By Brooklynn Wong
Parents and neighbors have been wanting more traffic safety around Centralia Elementary for years, and they are now getting a hearing.
The city of Buena Park has been contacted with a lot of concerns, and it was an agendized item at this week’s Buena Park City Council meeting.
Several people came to the meeting to comment on the matter, mostly parents of students at the school, but also including Principal Tia Brown and Centralia School District Superintendent Norma Martinez.
Many reiterated that the speed limit in the area is rarely followed. Other concerns include there not being enough lighting, people making U-turns in the middle of the street, and pedestrians seeming overall not safe in the area.
One mom said her son stays for an after-school program and by the time he leaves, it’s dark out, and she fears for his safety. There are not enough lights, she says, and he sometimes has to wait at the crosswalk for up to ten minutes until cars slow down and he feels safe to cross.
The Council members all agreed that there is a problem and action is overdue, but the only snag in proceeding might be that the area in question is on the border of Buena Park and Anaheim, so the two cities’ staffs will need to coordinate and make decisions together.
They have already been working together, though, attending a community meeting at Centralia in February, and conducting studies of the area and its traffic history.
The collision history of the past two years was reviewed, and it was determined that there were seven reported collisions, including one fatality in which a driver under the influence struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk at night.
Most agree that some combination of more lighting, increased police patrols and an additional traffic signal is the solution.
Five options were presented by Norm Wray, the city’s Senior Engineering Technician, including brightening the street lights currently there (they are currently 200-watt LEDs; Wray said they could be increased to 250-watt lights), adding more lights, moving crosswalks to allow people to be seen from further away and creating a new traffic signal on Western Avenue.
Centralia Principal Tia Brown thanked the city for being so responsive, saying she has noticed that more police officers have been around the school in recent days and that this has caused people to be more vigilant. She was in support of adding a pedestrian light.
Parent Yesenia Nunez said she appreciates the recent increased police presence, but questioned them on why they had only showed up on the day before and the day of the City Council meeting; she wished that they would be there all the time. She also said she has observed many of the police officers being on their phones, and not paying attention.
Mayor Pro Tem Fred Smith said this area is in his district, and he is ready to make a decision as soon as possible. He felt that for too long, minor fixes have been applied but have not solved much. He said, “20 years is too long; one more day is too long,” to which the audience applauded.
The council agreed that there needs to be increased lighting; a new pedestrian on-demand traffic signal; and a crosswalk moved south of where it is right now, to the area of Monroe or Tyler.
Again, the decisions will need to be made jointly between the staffs of Buena Park and Anaheim, and just how the progress would be funded will need to be figured out. Buena Park City Manager Jim Vanderpool mentioned that Buena Park might need to be prepared to split the cost with Anaheim. They alternately could apply for a grant, but that would take time.
Mayor Art Brown said he does not want to wait for a grant.
According to the Buena Park Public Works Director, Buena Park does have funding available now in the form of Measure M and gas tax funds.
The actionable item for now is that the city manager and staff “will draft a letter…with all of that council direction, to the city of Anaheim, and we will indicate that time is of the essence,” said Vanderpool.
