Citizen Concern In Temecula's Wolf Creek Community Gets Action

TEMECULA, CA — A citizen complaint about speeding traffic and public safety on Temecula's Wolf Creek Drive South — a roadway that traverses a residential community, winds by two city parks, and sits near Great Oak High School — has resulted in action.

During the Jan. 27 Temecula Public Traffic Safety Commission meeting, the commissioners voted 5-0 to recommend that City Council give the go-ahead on putting in a four-way stop with striped pedestrian crosswalks at the intersection of Wolf Creek Drive South and Teton Trail/Fireside Drive.

The item is expected to come before City Council in the near future.

The public safety issue came about following a Sept. 21 citizen request to consider putting in four-way stops at various intersections on Wolf Creek Drive South, between Wolf Valley Road and Pechanga Parkway. Concerns over the number of youngsters on foot in the area — given the roadway's proximity to Great Oak High School, Patricia Birdsall Sports Park, and Wolf Creek Park — was a driving factor behind the complaint, according to city staff.

The citizen requested stops at three Wolf Creek Drive South intersections: at Teton Trail/Fireside Drive, at Live Oak Drive/Alto Vista Way, and at Rocky Bar Drive.

In October, city staff began assessing Wolf Creek Drive South and determined the citizen's request warranted action. Staffers found more than 4,500 vehicles were driving through the Wolf Creek Drive South intersection at Teton Trail/Fireside Drive on an average day, while 139 pedestrians used it daily. Over the last three years, three reported crashes have occurred at the spot, according to the city's analysis.

Temecula Public Traffic Safety Commissioner Bradley Sullivan said he lives in the Wolf Creek neighborhood and the four-way stop is needed.

Pre-COVID, the traffic in the Wolf Creek Drive South area was about 40 percent greater, but work-from-home has lessened the congestion, Sullivan said.

"When it was busy and full, very few cars were below 50 mph," the commissioner said. "This [four-way stop] is a good idea. It will also help slow some of that traffic."