Some Point Loma residents who’ve been pushing for changes to the intersection of Canon and Catalina expect a showdown with city planners at tonight’s Peninsula Community Planning Board meeting.
This all follows a fatal accident at that intersection and its crosswalk where a 7-month-old girl was killed back in March.
Residents of the area have known about the dangers latent at that junction and have lobbied city planners with a proposal to redesign the intersection into a residents-only street. Planners have told them that this will take years and only wish to make minor adjustments. The residents believe this is what planners will say tonight at the meeting, and have urged their neighbors and supporters to attend the Point Loma planners’ meeting.
In their call to come out to the meeting, the residents – who have a petition with over 1500 signatures at change.org – state:
The city will be presenting their minor adjustments. Tell them NO! Tell them we want that redesigned intersection NOW, and not in a FEW YEARS’ time! They have the money, and they can’t put the necessary re-design any longer!
The planners’ meeting is tonight, May 21, 6:30 p.m. at Point Loma Library, 3701 Voltaire Street.
Earlier this month, a dozen or so residents and community leaders met with city officials at the site to discuss progress in reducing the hazardous condition. Gary Pence, a City senior traffic engineer described the city’s plan: to ultimately redesign the roadway into a “T” type intersection at Catalina and Canon, and more immediately, paint a new white “Continental” striped crosswalk, add flashing traffic speed light indicators, trim the trees and nearby bushes for better view of pedestrians, with the possible close-off of the street until a more permanent solution is found and authorized.
According to the Beacon/ San Diego Community News Group:
Pence estimates a time frame of two months for new safety measures and a cost of about $500,000 to redesign the intersection, but, he added “The money is available.”
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Don’t close off the street. WTF are you all thinking! $500,000 on a project no one is going to use.
Wish people would have better announcements on these meetings. “Hey there’s a meeting in a few hours. Come on out.” And then 16 hours later you see an article.