The Willow Glen Resident

Council Watch

Neighbors clamor for stop signs at 'unsafe' corner

Group will appeal to commission May 14

By Cecily Barnes

After a city-sponsored traffic analysis in January 1998 determined that not enough cars speed past Willow Street and Camino Ramon to merit stop signs on Willow, nearby homeowners came together and decided they weren't happy with the decision.

The members of the organization Willow Glen Neighbors Interested in a Safer Willow Street say that while the numerical figures may not meet the city's criteria for new stop signs, conditions are unsafe--especially with children and parents walking across the busy street to reach Bramhall Park.

"The city is looking at it purely from a statistical viewpoint, but we live here, and we see day to day how unsafe it is for pedestrians," said Patsy Neher, president of the Safer Willow Street group. "It's quite a different viewpoint when you see it day to day."

The group plans to ask the San Jose Traffic Appeals Commission at its May 14 meeting to override the Department of Streets and Traffic's decision not to put in stop signs. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The issue of traffic on Willow Street first came to the table in September 1997, when a group of residents showed up at the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association meeting to complain about large trucks rumbling down their street. By the time the neighbors came back two months later to hear the results of a study--which had determined there was no truck problem--a tragedy had occurred.

While crossing Willow Street on her way to Bramhall Park, 55-year-old Mary Nail was hit by a car. She died two weeks later. Nail's daughter Juliet and other neighbors interpreted the accident as a symptom of the street's dangerous traffic.

When they showed up at the neighborhood association's Nov. 12 meeting, the outraged group demanded stop signs at the corner of Willow Street and Camino Ramon, the very corner where Mary Nail had been hit. However, the intersection did not meet the city's criteria for a stop sign, which require that the total volume of traffic on both streets [Willow and Camino Ramon] surpass a fixed number of cars.

"We did our analysis, and the intersection did not qualify for a four-way stop," said Joe Garcia, a senior civil engineer with the Department of Streets and Traffic. "We look at accident history, safe approach speed and any unusual conditions."

The group decided to appeal the decision to the San Jose Traffic Appeals Commission, which will take into consideration other issues such as the presence of Bramhall Park.

"My neighbors and I are going to be presenting just examples of our experiences," Neher said. "We're hoping that when we present our different viewpoints, they'll see the need for a stop sign. We certainly don't want another pedestrian to be killed there."

Garcia says that while the department rejected the request for stop signs, the appeals commission has the ability to overturn that decision. In addition to looking at the statistical reports, members of the appeals commission will visit the site and listen to neighborhood testimony about the site.

"We do what I would consider a scientific analysis," Garcia said. "The commission listens to us, the police and the community and to their own field experience."

The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association wrote a letter of support for the stop sign. President Kris Cunningham will attend the meeting to pledge support for stop signs at the intersection.

"I think we have a good chance of getting this because I think there are some special circumstances in this case: the large volume of pedestrians and bikers," Cunningham said. "I think the stop sign will help everybody."

Neher hopes at least 35 neighbors will attend the meeting to show their support.

"There's definitely a safety issue, and sometimes you just have to speak out," Neher said.

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