Yesterday morning, the City of Santa Monica kept its promise to install a 4-way stop sign at the intersection of Idaho and 19th Street and “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” signs at 18th and 21st streets on Idaho. The intersection of 19th and Idaho saw two crashes in just a couple of weeks earlier this fall including the one that killed bicyclist Tania Mooser on October 27.
When I jogged to the site to take pictures yesterday, there were already reporters and photographers on the scene marking the occasion. Scott Snowden with the Daily Press was taking his own shots and Ken Dapper, a local photographer, was also taking pictures. You can read Snowden’s report, including his conversation with Dapper, here.
The installation occurred less than two weeks after the City Council unanimously approved a resolution requiring the city to strengthen its commitment to Vision Zero. Vision Zero is a transportation planning program where a city places safety at the forefront of all its transportation planning, programming and enforcement activities with a goal of achieving zero traffic fatalities.
The council motion should spur the city to look at more dangerous intersections and corridors to improve safety, after all installing a four-way stop after a fatal crash is not the proactive moves that will get the city to Vision Zero. The crews doing installation mentioned that they had a “huge list” of other stop signs to install in the coming weeks. We haven’t seen the list of these locations, but if you see new signs going up in your neighborhood, let us know at damien@santamonicanext.org.
