Los Angeles Police Department Officer Guillermo Rocha was stopping pedestrians at a bustling intersection near the North Hollywood Red and Orange Line station one recent afternoon.

He stared ahead as five people walked north on Lankershim Boulevard at Chandler Boulevard in a marked crosswalk after the red hand started flashing.

“Normally, I could cite every one of you for doing that,” the Valley Traffic Division officer told them as he passed out an LAPD “Walk Smart” program brochure, with its “responsible walking habits.” “The next thing you know, you’re going to get hit and get hurt.”

There’s reason for concern. The number of traffic collisions involving pedestrians in the San Fernando Valley increased nearly 25 percent over the past five years, from 714 in 2011 to 884 in 2015, according to LAPD data. Citywide, the number of pedestrian collisions increased nearly 35 percent from 2011 to 2015.

The Valley has seen an increase in pedestrian traffic collisions every year since 2011 except last year when it stayed nearly the same, the data show.

Four deaths in a month

Part of the increase can be attributed to fewer cars being on the road in 2011 as a result of the recession, according to city transportation officials.

But the deaths last month of at least four pedestrians in the Valley brought renewed attention to the danger.

Mirna Araceli Saz-De-Herrera, 63, was fatally struck on April 30 by an out-of-control BMW as she walked on a sidewalk with her family in their North Hollywood neighborhood. Her three grandchildren were injured.

Pia Botz, 69, and her daughter Erica, 31, were walking with Erica’s Labrador retriever on the night of April 11 when all three were struck and killed in a West Hills crosswalk by a Mitsubishi SUV.

Family friend Heather Greiner, of Woodland Hills, said it was devastating to lose “the most loving, welcoming and passionate women” she had ever met.

“I feel terrible about it,” Greiner said.

Besides a yellow crosswalk sign at Roscoe Boulevard and Jason Avenue, she added, “that particular crosswalk doesn’t have any (safety) indicators on it, but it’s a big crosswalk and it shouldn’t happen.”

Greiner said she is now teaching her 8-year-old son to watch out for cars because “they are not looking out for you.”

A week earlier, Luis Alejandro Lopez, 20, was killed in a Sylmar crosswalk at night by a car that was allegedly speeding and appeared to have run a red light, according to police.

Each year, the Valley sees an average of 28 fatal pedestrian collisions involving at least one death and 81 resulting in severe injuries, according to the data. Van Nuys and North Hollywood divisions had the most fatal pedestrian collisions in the 5-year period, followed by West Valley, Mission and Topanga.

“Twenty-seven, 28 and 29 (pedestrian deaths) is too many,” LAPD Valley Traffic Division Detective William Bustos said. “Our goal is to have zero.”

Drivers should focus solely on the act of driving — rather than grooming, eating, texting or reading — and obey the rules of the road, Bustos said. Pedestrians must also be vigilant before they step off the curb and and while crossing the street.

Woodland Hills resident Mihoko Tokoro noted she has seen many pedestrians who either don’t pay attention to the rules or just ignore them.

“They’re not even looking if there’s a car (before they cross),” she said. “Maybe they have their iPhone or are listening to the music or are riding a bicycle and having a wonderful day and just go straight.”

Deadly intersections

Certain Valley intersections have been more deadly for pedestrians than others, according to a Daily News analysis of the data. From 2011 to 2015, fatal pedestrian collisions have occurred twice at six busy intersections.

Those intersections are:

• Victory Boulevard and Platt Avenue in West Hills.

• Nordhoff Street and Wakefield Avenue in Panorama City.

• Van Nuys Boulevard and Canterbury Avenue in Arleta.

• Cahuenga Boulevard and Lankershim Boulevard in Studio City.

• Victory Boulevard and Sylmar Avenue in Van Nuys.

• Victory Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon in Valley Glen.

“These intersections are very well-traveled and well-known intersections as opposed to more obscure intersections where they may be in residential areas,” Bustos said.

Intersections where there is a multitude of transit, such as bus stops and bicycle and vehicle traffic, are considered particularly risky.

“Obviously someone will make a mistake if they are not paying attention,” Bustos said.

Shared responsibility

Reducing pedestrian collisions and deaths is everyone’s responsibility, Los Angeles officials say.

In an analysis of traffic data from 2009 to 2013, city officials found that 6 percent of city streets accounted for nearly 65 percent of deaths and serious injuries to people walking and biking.

Dozens of Valley streets on the “high-injury network” — such as bustling Van Nuys Boulevard from Laurel Canyon to San Fernando Road — are now targeted for safety improvements under Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Great Streets project and Vision Zero.

Vision Zero, a data-based initiative that uses education, enforcement and engineering, aims to have zero traffic deaths in the city by 2025.

Among the improvements proposed for the boulevard are new “zebra-striped” continental crosswalks designed to increase the driver’s ability to see pedestrian crossings while shortening the crossing distance.

Speed is also key. A pedestrian or cyclist hit by a vehicle going 20 miles per hour has a 90 percent chance of survival. That decreases to 20 percent if the vehicle is going 40 miles per hour, according to Vision Zero officials.

Van Nuys Boulevard, one of the most transit-dependent areas in the county, moves traffic faster than a retail corridor should and doesn’t shield pedestrians from traffic because stoplights are spaced far apart, Councilman Felipe Fuentes said.

“If we slow down traffic, create a more interesting pedestrian experience, if we bring comfort into the design and secure people’s well-being, we’ll have real utility … and that’s what makes a good, safe and economic corridor,” he said.

Staff writer Mike Reicher contributed to this report.