ROBERT BEAULIEU, San Clemente
A recent Letter to the Editor from Chris Dolkas draws attention to the dangerous behavior of some of the participants in the weekly “Cars and Coffee” Saturday event.
Like my friend, I have witnessed several car chases on Vista Hermosa, as well as some near-collisions with soccer balls shot over the fencing at Jim Johnson Park.
Although it took two years for the city to respond to my request for vertical netting at the park, I thank you at least for the approval to address the issue and hopefully to add the netting ASAP.
There is still a critical part that has yet to be addressed.
In February 2018, I brought to the attention of the city’s traffic engineer the problem with the traffic lights on Vista Hermosa. There, entry from side streets such as Vista Turqueza in Marblehead, where cars seeing no traffic in either direction, run the red light.
Newly hired Assistant Traffic Engineer Nestor Mangohig, in consort with his supervisor, Jane Mrotek, responded, in part:
“As you may be aware, the City in coordination with OCTA, completed a signal synchronization project for the Avenida Vista Hermosa corridor not too long ago. The purpose was to time the signals on the corridor to provide for reduced travel times, reduced stops, and reduced delays. That goal was achieved …”
Last week, I spoke to a motorcycle deputy and thanked him for his effort to keep the speeders down on Vista Hermosa. He and his partner try their best to slow the speeders and red-light breakers.
Perhaps, the city should rethink its signal synchronization and create a protective solution to issues, especially on Saturdays and when Marblehead School is in session, by having more frequent traffic light changes, resulting in a slowing of traffic on Vista Hermosa.
Anyone who spends any amount of time at the traffic lights on side streets entering Vista Hermosa can easily witness the constant barrage of speeding and the running of red lights.
Will we as a city wait until the big accident occurs, when lives are terminated and/or ruined until we act? Or will we follow our city’s Mission Statement to “foster a tradition dedicated to maintaining a safe, healthy atmosphere in which to live, work and play”?
