McOsker Briefs: Paseo Del Mar Area Consider Pedestrian Safety and Memorial Square Dedicated to Coach Jose Quezada

McOsker Motion for Pedestrian Safety on Paseo Del Mar

Joan Milke Flores Park, at 834 Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro in CD15, is within walking distance to Point Fermin Park, Angels Gate Park, Wilders Addition Park, Fort MacArthur Military Museum, Korean Friendship Bell and Point Fermin Lighthouse. This park is a popular spot for locals and visitors to the area.

Residents and users of the park have expressed concerns about pedestrian safety on entering and exiting the site on foot. 

A continuous sidewalk lines Paseo Del Mar on the corridor’s ocean side, but there is no sidewalk on the side adjacent to the park. People unable to park at the lot on site must park on Paseo Del Mar, which makes them have to cross a state highway and encounter vehicular traffic, at times, traveling at unsafe speeds.

Pedestrian and vehicle traffic from the other attractions nearby creates an unsafe pedestrian environment specifically for crossing the highway into Joan Milke Flores Park. The closest crosswalk, at Roxbury St., is in the opposite direction of the park entrance.

On Oct. 24. Councilmember McOsker moved that further analysis of effective pedestrian safety measures, like a High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk or HAWK beacon, for the park’s entrance and its access from Paseo Del Mar is vital to improving safety for pedestrians.

The motion states for the Department of Transportation and Bureau of Engineering, in consultation with the Department of Recreation and Parks, report back with an analysis of targeted pedestrian safety improvements, such as a HAWK, that could be

implemented at the intersection of the entrance to Joan Milke Flores Park via Paseo Del Mar.

The motion also requires these agencies report on funding pedestrian safety improvements for the intersection of the entrance to the park and Paseo Del Mar.

Square Dedicated In Memory of Coach Jose Quezada

WILMINGTON — On Oct. 27 Councilmember Tim McOsker unveiled a new square dedication on Bayview and D St. as “Coach Jose Quezada Square.”

On the evening of July 27, Quezada was volunteering at a community event in Wilmington Recreation Center (Wilhall Park) when he was killed just a few yards away from the venue a short time after the event’s conclusion. Quezada was a pillar of the community and someone who was regularly volunteering his time as a coach, mentor, peacekeeper and advocate to make his community better.

Throughout the years, Quezada organized efforts to raise funds to help many local families who lost loved ones through violence, car accidents or sickness. He coached youth baseball and helped community organizations like the Wilmington Recreation Center and the Wilmington Teen Center. He is survived by his wife and three sons.

Together with Jose’s family, McOsker will dedicate the intersection where the tragic shooting occurred, naming it “Coach Jose Quezada Square” in loving memory of Coach.