There continues to be a lot of discussion on pedestrian safety on Point San Pedro Road (PSPR), and in particular the part of the road between Main Drive and Rivera Drive.
Your Point San Pedro Road Coalition has continued to monitor this situation and has on a regular basis had discussions with City staff regarding ongoing concerns raised by area residents regarding the safety of the crosswalks in the area. I want to give you an update on our latest discussions and the actions that City has agreed to perform.
The roadway area between Main Drive and Riviera Drive contains three marked crosswalks; one at Knight Drive, one at Peacock Drive, and one at Riviera Drive. There is no marked crosswalk at Main Drive because of the blind curve in which drivers of vehicles traveling eastbound do not have adequate sightlines of pedestrians crossing the street at that location. Pedestrians are encouraged not to cross there, and those that elect to do so are reminded to use extreme caution.
Several years ago, the City hired a consultant to assess the safety conditions of all marked crosswalks in the City in order to help the City prioritize where limited City funds on crosswalk improvements should be allocated. The study looked at several factors, including the crosswalk traffic volumes, reported accidents, size of the roadway, posted speed limits, etc. A rating score was then assigned to each crosswalk and those receiving the higher ratings received funding priorities.
Unfortunately, for us, the PSPR crosswalks did not score high enough for the City to allocate funding to improve the pedestrian crossing. Crosswalk improvements often involve the installation of flashing lights and related types of equipment. Because PSPR is a four-lane road, the cost of implementing these types of solutions is substantially more than if PSPR was a two-lane road. It is estimated that a flashing light system installed at any of these three crosswalks would need to include overhead arms above the road and cost more than $80,000 each. City staff decisions regarding crosswalk improvement must comply with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Given this situation, the Coalition asked City staff what can be done to help improve pedestrian safety in the short term. The City Traffic Engineer and his staff conducted a site visit to the area and carefully analyzed each crosswalk. They felt that although the pedestrian crossing signage has been improved in the last few years, there was an opportunity to relocate some existing signage as well as to install some additional signage to improve pedestrian safety. They also agreed to repair or replace the reflectors located in front of each crosswalk that improves nighttime visibility.
City staff also identified several areas at Riviera Drive and Knight Drive where vegetation in the median or adjacent to the sidewalk area was blocking signage or sightlines. Vegetation in these areas have already been trimmed back or will be done soon.
The City is committed to having this work done by the end of November. The Point San Pedro Road Coalition will continue to monitor this situation and will be prepared to work with City staff on future concerns of area residents.
Kevin Hagerty
Chair, Roadway Committee