City Addresses 'Dangerous' Intersection Change Concerns

A few hours after Patch shared residents' frustrations with stop sign and crosswalk changes at the Monterey Road and Oak Knoll Avenue intersection, the addressed the changes in an email message to CLEARS subscribers Thursday afternoon.

The changes, which involved the moving of stop signs and crosswalks from one four-way stop to create two two-way stops, caused some cars to have near-collisions, locals told Patch.

“The new 4 way stop sign intersection at Monterey and Los Robles is unbelievably dangerous and poorly designed, I almost was hit while pushing my stroller and the stop signs are set so far back that cars are obstructed by the landscaping of the houses on each corner," Mary Frances Dee Buckley shared on the San Marino Patch facebook page. "While I stood to talk to a neighbor and the great city maintenance workers working on the intersection we witnessed countless near missed accidents!” 

The City said they have recieved several calls about the intersection modifications and responded with the following message Thursday afternoon:

For the past several months the City has been working with residents in the area of Garfield, Los Robles, El Molino and Oak Knoll to implement traffic calming strategies to slow or reduce traffic in the Northwest portion of the city.

One element of this plan involves  a redesign and a subsequent evaluation of the intersection of Oak Knoll and Monterey. The City's Traffic Engineer will be closely monitoring traffic conditions and concerns at the redesigned intersection.

The first portion of this redesign was painted on Tuesday and the remaining portion installed today. Basically, the intersection has been changed from one intersection with a four way stop to two intersections, each with a two-way stop.

While the City has received a number of calls about the redesigned intersection, we believe concerns have been addressed with the markings and traffic control devices now in place. The City implemented the new design to slow down traffic and make the area safer.

We ask all the motorists and pedestrians who traverse this intersection to exercise caution as they pass through the redesigned area.

If you have questions or concerns please feel free to email Ms. Lucy Garcia at LGarcia@SanMarinoCA.gov

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