Letter to the Editor: Hazards abound for drivers and pedestrians at Crown, Hampton and Foothill
As your article (about speed limits) on June 6 demonstrated, Crown is one of the busiest residential streets in La Cañada, and traffic is getting worse: growing 30% since 2009. Anyone who travels Crown knows that congestion (and safety risk) is particularly bad around school drop-off and pick-up times, in the block between Baptiste and Foothill.
LCF City Council says there’s a limit to increasing speeds on city streets »
Traffic on Crown is exacerbated by the disregard of parking rules. The curb in front of Flintridge Prep alternates between yellow and red, meaning unattended cars should never park in front of the school in the daytime, and no vehicles should dwell in the red zones. Yet that’s what happens — regularly — creating a hazard for drivers and pedestrians alike.
Drivers who avoid the Crown jam by driving on Hampton encounter another hazard. The dark Flintridge Prep fence on the corner with Foothill makes it impossible to see approaching westbound vehicles, bikes, skaters and pedestrians on Foothill.
What might be done? First, the city should eliminate the south-most section of yellow curb on Crown, which directly interferes with the Foothill intersection. Second, the sheriff should ticket cars that park in the yellow and any car that dwells in red, especially those dropping off or picking up students. Last, Prep should remove the fence along Foothill by Hampton, reduce its height or find another visibility solution.
At neighborhood meetings during the permit process for the Flintridge Prep building project, residents were told that drop-offs and pickups will occur in the Hampton lot or in the lot on the east side of Crown, yet the hazard continues. The city, sheriff and Flintridge Prep need to work together to make Crown, Hampton and Foothill safer streets.
Janice Partyka
La Cañada Flintridge