HUNTINGTON BEACH : Car Barriers Rejected for Residential Street

Despite the continued pleas of homeowners to install barriers to halt traffic and speeding through their neighborhood, the City Council this week rejected a proposal to shut down streets and chose instead to rely on existing stop signs.

Residents on Cascade Lane, at the Huntington Beach-Westminster border, for a year have complained about motorists using their street as a shortcut between Bolsa and McFadden avenues.

City staff surveys of the area confirmed that vehicles frequently zip through the neighborhood at high speed to avoid often-congested Beach Boulevard or Golden West Street.

But citing fire-safety concerns, council members voted this week, 4 to 3, against gates or other barriers to cut off the informal detour. Fire Chief Michael Dolder told council members that if barriers were erected through the neighborhood, they could cost firefighters or paramedics critical time in an emergency response.

The council in May agreed to install four stop signs for a three-month trial along Cascade Lane and neighboring streets to determine whether they discourage motorists from passing through the residential area. Westminster officials installed a fifth stop sign on that city’s side of the neighborhood.

According to a city survey, traffic along Cascade Lane has dropped by 25% since the stop signs were set up, but traffic on nearby Rushmoor Lane increased by nearly 50%.

City officials also surveyed neighborhood residents to find out whether they favored stop signs or barriers. More than 75% of the residents who responded to the survey said they preferred keeping the stop signs rather than blocking off their streets.

Based on that survey and Dolder’s recommendation, the council majority agreed to retain the signs and review the problem again in nine months.

“I will not ever endorse any barricade on a city street,” Mayor Peter M. Green said, “unless the fire chief tells me it will not impinge on the health, safety and welfare of our citizens.”

Cascade Lane residents--who are most affected by the problem--remained adamant in their calls for barriers, arguing that the traffic is still severe. Three-fourths of the Cascade Lane residents who responded to the survey favor a barrier on their street at the city boundary.

“I ask you why Cascade (Lane) has to take the brunt of all the traffic throughout the neighborhood,” resident Jan Beaumont told council members. “All we’re asking is safety on our streets.”