5 Encino Intersections Where Pedestrians Need Extra Caution

Some Encino intersections ask more of pedestrians than others. Wide crossings, fast traffic on Ventura Boulevard, freeway ramps, and heavy turning traffic all raise the risk of a pedestrian accident. Knowing which crossings call for extra care, and what to do if a driver hits you, can protect your safety and your rights.

October is National Pedestrian Safety Month, and in Los Angeles the stakes are high. More than 150 pedestrians were killed on Los Angeles city streets in 2025, according to reporting by LAist. Encino is a walking neighborhood in many ways. People cross Ventura Boulevard to reach restaurants, offices, medical buildings, and bus stops every day, and families walk to parks across the San Fernando Valley. At Big Joe Law, our pedestrian accident lawyers represent people struck in crosswalks, at intersections, and along sidewalks across Los Angeles County. This guide looks at five Encino intersections where walkers should slow down and stay alert, and what to do if a careless driver changes your life in a single moment.

These five intersections are not an official ranking based on crash counts. They are busy, well-known crossings where road design and traffic patterns call for extra care on foot.

Why Should Pedestrians Use Extra Caution at Ventura Boulevard and Balboa Boulevard in Encino?

Ventura Boulevard and Balboa Boulevard is where two of Encino’s busiest streets meet. Balboa carries drivers to and from the 101 Freeway, so pedestrians face heavy turning traffic, drivers hurrying to make a light, and long crossing distances across multiple lanes.

Drivers turning from Balboa onto Ventura, or from Ventura onto Balboa, are often watching for a gap in oncoming traffic instead of the crosswalk in front of them. That is when many pedestrian knockdowns happen. When crossing here:

• Wait for the walk signal, even when the street looks clear
• Watch for left-turning drivers who may not see you until the last second
• Make eye contact with drivers waiting to turn right before you step off the curb
• Avoid starting across when the countdown is almost finished, since the crossing is long

Why Should Pedestrians Use Extra Caution at Ventura Boulevard and Densmore Avenue in Encino?

Ventura Boulevard and Densmore Avenue sits in a busy commercial stretch where drivers pull in and out of parking lots and side streets. A September 2026 crash at this intersection killed one person and sent five others to the hospital, a reminder of how much force is in play on Ventura Boulevard.

That crash involved two vehicles, but the same conditions that lead to car crashes put walkers in danger. Along this part of Ventura Boulevard, pedestrians should expect:

• Drivers backing out of or pulling into parking lots without looking toward the sidewalk
• Vehicles entering Ventura from Densmore and other side streets while watching for cars, not people
• Rideshare and delivery drivers stopping suddenly in traffic lanes
• Drivers speeding up to make a yellow light

Why Should Pedestrians Use Extra Caution at Ventura Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard in Encino?

Ventura Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard, where Encino meets Sherman Oaks, sits beside the interchange of the 405 and the 101, two of the busiest freeways in the country. Drivers coming off or heading to the freeway are often moving fast, changing lanes, and focused on the on-ramp rather than the crosswalk.

Crash data from across Los Angeles shows that many of the city’s most dangerous intersections sit near freeway ramps. Crosstown, a nonprofit newsroom that analyzes Los Angeles Police Department collision records, found that pattern repeatedly in its 2025 review of serious crashes. Around Ventura and Sepulveda, walkers should:

• Expect drivers to carry freeway speed onto surface streets
• Watch for drivers making quick lane changes to reach an on-ramp
• Use marked crosswalks and signals instead of crossing mid-block
• Take extra care after dark, when headlights and glare make pedestrians harder to see

Why Should Pedestrians Use Extra Caution at Ventura Boulevard and White Oak Avenue in Encino?

Ventura Boulevard and White Oak Avenue draws steady foot traffic from shoppers, diners, and people heading to nearby offices. Busy shopping centers bring cars turning in and out of driveways close to the intersection, which means pedestrians have to watch more than one direction at once.

At commercial intersections like this one, the danger often comes from drivers who are distracted by finding a parking space, checking a phone for directions, or watching for a gap in traffic. Walkers can lower their risk by:

• Staying off the phone and keeping earbuds low while crossing
• Watching for drivers turning right on red who look left for cars and never look right for people
• Being extra careful near driveway entrances along the sidewalk
• Wearing light or reflective clothing when walking in the evening

Why Should Pedestrians Use Extra Caution at Balboa Boulevard and Burbank Boulevard in Encino?

Balboa Boulevard and Burbank Boulevard sits near the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, where families walk, jog, and bike to parks and sports fields. Both streets are wide and fast, and drivers passing through the basin often travel at higher speeds than they would on a neighborhood street.

Wide, open roads invite speeding, and speed is one of the biggest factors in whether a pedestrian survives a collision. Near the Sepulveda Basin, walkers should keep in mind:

• Children and families heading to parks may be less predictable near the road
• Drivers may not expect pedestrians on stretches that feel like open highway
• Crossing distances are long, so start only at the beginning of a walk signal
• Early morning and dusk bring low light and sun glare that can hide pedestrians from drivers

What Makes an Intersection Dangerous for Pedestrians in Los Angeles?

Intersections become dangerous for pedestrians when fast traffic, wide crossings, heavy turning volume, nearby freeway ramps, poor lighting, and distracted drivers come together. Los Angeles Police Department traffic leaders point to speed, running red lights and stop signs, and cell phone use as leading causes of serious crashes.

Pedestrian deaths in Los Angeles have climbed sharply over the past decade. Common factors in pedestrian accidents across Encino and the rest of the San Fernando Valley include:

• Speeding on multilane boulevards like Ventura, Sepulveda, and Balboa
• Drivers failing to yield to pedestrians in marked or unmarked crosswalks
• Left turns across crosswalks while the driver watches oncoming traffic
• Right turns on red without checking the crosswalk
• Distracted driving, including texting and using map apps
• Impaired driving, especially at night and on weekends
• Poor street lighting, faded crosswalk markings, and signal timing that does not give people enough time to cross
• Large SUVs and trucks with blind spots in front of the vehicle

Who Has the Right of Way at an Encino Crosswalk?

In California, drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing in a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. Pedestrians also have a duty to use care for their own safety, and they should not suddenly step into the path of a vehicle too close to stop.

Many people do not realize that most intersections have a crosswalk even without painted lines. A driver who fails to yield, runs a light, or turns into a person crossing lawfully may have breached the duty of care every driver owes to people on foot. Even when a pedestrian crossed mid-block or against the signal, the driver still has a duty to drive carefully and watch for people in the road.

What Should You Do After a Pedestrian Accident in Encino?

After a pedestrian accident in Encino, call 911, get medical care right away, and document everything you can. Get the driver’s information, photograph the scene and your injuries, collect witness names, and speak with a pedestrian accident lawyer before giving a recorded statement to any insurance company.

Pedestrians almost always take the worst of a collision with a car. Injuries like traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, broken bones, and internal injuries may not show their full effect in the first hours. Steps that protect your health and your claim include:

• Calling 911 and asking for police and medical help
• Accepting an ambulance or going to the emergency room the same day
• Getting the driver’s name, license, plate number, and insurance details
• Taking photos of the intersection, the signals, the crosswalk, the vehicle, and your injuries
• Noting nearby businesses with cameras that may have captured the crash, since footage is often erased quickly
• Collecting names and phone numbers of witnesses
• Following every treatment plan and keeping records of appointments and bills
• Declining to give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurer until you have spoken with a personal injury lawyer

Can You Still Recover Compensation if You Were Partly at Fault for an Encino Pedestrian Accident?

Yes. Under California’s pure comparative fault rule, a pedestrian who was partly at fault may still recover damages. Any award is reduced by the pedestrian’s share of fault, but it is not wiped out, even if the pedestrian was crossing outside a crosswalk.

Insurance companies often argue that a pedestrian was jaywalking, wearing dark clothing, or looking at a phone. These arguments are used to push fault onto the injured person and reduce what the carrier pays. Our pedestrian accident lawyers gather evidence such as surveillance footage, signal timing records, and witness accounts to show what the driver did wrong and to push back against unfair blame.

Can the City Be Responsible for a Dangerous Encino Intersection?

A public entity such as the City of Los Angeles may share responsibility for a pedestrian accident when a dangerous condition of public property, like a broken signal, missing crosswalk markings, poor lighting, or a hazardous road design, contributed to the crash. Claims against public entities come with a short deadline to serve a government claim.

These claims have strict rules and much shorter deadlines than a typical personal injury case. If a road defect, a malfunctioning signal, or overgrown landscaping blocking a driver’s view played a role in your pedestrian accident, speaking with a pedestrian accident lawyer quickly helps make sure the government claim is served on time.

What Compensation Is Available After a Pedestrian Accident in Encino?

People hurt in a pedestrian accident may be able to recover past and future medical expenses, past and future lost earnings and earning capacity, past and future pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Families of pedestrians killed by a careless driver may bring a wrongful death claim.

The value of any pedestrian accident claim depends on factors like the severity and permanence of the injuries, the strength of the liability evidence, the available insurance coverage, and how the injury has changed the person’s work and daily life. Categories of damages a jury can consider include:

• Emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, and rehabilitation
• Future medical care, including long-term therapy and home care
• Lost wages and reduced ability to earn in the future
• Physical pain and emotional suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Wrongful death damages for surviving family members

If the driver was uninsured or underinsured, or fled the scene, your own auto policy’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply even though you were on foot.

How Can an Encino Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Help Maximize My Compensation?

An Encino pedestrian accident lawyer can preserve surveillance footage and scene evidence, prove what the driver did wrong, push back on unfair blame, identify every source of insurance coverage, document the full cost of your injuries, and prepare your case for trial from the start.

At Big Joe Law, our personal injury lawyers build every pedestrian accident case as if a jury will hear it. For people struck at Encino intersections and across Los Angeles County, that means:

• Moving fast on evidence, including business and traffic camera footage that can disappear within days
• Reconstructing the crash with accident reconstruction engineers who can show speed, sight lines, and signal timing
• Investigating the intersection itself to see whether a dangerous condition of public property played a role
• Finding every source of coverage, including the driver’s liability policy, an employer’s policy for a working driver, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
• Working with treating physicians and life care planners to document the full scope of future medical needs
• Handling the insurance companies so you can focus on recovery
• Preparing for trial from the first conference, because a case ready for a jury is a case the other side has to take seriously

Were You Hit by a Car While Walking in Encino?

If a careless driver hit you in a crosswalk, at an intersection, or on a sidewalk, or if you lost a family member in a pedestrian accident, talk to our pedestrian accident lawyers at Big Joe Law. Our team will listen to what happened, review the evidence, and explain the options that may be available to you. Consultations are free, and there are no attorney’s fees unless we win. Reach out today to start protecting your rights.

Sources

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation Designates October as National Pedestrian Safety Month
• LAist, Once Again, More People Were Killed in Collisions on LA Streets Than by Homicide Last Year
• CBS Los Angeles, 1 Dead, 5 Injured After Crash at Encino Intersection