SIMI VALLEY : City Acts to Slow Traffic at Busy Crosswalk

Hoping to improve safety at a school crosswalk on a busy Simi Valley street, the city has agreed to install a warning sign and re-stripe the roadway.

A traffic signal may also be installed on Royal Avenue near Madera Elementary School, said Bill Golubics, city traffic engineer.

“There is a substantial amount of traffic going through there,” Golubics said.

“We’ve looked at the area and a signal would probably help slow down traffic quite a bit,” he said.

Golubics said if the area’s Neighborhood Council decides that a signal is needed, the proposal will go before the City Council for consideration in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, the city is installing a second school-crossing sign.

The city is also re-striping the roadway to reduce four lanes of traffic to two at the crosswalk.

The improvements are being made in response to complaints by parents, who submitted a petition with 400 signatures to the city last month asking for a safer crossing.

Although a crossing guard patrols the crosswalk during school hours, parents say motorists buzz pass the guard’s large stop sign.

“The way it is now, it’s a death trap,” said Joe Morris as he waited for his son Joseph to finish class Thursday. “I’ve seen cars brush up against the crossing guard and then just keep going,” he said.

Susan Parks, assistant superintendent of education services, praised the city’s action in improving the intersection.

“I know there have been some close calls,” Parks said. “I think the additional sign will help catch people’s eye and warn them to slow down.”