SANTA ANA : School Gets City OK for Street Closure

Reacting to a recent shooting incident at Santa Ana High School, the City Council on Monday approved the closure of a portion of Ross Street during the hours that school is in session.

The street will now be closed between Walnut Street and Chestnut Avenue between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on school days.

The council’s action came at the request of the Santa Ana Unified School District, which has been concerned about the safety of students and staff at Santa Ana High since a teacher narrowly escaped injury in a drive-by shooting on Sept. 11. A stray bullet pierced the passenger seat of the teacher’s van, but she and other bystanders were not hurt.

District spokeswoman Diane Thomas said the high school is vulnerable to such attacks because it has no “buffer zone” that protects it from the street.

“Most schools have green areas or play areas as buffers, but this campus is very impacted, and we don’t have a buffer,” Thomas said.

City officials have notified residents of the two affected blocks about the closure, which will continue indefinitely.

The closure of the street is not expected to have an adverse impact on traffic flow in the neighborhood, said James G. Ross, executive director of the city’s public works agency.

School officials set up temporary barricades on the street after the shooting but needed council approval to leave them.

The school will be responsible for setting up and removing the barricades each day and for providing the required liability protection, Ross said.

Last month, the council approved a similar request from Mater Dei High School. School officials asked the council to close one block of Baker Street between Edinger Avenue and Stanford Street during school hours because of heavy pedestrian traffic.