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City mulls tweaks to fatal crash site

Original post made on Mar 18, 2016

Mountain View officials have started making minor safety upgrades to the intersection at El Monte Avenue near Marich Way, the site where a pedestrian was killed in a crosswalk last year. But city officials still haven't determined whether significant changes, such as a new traffic signal or a road diet along the corridor, will get the green light.


Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, March 18, 2016, 11:03 AM

Comments (9)

Posted by mh
a resident of another community
on Mar 18, 2016 at 12:51 pm

I use this intersection almost everyday. It is a tricky area of multiple intersections, and I pay special attention. The accident happened on El Monte northbound, but southbound is also tricky, especially if you come from West on El Camino Real. When you turn right to merge El Monte southbound, you get any of 1) a yellow flashing light ("proceed with caution"), 2) a red flashing light ("come to a complete stop, then proceed when you can"), or 3) a red light. (I don't remember if it has a green light.) I have seen many drivers ignored those flashing lights. Maybe some drivers don't even know what the flashing lights mean. When I get a yellow flashing light, and slow down to be cautious, I often get honked by a car behind me. I think I have right to slow down in that situation, or am I wrong?

If you are coming from East on El Camino Real, and turn left on to El Monte from the left lane of El Camino R., you should proceed slowly, or you may hit the northbound car on the left lane of El Monte waiting to turn left to Ednamary Way. This is because the El Monte's center line is a slightly protruding to your side.

I hope the City makes some improvements in future.


Posted by Muenchy
a resident of Blossom Valley
on Mar 18, 2016 at 2:44 pm

Muenchy is a registered user.

Cuesta Drive between Springer and Miramonte also needs a "Road Diet".


Posted by Kathy
a resident of Sylvan Park
on Mar 18, 2016 at 3:40 pm

The city 'mulls over' tweaks to the site of a fatal crash that happened last year? That is truly pathetic...our tax dollars at work. Honestly what does it take to get something done in this City?


Posted by Marie
a resident of St. Francis Acres
on Mar 18, 2016 at 3:56 pm

The redwoods at that intersection block some of the visibility of pedestrians. The shadows prevent full visibility of pedestrians in parts of the crosswalk. I don't normally advocate taking down trees, but this might be an option to save lives.
The new streetlight just added is a great help!


Posted by Ernie
a resident of Castro City
on Mar 18, 2016 at 6:01 pm

From my experience, the city, to include police and fire, are pathetically and notoriously slow in resolving issues like this regarding public safety. It's makes you wonder what they do all day. No doubt they are tied up with the demands of developers bringing more traffic and problems to our streets.


Posted by NL
a resident of Cuesta Park
on Mar 19, 2016 at 4:38 am

For that busy stretch of road, I'm surprised there are no stop signs installed on El Monte (I only see yield on google map street view). This story reminds me of the stop signs that were finally installed on the Phyllis & Hans intersection after a pedestrian casualty. It's so sad that someone has to pay their life to get this sort of safety improvement implemented.


Posted by patio bear
a resident of Blossom Valley
on Mar 19, 2016 at 8:24 am

Sorry Muenchy,Cuesta already went on its diet years ago between Miramonte and Springer.


Posted by resident
a resident of Rengstorff Park
on Mar 20, 2016 at 7:41 pm

So glad that the newspaper is no longer calling these fatalities "accidents". Not seeing a pedestrian walking in a marked crosswalk is no accident. The cause of the collision must be identified and fixed.


Posted by mvresident2003
a resident of Monta Loma
on Mar 21, 2016 at 11:44 am

mvresident2003 is a registered user.

moderator, what happened to my post I put up last night just after Patio Bear. It was there, now it's gone? Also, how is it "resident" posted and within 1 minute it had 53 likes? something fishy going on here......

Let's see if this stays up this time:
Stop teaching pedestrians they're better than cars, have more rights than cars. Get back to teaching pedestrians to yield to cars, give way to cars. Never cross a street when a car is coming, always let the car go first. Unless theres a stop light at which point you can have a little more confidence cars are stopping.

These excessive and poorly marked crosswalks give very false sense of security to pedestrians. I can guarantee you I don't tell my kids "it's your right, YOU as a pedestrian have the right of way". No way, I tell my kids to step back, let the car go by and only cross when there isn't a car coming. Even if they're at a marked crosswalk I tell them to wait. Just not worth my kids life nor the guilt or pain a driver feels when they hit someone they really didn't see.

pedestrian "rights" have gotten out of hand.


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