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City declines new crosswalk at Long Beach Boulevard and Orchard after school and traffic study recommendations
Summary
City staff and the local school advised against installing a new crosswalk at Long Beach Boulevard and Orchard because the school designates a safer crossing at a nearby signalized intersection; staff will add signage to direct students to the existing signal at Ardmore and Long Beach.
The City of Southgate will not install a new un-signalized crosswalk at Long Beach Boulevard and Orchard after staff and the school recommended students use the signalized crossing at Ardmore and Long Beach, public works staff told the council on Jan. 28.
Public Works Director Arturo Cervantes said the school prepared a traffic-access plan and recommended a designated access route that does not use the Orchard intersection. “The school has a designated access route for students to safely get to school ... they designated the crossing at Ardmore and Long Beach that has a traffic signal,” Cervantes said. He and city traffic engineers told the council the Orchard intersection is too close to the adjacent signal and that traffic volume and sight-line issues make an unsignalized crosswalk unsafe.
Staff said they will instead add signage to guide students and parents to the nearest signalized crossing a few hundred feet away and that the city will inspect pavement and drainage complaints in the Tenaya and Bryson area raised by a resident.
Councilmembers pressed staff about precedent, liability and whether other local crosswalks provide useful comparators. Staff noted that installing a crosswalk too close to a traffic signal can create a false sense of security for pedestrians and could raise liability if an accident occurs.
Why it matters: parents and school staff had repeatedly asked for safer crossings near KIPP elementary and other schools. The city must balance requests for pedestrian access with traffic engineering rules and liability considerations.
Ending: staff will install directional signage to the Ardmore/Long Beach signal and review nearby pavement and drainage complaints as requested by council members.
