Rosemead council to review Willard Avenue speed-hump request after parents, students describe safety risks

Parents, students and council members pressed Rosemead officials on Tuesday to take quicker action on traffic-calming near Willard Elementary, after speakers described a recent incident in which a student’s toe was run over.

Van Trac, who said he represented the Willard School community, told the council a petition gathered about 800 signatures — roughly 170 from Rosemead residents — requesting a speed hump on Willard Avenue to slow drivers during morning drop-offs and afternoon pickups. Anthony Reyes, a nearby resident, said drivers routinely exceed safe speeds near his home and recounted a near-collision in which he had to sound his horn to avoid a child being struck. Two Willow Elementary students, Angel Lopez and Jasmine Ho, also urged the council to install both a raised speed hump and a marked crosswalk in front of the campus.

The council heard a staff presentation from Romani and traffic consultant Moham­­med Janka explaining the city’s recently adopted speed-hump policy. That policy uses 11 screening criteria — including a maximum posted speed, average daily traffic thresholds, minimum uninterrupted street length and emergency route exclusions — to determine whether a location proceeds to formal traffic-volume counts and resident surveys. Staff reported that, of 11 pre-policy requests, four locations met criteria and were surveyed; overall response rates on some surveys were low (reporting in the presentation showed responses in the low 20% range for a sample area).

Council members and staff debated whether Willard Avenue had been among the original 11 requests. City staff said Willard was reviewed in 2024 and that traffic-mitigation recommendations from that review included new school signage, repainting crosswalks and a proposed mid-block crosswalk with a crossing guard assignment; however, Willard may not have been one of the four locations that reached the speed-hump survey stage under the new policy. Councilmember Steven Lee and other members asked staff to verify the record and to provide the status of any 2024-identified mitigation measures now awaiting implementation.

Councilmembers also pressed staff on outreach after low survey turnout. Councilmember Margaret Clark and Mayor Pro Tem Lo argued that letters relying on a link or a footer translation were not reaching non-English speakers, and urged mailing full notices in the community’s principal languages. Romani agreed to resend surveys in multiple languages and to provide both paper and online response options; staff also said they would verify whether a formal resident petition or application exists for Willard and would prepare a staff report and recommendations to return to council or to the traffic commission.

Staff clarified that the adopted policy requires all stated criteria to be met before moving to a speed study, though the council retains the authority to amend the policy. Staff suggested one practical change used in neighboring cities: send petitions to residents (including tenants) in addition to property owners to increase participation. The council directed staff to report back with clarified outreach, the status of previously approved Willard mitigation measures, and any additional technical findings.

The council did not make a final decision on installing humps or crosswalks at Tuesday’s meeting; instead members directed staff to return with a report that verifies whether a Willard application exists, summarizes implementation of the 2024 recommendations, repeats or expands outreach in multiple languages, and performs required traffic counts and warrant studies where applicable. Romani told the council he would speak with residents, prepare a staff report and send the survey again in the requested formats.

The next procedural step, as described by staff, is for an applicant or resident group to submit a formal speed-hump application under the city’s traffic-calming policy; if criteria are met, staff proceeds to a traffic study and a resident ballot.