February 02, 2005

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Publication Date: Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Menlo Park: Stoplight on the way for hectic intersection

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

Just before the Menlo Park City Council was to discuss fixing an intersection notorious for injury accidents, sirens downtown lent the matter new urgency.

A 77-year-old woman was crossing Menlo Avenue in the crosswalk next to Draeger's market around 5:30 p.m. January 25 when a truck turned left off University Drive and hit her, said Sgt. Mike Amaral of the Menlo Park Police Department. Curious shoppers gathered as the woman was taken to the hospital with a broken pelvis, hip and femur.

Later that evening, council members unanimously agreed that the crossroads of Menlo and University needs a traffic signal as soon as possible, despite the estimated cost of $285,000.

The council had gone back and forth on the matter, last year approving a cheaper plan with an added stop sign on University -- and then rejecting the plan after mulling over how drivers might react to having two stop signs only 90 feet apart.

This time, though, the council did not balk at the pricier traffic signal, especially after hearing from a man whose 62-year-old sister had died after being hit by a car in the Menlo crosswalk in 2003. As in several other accidents there, she was hit by a car turning left from southbound University.

"I'm shocked, if not appalled, at all the dithering," Lewis Calk said, adding that his sister had been the primary caregiver for their elderly mother. "Her loss to my family is inestimable."

Some council members appeared moved by the testimony.

"We just can't delay here. It's obviously a very serious safety concern," Councilwoman Kelly Fergusson said.

Police say that in accidents at this location, University drivers have typically said that they didn't see the pedestrian in the Menlo crosswalk, which is often busy with customers from Draeger's on the corner.

Besides being busy -- an estimated 15,000 vehicles pass through daily -- the intersection is also unusual in that the east and west portions of Menlo Avenue don't line up. Drivers going south on University come to a stop sign that's set far back, which can be confusing.

Megan Polhemus, who lives near the intersection, told the council that she's seen four accidents from her window and is nervous about crossing the street with her toddler. "I don't think anything short of a light is going to make that (intersection) safe," she said.
In the meantime

Despite the council's call to take action on the traffic light right away, it will probably take about a year to design and build, city officials said. The estimated cost includes $210,000 for construction and $35,000 for design and engineering, transportation engineer Rene Baile wrote in a staff report.

In the interim, the council has authorized some changes there, including moving the stop sign and crosswalk on southbound University farther south, closer to the intersection. Officials hope this will reduce confusion and make it easier for drivers to see pedestrians in the Menlo crosswalk.

The interim changes are expected to cost $6,500 and be paid for with money from the county's Measure A transportation sales tax, Mr. Baile wrote.

City officials also expect to use $4,000 of Measure A money to install bright orange pedestrian crossing flags and holders to help people be more visible in the Menlo Avenue crosswalk.

Funding the traffic signal, though, could be dicier. The council directed staff to look into whether Measure A or federal money could be used. Councilman Andy Cohen also said that staff should look into having Draeger's cover some of the costs.

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