Latest Kern County, California and US & world news from 23ABC in Bakersfield, Calif.
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00:00 I'm here on the corner of Beale Ave and Niles St, where the city has felt the need to try to make the roads a little safer.
00:06 In fact, they've installed these blockades in order to help reduce traffic.
00:10 But as you can see, vehicles still hit the blockades and now the city is looking to take a step further.
00:16 [car engine]
00:20 If no noise is made, nobody's going to know that there is an issue.
00:24 [car engine]
00:26 This isn't the noise Jasmine Burleson is talking about.
00:29 It's very important for parents to notice these dangers in their community and be willing to speak up about it.
00:37 Burleson knows the dangers of these streets all too well.
00:40 Last January, her 16-year-old son, Angel Berumen, was killed in a hit-and-run while walking to school along Niles St and Brentwood Dr.
00:48 It's infuriating. Like I said, in that area where Angel was hit, that's the causeway to multiple schools.
00:55 A year after Berumen's death...
00:56 It's three lanes of one-way traffic going 55 miles an hour sometimes.
01:00 ...the city is taking steps to make the area a little safer.
01:05 And Maggie Cushing of the Boys and Girls Club says it's well overdue.
01:09 So the city has tried to kind of slow it down by having this lane closed off.
01:12 But as you can see, people don't always realize it's closed off.
01:15 And so there have been some accidents that have occurred running into this pole.
01:18 Cushing told us around 50% of the children who attend their Armstrong Youth Center walk to and from the club.
01:24 They're kids, oftentimes, crossing the street multiple times a day, putting themselves in danger.
01:29 Our kids are doing the best they can to leapfrog out there.
01:32 The city of Bakersfield looking to address the safety concerns through the Niles and Monterey Complete Streets Project Map,
01:38 hoping to secure federal funds to increase safety and accessibility along streets through ADA modifications,
01:44 raised cycle tracks, and new trees along the sidewalks.
01:48 The current map extends from Alta Vista Drive to Virginia Street, with the Boys and Girls Club right in the middle of it all.
01:54 We've had probably seven accidents into the fence, either by the Beale area or the Niles side.
01:59 While these changes didn't come soon enough to save her son,
02:02 Burleson hopes these first steps will help prevent another mother from feeling her pain.
02:07 It takes a village to raise a child, and it's everybody's business when somebody's child is in danger.
02:15 And the city of Bakersfield is looking for the public's input when it comes to the Niles and Monterey Street Projects.
02:22 If you'd like to provide your feedback, you can head to our website, turnto23.com.
02:26 For 23 ABC News, I'm Veronica Morley, connecting you.