West Covina

Traffic engineers in West Covina are studying videotapes of the city’s most dangerous intersections in an effort to reduce traffic hazards in the community.

According to city traffic engineer David Nelson, the 18 intersections were the scenes of 209 accidents during 1984. The accidents resulted in 4 deaths and 61 injuries. The city recorded a total of 1,706 traffic accidents, resulting in 5 fatalities, last year, he said.

Nelson said that the trouble spots are being targeted for “fine tuning,” which might include the installation of new traffic signals, slight adjustments in the timing of existing signals, and the construction of turn lanes.

Nelson said that the five intersections on Azusa Avenue between Workman Avenue and Garvey Avenue South present the most concentrated risk in West Covina, with a total of 56 accidents in 1984. The single worst intersection is at Amar and Azusa avenues, which had 30 accidents last year, he said.

However, Nelson described that intersection as moderately safe, pointing out that it was the busiest in West Covina with 65,000 vehicles crossing daily.

“These changes are really minor,” Nelson added. “Our traffic signals are generally about as sophisticated as they come.”