Council Advises Staff to Conduct Stop Sign Analysis After Death of Pedestrian

After a lengthy council discussion, city staff was instructed to conduct an "All-Way Stop Analysis" on a local intersection where a woman was recently struck by a pickup truck.

The City Council's unanimous call to direct staff to conduct the analysis of the intersection near came after about an hour of discussion. The discussion attracted 73 people in support of a four-way stop sign on Valle Verde Road where a Poway woman was struck and died two days later in September.

According to Development Services Director Bob Manis, staff will conduct the report and have it ready for presentation at the Oct. 18 council meeting with immediate plans to install stop signs if approved. 

Among the 73 who came out in support of the stop signs, several commented, including children, teens and parents, and those who have lost loved ones because of incidents at the intersection. 

Bradley Campeo, 12, told the City Council he and his friends are unable to walk to a nearby park because of the dangers of walking across the intersection.

"It makes me sad that I cannot walk to a park because the crosswalk is too dangerous," he said. "Why hasn't anything been done to make it less dangerous?"

A 17-year-old Barry Cunningham, a senior with Williams Syndrome, said his rare disease means he cannot drive and his "sense of space and distance is challenging." Cunningham said a stop sign is needed in order for him to know when it is safe to walk. 

Other stop sign supporters referred back to a March 2008 City Council meeting where leaders voted down the proposal to install stop signs in the area after an 11-year-old boy was struck by a car earlier that year. 

In a letter, Chaparral Elementary parents Kelly Faley and Judy Campillo, who are leading a citizen's group effort for the stop signs, noted that "residents along Valle Verde Road in Poway have been asking the City to implement traffic calming measures along this dangerous road. Valle Verde is a wide road, with 'S' curves and limited sight lines from side streets. To date, no changes have been made."

Campillo and Faley said at least five crashes have occurred at the intersection since 2008. 

However, Mayor Don Higginson, who served on the council at the time and added the item to Tuesday's agenda, said the circumstances surrounding the 2008 proposal were different. 

"There were a few speakers and the majority of the speakers were opposed to the stop signs," said Higginson, who noted his children also attended the nearby Chaparral. "It was a totally different evening that night. We're looking at this from a different angle."

The 73 attendees who supported the installation of stop signs were backed by 53 items of correspondence received by the city requesting stop signs at the intersection, one requesting a roundabout, two requesting flashing lights and eight simply requesting that "something be done," according to the staff report. 

Although residents have cited a number of accidents in the area, a public records request shows the highest number of collisions in the past five years to be at Camino Del Norte at Pomerado Road with 38 collisions. (See attached PDF for full list.)

The city invited concerned residents to the Traffic Safety Committee meeting in the Council Chambers at 2 p.m. Oct. 11 to further discuss the intersection and possible need for stop signs. 

Check back with Poway Patch for another story on the City Council meeting that includes other agenda items including the proposed Toyota move and expansion.