Council to Discuss Pedestrian Safety

Morley Street residents plan to push City Council members tonight to devise a way to slow traffic on their street.

Residents have lobbied for additional stop signs or speed humps for years, but the effort picked up steam last month when 8-year-old Cameron Cheung was hit by a car and killed on the street.

Police arrested the driver of the 1996 Jeep Cherokee that struck Cameron shortly after the July 1 accident on suspicion of drunk driving and hit-and-run, officials said. The Ventura County district attorney’s office is reviewing the case and has not yet filed charges.

“The problem is there are too many cars going way too fast,” Morley Street resident Karen Rawlinson said.

After the accident, the City Council ordered police to step up patrols in the area. A visible police presence has caused motorists to stop at stop signs, but when police aren’t there, drivers just roll through the signs, Rawlinson said.

Before the Morley Street discussion, the council will meet behind closed doors to discuss a lawsuit filed against the city by the family of a teenage girl hit by a car and seriously injured while walking across Royal Avenue in a crosswalk on her way to Royal High School.

The family of Erin Fonvergne seeks $4 million in damages in the lawsuit, which also names the Simi Valley Unified School District and the driver of the vehicle.

The lawsuit alleges that the city and school district were negligent in allowing for unsafe crossing at Royal and Buckskin avenues, where a stoplight has since been installed.