivers than to improve the walkability of a community for pedestrians. After all, who the hell walks? People make the latter assertion a lot, but I feel that part of this reality is the fact that pedestrian environments have been degraded for decades in LA, usually to improve vehicular freedom for shitty drivers or because those who walk dont matter to LA's elite's (or didnt until hipsters began doing it in the early 2000s). Anyways, this little safety hazard really got to me when my abuela fell victim to it. The worst part was I had just returned from a planning conference where I gave a lecture on how the Eastside goldline will help to improve pedestrian friendliness in pedestrian unfriendly East LA. I come home and visit my abuela to find her looking like this:
At first I thought she had been mugged or attacked, but my tio explained to me she fell walking down beverly boulevard a few days earlier. he also told me she had looked much worse the first couple days, and the pics were taken after she had put an ice pack on for a few hours. Apparently she tripped on either the protruding molding or crack (we are not sure) and fell face down onto the sidewalk. When she came to she was against the bus bench and could not get up, her eyeglasses were also embedded in her face on the insides of her eyes. She lied there for a moment or two when a good samaritan pulled over and helped her up. My grandma being a proud mexicana rejected her offer of a ride back to her house or the hospital, as she lived around the block. When she called my mom after she got to the house she actually was going to take the bus to the hospital, but my mom rushed over sensing something was vadly wrong through my abuela's downplaying. It was so bad my mom got nauscious, she said her head was pouring blood so they rushed to emergency room. That mini horn protruding from the middle of her forehead felt bone hard for months and did not recede for half a year.
After the incident I discussed the matter with a friend of mine who is a lawyer. He showed me the form to file this accident report, and noted my grandma probably deserves some compensation for the safety hazard the MTA had left on a public sidewalk. When we began going over with my abuela what had happened step by step, even more revelations came out that madfe me even angrier. Apparently as the good samaritan was helping my abuela the Montebello 40 bus pulled over because he thought they were waiting at the stop to get on, he even honked as the lady's car was just outside the bus stop. My grandma still has vision and memory problems since her fall, and suffers from frequent headaches. One thing she does remember was the bus honking and then the front doors opening. The driver, a middle aged african american man, asked if they were getting on. The woman helping my abuela told him she was injured bad and to call the police of paramedics. He proceeded to close the door and drive off without stopping to help. Real fucken nice, if I catch you sir the beating will make my grandma's face look like nothing.
Unfortunately my abuela did not stick around to see if the cops or medics were called by this busdriver asshole, as her goal was to get back home and call someone. A hot unshaded sidewalk in front of a car lot isnt the best place to be when you are dizzy and bleeding, plus the good samaritan had to leave.
Double Unfortunately was that a family member got a lwayer friend and his firm involved. Despite me telling my grandma we can file the claim ourselves, this lawyer insisted it would be better handled by his firm. Of course it wasnt, a few months later they told my grandma it would cost her money to file the claim and that it had some chance it would not win, at her expense. She actually wanted no money, but the bus stop to be fixed and her medical bills to be paid. Nothing came of it and my abuela still has little use of the arm she broke, severe headaches and back pain and gets dizzy spells (all of which she says is a combo of the fall and old age). her vision is permanently reduced and she has trouble thinking, which scares the heck out of me. So fuck you 40 bus, MTA and Montebello Bus lines. And Browne, let me know if you find that middle aged black driver ( I note his age and ethnicity purely for identification purposes) so I can stomp him properly.
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