HUNTINGTON BEACH : 4-Way Stop Signs OKd for Busy Corner

To the cheers and applause of a large neighborhood delegation, the City Council on Tuesday night voted 6 to 1 for the installation of four-way stop signs at a busy intersection in the West Central Park area.

Residents of the area had petitioned the council for the signs, saying the Edwards-Central Park Drive-Varsity Drive intersection was literally a killer. Two persons have died in traffic accidents there in the last 2 1/2 years.

Several residents of the area addressed the council, urging them to vote in favor of the signs.

“It’s just an amount of time before we have another fatal accident there,” Bill Vinnicombe said.

The city staff recommended against putting stop signs at the intersection. A staff report to the City Council said, “. . . The frequency and nature of the accidents are not likely correctable by the installation of traffic controls (such as) stop signs and traffic signal installations.”

Instead of stop signs, the staff recommended installing flashing yellow warning lights at the intersection.

Councilwoman Linda Moulton-Patterson, however, disagreed. “I don’t think flashing lights have much effect,” she said.

Other council members also expressed support for the stop signs. The only disagreement came from Councilman Earle Robitaille.

The stop signs, Robitaille said, might “create an expectation on the part of people” that the intersection is safe, when actually it may not be. He later cast the only vote against the stop-sign installation.