A look at the new street safety measures at LAUSD schools as families prepare for back-to-school

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jill Smith is a head cashier at a Food 4 Less, a company she has been with for about 14 years. On Friday, Smith was the one doing the shopping.

"I have a 4-year-old granddaughter, so I'm getting her a backpack," said Smith, adding she was also picking one up for a co-worker who was on the job.

The shopping experience was part of a back-to-school event hosted by UFCW 770, a union that represents retail, packing, and grocery workers, among others. The union said it wants to help give their members peace of mind.

"By us providing at least a backpack, crayons, glue, things that they can just quickly mark off, that's our goal," said Monica Valdovinos, with UFCW 770 and UFCW 770 Women's Network.

The union said it is distributing free school supplies to support 400 students and their families at several offices in California.

"We were not expecting so many donations, not only monetary wise, but also school supplies, and not only just from us, but also from union members who see their fellow union members struggling to make ends meet," said Valdovinos.

Meantime, when students across the Los Angeles Unified School District return to classes Monday, many will notice new street safety projects. The Department of Transportation installed hundreds of speed humps where speeding is a known issue.

They've also installed improvements meant to tighten intersections and encourage drivers to slow down. Another effort to prevent speeding: new school slow zones with reduced 15 MPH speed limits.

"In recent years, Los Angeles Unified students and families have become victims of senseless vehicular traffic incidents while walking to and from school," said LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho in statement. "As we welcome back our students, staff and families to the 2024-25 school year, our Board of Education members and I are grateful for the steps Mayor Bass and the City Council have taken to address these safety issues with urgency."

The agency also said that by expediting the hiring of crossing guards, it is also continuing the largest deployment of crossing guards in more than a decade.