Politics & Government

City Committee Supports All-Way Stop Signs at Valle Verde Intersection

The recommendation will go to the City Council on Oct. 18 for a final vote.

The Traffic Safety Committee unanimously approved a recommendation to install all-way stop signs at the controversial Valle Verde Road intersection after a Poway woman was struck and later died.

The committee's approval, which will be presented to the City Council for a vote at its Oct. 18 meeting, comes after the city's senior traffic engineer, Zoubir Ouadah, presented his Oct. 11 report that recommended the move.

"Clearly we have work to do," said Committee Chairman and Fire Department Division Chief Jon Canavan. "We have a pedestrian-vehicle conflict."

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According to the report, 3,230 vehicles travel through Valle Verde Road each day with 85 percent of the drivers driving at 38 mph; the speed limit is 35 mph. The report also states that 3,400 vehicles travel daily on Solera Way, west of Valle Verde Road.

The "corner sight distance on both Solera Way and Vinter Way entering Valle Verde Road is approximately 300 feet" which does not meet the California Highway Design Manual's recommended sight distance of 385 feet, according to the report. However, when considering 85 percent of the drivers travel at 38 mph rather than the posted 35 mph, the sight distance is 300 feet, rather than the recommended 418 feet.

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The report included data on the intersection of , prompting several residents to attend the meeting to express their concerns.

Many people said that the speeds at which drivers travel in the area are "disturbing," while others said they are unwilling to allow their children or themselves to walk through the intersection because of the danger.

Norman Flint, who has lived in the area for 25 years, said that it isn't "uncommon to see drivers go 45-miles plus" past the intersection.

"I've seen cars zoom around just to keep going so they won't have to slow down," he said. "It seems that the argument is nothing more or less than concern for our family and children's safety. On the other side is the concern for inconvenience and getting home sooner."

Despite a number of supporters who spoke at the meeting, opponents of the stop signs were also present.

Lonnie Stewart, who has lived in the area for 19 years, said installing all-way stop signs wouldn't change the issue. "Nothing prevents accidents" when drivers are the cause, she said.

Leah Browder, a committee member and the city's director of public works, said it was difficult to balance the different perspectives while committee member and Poway Sheriff's Sgt. J.T. Rothlein said the main concern is safety.

"My concern really is the safety of everybody," he said. "As adults, our concerns should be the safety of our children."

The committee approval comes more than three years after a March 2008 meeting in which the City Council voted down the Traffic Safety Committee's recommendation to install all-way stop signs at the intersection. If the City Council approves the resolution on Oct. 18, the city could install the stop signs as early as Oct. 19.


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