The West Covina City Council last week approved replacing an intersection at Cameron Avenue and Citrus Street with a traffic light, but not everyone is happy about it.
It passed by a vote of 3-1-1, with Council Member Letty Lopez-Viado abstaining and Mayor Brian Calderon Tabatabai absent due to his attendance at the Democratic National Convention.
The proposed traffic signal will include shared drive-through and right-turn lanes, protected left turns, an audible countdown for pedestrian crossings, and would be a steady red light that turns green only when a vehicle approaches.
At a Transportation Committee meeting on August 8, Tabatabai spoke during the public hearing and said he had asked that the item not be postponed in his absence. The committee voted to recommend that the council approve the installation. Two committee members, traffic cops from the West Covina Police Department, opposed the signal recommendation.
The question of changing the intersection arose in 2019 when the city received requests to review traffic operations at the intersection.
A traffic consulting firm determined that the intersection met state guidelines for signal installation. City engineering contractor Transtech collected vehicle and pedestrian data from the intersection.
In the most recent study, Transtech found that the criteria the intersection had to meet to warrant a traffic signal were vehicle volume and crash frequency. The intersection met the crash frequency requirement only last year, when there were five crashes.
According to Transtech, there were zero accidents in 2020, three in 2021 and three in 2022.
According to a city council report, residents expressed their opposition to the change as early as 2019, when the first town hall meetings were held.
The City Council put the project on hold in August 2020 and instead approved the installation of radar speed feedback signs, flashing stop signs, a high-visibility crosswalk, speed limit signs and pavement lettering.
The project was restarted in 2023 after further requests from the public to improve the intersections.
At a city council meeting in April, city staff presented three options for the intersection: no signal – with the road diet option, signal installation – with the road diet option, and signal installation – without the road diet.
In this case, a road diet would convert the four-lane road to a three-lane road consisting of two through lanes and a central, two-lane left-turn lane.
The City Council has instructed city staff to present all options to the public before sending the matter back to the Council for further action.
At the Transport Committee meeting, Tabatabai and some members of the public criticized the committee for not following the Council’s instructions and presenting only one option – the signal without a road diet.
Last week, public opposition was again brought to the City Council’s attention. Two of 13 public speakers supported the traffic light. Several speakers who said they live near the intersection expressed concerns that a traffic light would lead to higher speeds and take away parking spaces in the neighborhood.
Some speakers returned to address the council after voicing their opposition at the Aug. 8 Transportation Committee meeting. One of them was Mario Sobalvarro, who said a slight rise on Cameron just before the intersection combined with a dip in the road makes driving difficult since the speed limit is set at 40 mph on Citrus and 45 mph on Cameron.
“The introduction of traffic lights could exacerbate these dangers and potentially lead to accidents if vehicles encounter unexpected differences in height,” said Sobalvarro.
According to a staff report, the estimated cost of the installation will be $1.2 million. City Manager Paulina Morales said the council’s vote allows the project to move forward. The item will be brought before the City Council again once a contract is reached following the competitive bidding process.
