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Monrovia residents press for traffic-safety fixes after hit-and-run pedestrian death
Summary
A resident told the council a young woman died Oct. 5 after a hit-and-run on West Duarte Road; the city manager said police continue to investigate, and that any infrastructure changes must go through the city's traffic safety committee and follow state procedures.
A Monrovia resident told the City Council on Oct. 21 that a young woman died after a hit-and-run crash on West Duarte Road near Eighth Street on Oct. 5, and urged the city to act to improve safety at the location.
"Every year, we have a terrible accident at that corner," resident Barbara Stryford said, citing multiple prior collisions at the same site and telling the council she had filed a safety report and left photographs showing obstructed sight lines. "There needs to be a traffic light there or something to slow the traffic down."
Stryford told the council the posted speed limit in the area is 40 mph and that drivers often travel at higher speeds. She said a traffic signal at nearby Tenth Street activates only when a car is present and described limited visibility across lanes from her driveway.
City Manager Dylan Feek said the city received a call shortly before 6 p.m. on the Sunday of the crash and confirmed a pedestrian was struck in a hit-and-run. "It was a very young Monrovia (resident), and very unfortunately, she passed away at the hospital," Feek said. He told the council the police department continues to investigate but that, so far, no witnesses to the crash have been identified.
Feek also described the city's usual process for addressing safety at a location: staff review collision history and calls for service and the traffic safety committee'which includes police, public works and the city's traffic engineer'determines whether infrastructure changes are warranted. "It's not something that we can just automatically do is install a traffic light," Feek said, noting state law and prescribed processes govern the installation of stop signs and signals.
Why it matters: Residents described repeated collisions at the same location and asked the council for action to prevent future fatalities. Council members asked staff to follow up; Feek said he had taken a note to follow up the next day and confirmed the police investigation remains active.
Ending: Staff said the traffic safety committee will review the site's collision history, calls for service and other data and return with recommendations, while the police department continues its investigation into the hit-and-run.
