LAGUNA BEACH : Drive for Stop Light at School Intensified

After a pair of injury accidents in the last year, parents and school officials have intensified their efforts to place a traffic signal on Coast Highway at the busy entrance to El Morro Elementary School.

“It’s a real dangerous intersection,” said parent Ellen Gordon, who has helped lead the drive for a traffic signal. “As more and more traffic comes down the road, something needs to be done.”

In recent weeks, more than 400 parents have signed a petition seeking immediate action from the California Department of Transportation to install a traffic light. Parents and school officials are also seeking help from local legislators, city officials and public safety officers.

During most morning and afternoon rush hours, it is virtually impossible to make a left turn from the school entrance onto the highway and head back to Laguna Beach, Gordon said. Many parents end up driving north toward Corona del Mar and make a U-turn at one of the state beach entrances or Newport Coast Road.

Although the speed limit is 50 m.p.h. on the stretch of highway in front of the school, speeds are often higher as motorists move onto the wide-open road after sitting through the congestion of downtown Laguna Beach, Gordon said.

Last May, a local art consultant was injured when her car was struck broadside while she was trying to pull out of the school grounds. Art classes for most children at the school were canceled for the remainder of the year while the teacher recovered.

Members of a family leaving Halloween activities at the school last year received minor injuries in an accident near the school entrance.

School bus officials are equally worried, although so far there have not been any bus accidents at the school entrance. There are flashing lights on the highway warning motorists of the bus crossing.

About 14 buses carrying 400 of the school’s 500 children navigate the entrance each day, according to Terry Brown, general manager of Durham Transportation, which has provided services to the Laguna Beach Unified School District for the last two years.

“For safe transportation to and from school, it’s absolutely paramount we have a signal there,” Brown said. “When we pull out of there, we’re making a left turn. The intersection is on the top of the hill, so we have limited vision.”

In September, the Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees passed a resolution urging Caltrans to place a traffic signal at the school entrance as soon as possible. A recent engineering study sponsored by the school district, relying on Caltrans guidelines, also supports the need and feasibility of placing a traffic signal at the school.

School Supt. Paul M. Possemato said he is hopeful that the growing campaign by parents and school officials will influence Caltrans to install a signal.