After years of accidents, near misses, horns and screeching brakes in the heart of University Heights, neighbors have a chance to tell local leaders just how dangerous a certain intersection can be.
It’s where Park Boulevard, El Cajon Boulevard and Normal Street all meet in a tangle of traffic and directional confusion. You can’t stand near the intersection too long before this conversation comes up:
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WATCH HERE“If you are turning left, you know people might be turning right on red," neighbor Robert Nixon said.
“Every time I hear a siren, I pray,“ neighbor Carly Frederick said.
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SIGN UP “Even when you make turns right here, people don’t know if it’s the bus lane or not. Nothing's clear," Dream Salon owner Stacy Hodge said.
It has a bus lane, bike lane and car lanes.
“I’ve seen people turn into the bus lane. I see people trying to go straight and realize that’s not where they are going,” Nixon said.
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Traffic is directed by an assortment of signs and streetlights that are easily missed.
“It is so confusing," Frederick said. "If you ever try to drive it, you really don’t know which lane you are supposed to be in."
District 3 Councilmember Stephen Whitburn pledged Thursday to circulate his “Standup for Safety” petition concerning the dangers of this pass through.
Whitburn's vying for the attention of the San Diego Transportation Department, SANDAG and the state. He’s asking for funding and action. He hopes the signatures on the petition illustrate the needs of the community and that this is not just on his political wish list.
Nixon lives in the neighborhood. He says approaching this intersection can make you anxious. If he had the ear of the traffic coordinators, Nixon says keep it simple.
“The best thing to do is just make sure it’s very clear signage and very clear markings,” Nixon said.
Frederick lives on one side of the intersection but works on the other side. There isn’t a workday that goes by without passing through it.
“You can go straight. You can go down. Make it more normal, just like a four-way intersection,“ Frederick said.
Whitburn could only hope to collect as many signatures as there are concerns about this intersection. The councilmember says the petition went into circulation Thursday.
