Residents press Galt City Council to address dangerous Adair/Fermoy intersection; council routes review to public safety committee

GALT CITY — Residents from a neighborhood near Raley—s and Walmart urged the Galt City Council on Monday to take action after years of crashes and speeding at the Adair Way and Fermoy intersection.

Several speakers described vehicles striking houses and fences, drivers failing to stop at the intersection and repeated high-speed pass-through traffic. Council members heard requests to close the roadway to through traffic, convert the three-way stop to a four-way stop, add speed cushions, flashing red signals, cameras or other traffic-calming measures.

Rod Fratton (transcript: Rod Fratton), who said he lives on the corner, told the council the street had been slated for closure more than a decade ago but remains open and is now a regular cut-through used by cars and semitrucks. "We have cars that take out fences, hit houses, roll over in front of my house," Fratton said. He said police have issued many citations in the area but the crashes and burnouts continue.

Maryam Brocious, who said she lives at the corner of Adair Way and Fermoy, described a close call while she and her husband worked in their yard: "If we had not jumped out of the way, we would not be here," she told council. Brocious urged the council to install a stop sign to make the intersection a four-way stop and to consider speed bumps, automated enforcement or a blinking red signal.

Council members said a traffic study is already underway. Public Works staff confirmed traffic counters are in place to collect data. Councilmember Pratt suggested bringing the compiled study and options back for council review; Mayor Farmer and others recommended first routing the item to the city—s Public Safety Committee so fire and police can be involved and their operational concerns heard.

Interim Community Development Director Amy Mendez and staff agreed to agendize the matter for the next Public Safety Committee meeting and to provide the traffic-count data and analysis for the committee and council. The council emphasized it wants the issue to return to council after the Public Safety Committee—s review rather than remain at the committee level.

Context

Speakers said the neighborhood has seen a recent rise in traffic due to nearby development and the presence of a public charging station that directs navigation systems through residential streets. They urged near-term actions to reduce speeds and improve pedestrian safety. Staff did not propose a particular remedy at Monday—s meeting; instead, the council asked staff to assemble the study results and present options for committee review.

Next steps

Staff will provide the traffic-count data and analysis to the Public Safety Committee and then return the committee—s recommendations to the full council. No formal policy change or ordinance was adopted at Monday—s meeting.