Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.

The scene of a fatal tragedy near a Hollywood middle school eight months ago was populated yesterday by city leaders, parents and students who celebrated new safety improvements at the site and a pilot program aimed at improving pedestrian safety near local schools.

A woman was killed and her 10-year-old daughter injured when they were struck by a truck while walking in a crosswalk on Feb. 11 near LeConte Middle School at 1316 N. Bronson Ave. in Hollywood. But pedestrians who frequent the street can now breath easier as an array of safety improvements was unveiled at a press conference that included Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell.

The improvements include the installation of two flashing signals for the pedestrian crossing at Fountain and Bronson avenues and two stop signs at Bronson and Fernwood avenues.

The improvements were made under a new pilot program called the Safe Passages Volunteer Pilot Program, according to O’Farrell’s office. The program is part of the larger Neighborhood School Safety Program, which is managed by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office and is taking place at four LA Unified schools this school year, including LeConte.

The Safe Passages program involves recruiting and training parents to volunteer as crossing guards at Los Angeles middle and high schools, since crossing guards are only assigned to elementary schools in the city, NBC Los Angeles reported.

“We’re still working just diligently to come up with the funding so we can fund more crossing guards,” O’Farrell told NBC.

(See the attached video report from NBC for more)