
A group of about 15 residents, community leaders and city officials gathered Wednesday, May 11, at the site of a tragic crosswalk accident in Point Loma that killed a 7-month-old girl in March. On hand to discuss progress in reducing the hazardous condition was Gary Pence, senior traffic engineer with the city, who explained that eventually they plan to redesign the roadway into a “T” type intersection at Catalina Boulevard and Canon Street across from the Fresh and Easy grocery store. Until that happens, Pence mentioned options being considered to help reduce the dangerous conditions include: painting a new white “Continental” striped crosswalk, adding flashing traffic speed light indicators, more tree and bush trimming for a better line of sight for pedestrians, and even closing off the street until a permanent fix is approved. Pence estimates a time frame of two months for new safety measures and a cost of about $500,000 to redesign the intersection, but, he added “The money is available.” Also present for the discussion were Conrad Wear, from Councilmember Lorie Zapf’s office, and Julia Quinn, chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board. Juniper Aavang died from injuries suffered in the accident and her father was seriously injured. The child’s family, from Woodstock, Ill., was in town visiting relatives. –Mike Ryan
Discussion about this post