FULLERTON : Crosswalk Where 2 Died Won’t Change

A crosswalk where two trick-or-treaters were killed in October will remain unaltered, in spite of petitions by residents asking the city to install flashing yellow lights or a stop light for safety.

Residents of the area and schoolchildren collected about 1,000 signatures calling for a change after the accident claimed the lives of two girls who were hit by the driver of a pizza delivery car at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Pacific Drive.

A city commission studied the traffic flow at the intersection and recommended that the city remove the crosswalk markings from the street to discourage pedestrians from crossing there.

But resident Lena Maddox appealed the recommendation. She said the crosswalk markings should stay as they are, since many children and adults cross at Pacific Drive to go to a nearby school, bank and supermarket.

“I feel that we should have something. Just don’t take it away from us,” Maddox said of the crosswalk.

Other residents told the City Council on Tuesday that children at Orangethorpe Elementary School regularly cross the street at Pacific Drive and will continue to do so whether there is a crosswalk or not.

“There’s children crossing there daily,” said resident Michelle Cooper. “Taking the crosswalk out is not going to make anything better.”

Cooper added that the street is dark at night and needs a street light.

The Transportation and Circulation Commission reviewed the traffic flow and pedestrian traffic at the intersection and determined on Jan. 10 that a stoplight was not necessary because the volume of cars and people was too low, Fullerton traffic engineer Paul Smith said. The council agreed.

In addition to the Oct. 31 accident, there has been one other accident at the intersection in the past five years, Smith said. That accident occurred in 1992 and involved a skateboarder who suffered minor injuries when hit by a car, he said.