A recent article in the San Diego Reader about another accident at the intersection of West Point Loma and Abbott Street points out its dangerous nature. Mercy Baron – who also writes for the OB Rag – reported on September 24th that the day before a bicyclist was run into by a car at the intersection.
As Baron pointed out – and as all local residents know – there are conflicting and confusing street signs at the intersection. If you are on West Point Loma going west, you can either turn left onto Abbott or go straight without restrictions. Cars going in the other direction have a Stop sign at that intersection. But on Abbott there is a Yield sign. People driving east on West Point Loma may not know there is that Yield sign and may assume it’s a Stop sign. At any rate, sometimes, cars will drive right in front of other vehicles going west on West Point Loma.
Baron spoke to local residents Audrey Stratton and Lindsay Huston, whose apartment is right next to the intersection. They say there are “many accidents”. Mercy reported:
Stratton and Huston said they heard the accident and the bicyclist scream, “Oh, my God!” They claim there have been at least four accidents there in the past six months. They said one accident involved a small boy on a bike where fire trucks, police, and ambulances were called to the scene. They said no one seems to know that you slow down for a yield sign.
Stratton said she has called the city’s traffic department to request a stop sign be installed; she said she left a voice mail and her call was never returned.
In the accident reported by Baron, it sounds like the signs added to the confused moment when made contact. The driver did stop and the bicyclist did not appear to have serious injuries except a bloody rash on her back and being badly shaken up.
Attend planning board meetings and bring to their attention, as this is the type of issue they should be interested in, specifically.
Also, please call Senior Traffic Eng, Gary Pence, PE at 619-533-3184, or email him at GPence@sandiego.gov
As I understood it, SD city is currently considering 2013 budget, plus he may already have funding for this type of “fix”. When he recently addressed the OB Planning Board to discuss exactly THIS type of issue, i.e. adding stop signs, evaluating car and pedestrian volumes, and comparing to accident-rates and severity – all of which go into the “algorithmn” to determine how to fox a problem, or IF they will address it! Sometimes, they may not, as he presented during his seven minute discourse.
I lived at that corner for about a year when I first took up full-time residence in OB – that’s my old apartment complex in the big picture. Strangely enough, I never encountered an accident, though I spent a ton of time on the front porch writing. Not to say it doesn’t happen or a problem hasn’t developed in the years since I’ve moved a half mile or so south, though…
The bigger problem, I find, is cars running the stop signs at W. Pt. Loma and Bacon at the entrance to Robb Field…I still hit up that intersection a few times a day and see at least one near miss a week, either car/car or car/bike or pedestrian.
“People driving east on West Point Loma may not know there is that Yield sign and may assume it’s a Stop sign.” assumptions can lead to accidents I assume.