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Cars and motorcycles zoom by as they rev their engines through the intersection of Skyline Boulevard and La Honda Road. The highways’ roadsides are lined with overflow parking from Alice’s Restaurant and dozens of bikers are gathered in the Skywood Trading Post parking lot.
This is a regular weekend at Woodside’s Four Corners.
The highway intersection has grown in popularity for joy rides and scenic drives toward the coast. On weekends, Four Corners draws heavy traffic from out-of-towners who are not familiar with conditions and road designs some say are inappropriate for the traffic, local residents say it’s typical to hear honking horns and sirens in the area.
In August, a cyclist died after colliding with a pickup truck in the intersection. Woodside resident and Circulation Committee member Walker Wells said the cyclist’s blood stained the pavement weeks after the incident. This is one of many fatalities that have occurred near the intersection of highways 84 and 35.
“It’s called the Skyline Scenic Corridor, and it’s meant to preserve what you see and the beauty of the area. But people don’t feel safe up there and people are dying on the weekends. It’s just chaos,” said Wells, who had been involved with increasing safety at Four Corners before joining the Circulation Committee.
During a Woodside town hall on Oct. 29, the California Department of Transportation presented a $500,000 construction project to install a four-way stop intended to improve safety in the 40 mph intersection. Over 100 people attended the meeting online and in person.
There are currently two stop signs and two crosswalks in the area, one of which allows pedestrians to cross from the Skywood Trading Post parking lot to Alice’s Restaurant and another that “leads to nowhere,” a triangle of land that divides the roads.
Caltrans Acting Chief Safety Officer Inder Preet Singh shared that the jurisdiction is currently at 50% of its design phase with goals to start construction next fall.
According to Wells, the Caltrans team responsible for design and budget have never visited the intersection on the weekends when traffic and accidents are at its peak. Despite multiple invitations to show them around the area, Caltrans has never responded, he added.
In addition to a four-way stop, Caltran’s design includes installing stop ahead signs in all directions of the intersection as well as turn restriction signs in the northeast area to restrict tight angle turns. Near the crosswalk, multiple yield to pedestrian signs are planned for being placed.
According to Wells, existing road signs that were worn out were being neglected by Caltrans. For years, the flashing beacons before the intersection and on the stop signs were out of order and one of the stop signs had been knocked down. It wasn’t until Wells had contacted Caltrans that the beacons were repaired, he said.
The design plans to remove the crosswalk to nowhere and to restripe the northern crosswalk and install a rapid flashing beacon that will warn drivers of crossing pedestrians. The plan also shows stop signs installed within the entryways of Alice’s parking lot to facilitate safer entry onto the highway
Although Caltrans plans on restripping and bringing more attention to this one crosswalk, residents suggested that another crosswalk be built in between the Alice’s parking lot and a traffic island that is used for additional parking — an area that pedestrians jaywalk to and from their vehicles.
Singh explained however that adding any crosswalks that do not already exist are costly and require a lot of improvements. Caltrans will also be required to provide proper curbside landings to comply with policies under the Americans with Disability Act which is “intense work,” he added.
Many local residents supported the idea of a four–way stop, but those who opposed cited concerns for increased backup on the highway, creating more traffic on other rural roads such as Old La Honda and Kings Mountain Road.
“I think the stop signs are a great short term fix, but it does nothing to correct the problem of the huge traffic backups on (SR-84) on the weekend,” said Jerry Leugers, Atherton Planning Commissioner, during the town hall.
Woodside resident Tamara Gables added that drivers are already “rolling and blowing those stop signs at speeds,” and unless there is going to be 24/7 enforcement she doesn’t view the four-way stops as a move in the right direction.
“When you have a lot of signs, it’s kind of a sign that the design isn’t working,” said lifelong Woodside resident Steve Lubin, who also called for the need for a new crosswalk and a slower speed limit.
While residents were grateful that Caltrans was taking the time to address the issues within Four Corners, locals pushed for Caltrans to do more investigations and analysis on the area.
Woodside residents Christin New shared her support for the plan but described it as a “retrospective plan applied yesterday to today’s problems.”
With the current speed limit of 40 mph, vehicles can be spotted traveling through the intersection at speeds beyond that. Alice’s Restaurant Co-owner Andy Kerr said he believes it should be 25 mph or less and proposed the installation of speed bumps.
“Many of these guys are driving cars that are souped up. It’s become a racetrack,” said Kerr. “They come from San Leandro, Oakland, San Jose. They come up in the middle of the night. So it’s not just the intersection speed, any number of things that get people to slow down, will change.”
On Sunday, Nov. 2, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office issued 28 citations during its joint operation with the State Bureau of Automotive Repair. In addition to citations, deputies shared safety information with drivers and referred vehicles to the Bureau of Automotive Repair for inspections to ensure vehicles complied with roadway safety standards, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“The Sheriff’s Office is committed to routine traffic safety efforts in this area and will continue partnering with local and state agencies, when possible, to address community concerns,” said spokesperson Gretchen Spiker in a statement.
Wells has started a petition calling for Caltrans, California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Office to take action on the hazards of Four Corners. As of Nov. 5, it had collected about 61 signatures. For more information visit fourcornerswoodside.com.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with the most recent count of petition signatures.
Truly sadden, by another bicyclist being killed. How many bicyclist being killed does it take to make meaningful improvements? About 10 years ago there was a serial reckless driver running bicyclist off of HWY 84. The car was identified by the license plate and description but the sheriffs office and I believe the highway patrol said they didn’t know who the driver was so no action would be taken.
Long-term bicyclist deserve a separate highway. Let’s start with Starr Hill Road in Bear Gulch Road.