Why can’t Fresno County just ‘put up a stop sign’ on Clovis road where two died? | Opinion
The young man with the broccoli haircut didn’t give his name.
Speaking during public comment at the Fresno County Board of Supervisors Aug. 20 meeting, he only identified himself as “one of the close friends” of Sandro Lazo, the 16-year-old from Clovis who died Aug. 8 after being hit by a pickup truck. Lazo was killed as he made a left turn on his bike onto Fowler Avenue from Perrin Road.
Just eight days earlier, on the night of July 31, the same intersection was the scene of another tragic fatality. Police reports indicate that 25-year-old Kaiden Bailey was standing in the road when he was struck from behind by a minivan.
Along with family members of the Lazos and Baileys, the young man with the broccoli hairdo pleaded with county supervisors for safety improvements to the road. He urged them to act swiftly, before any more of his friends who live nearby get killed.
He and others wore white T-shirts emblazoned with red stop signs and the phrase “Stop for Sandro.” An online petition calling to make the intersection a four-way stop and reduce speed limits on Fowler has gathered more than 1,600 signatures at change.org.
“I’m just a kid but even to me it seems pretty simple,” Sandro Lazo’s close friend said. “All you need is a metal pole and sheet metal, paint it red and write ‘Stop’ on it. I could do that in my backyard in 20 minutes. … Just, please, put up a stop sign, and do it soon.”
After closing public comment, Fresno County Board President Nathan Magsig expressed his empathy for the two sets of grieving family members and friends. He then reassured them all potential safety measures will be examined pending “traffic studies” by the public works department.
At that moment, a lot of people inside the supervisors’ chamber (including the curly haired teen) were probably wondering the same thing: Why do you need traffic studies to install a stop sign and lower speed limits where two people died in just over a week?
The answer to that question boils down to two words: laws and liability.
Municipalities are legally mandated to conduct traffic studies before altering speed limits, placing stop signs or installing any other traffic control method to ensure those decisions are based on data and evidence.
Those that don’t risk exposing their legal derrières.
‘Lawsuits may come about’
“The reason it’s important is because, God forbid, if accidents occur, lawsuits may come about as a result of those accidents,” Magsig said in a subsequent interview.
“The courts will take a look and make sure counties and cities are following the appropriate laws and procedures when it comes to roadways, intersections and speed limits. All of that is very important from a process standpoint.”
Besides the legalities, traffic studies are smart planning. They analyze all of the factors to ensure that a solution to one problem doesn’t create others.
For example, a stop sign added to a two-lane road with narrow shoulders (like Fowler outside the Clovis city limits) could cause “stacking” that delays fire engines and ambulances during an emergency. It could also potentially increase rear-end collisions and non-compliance by drivers.
“You’d be trading one hazard for another, so all of that needs to be weighed out and examined before a final determination is made,” Magsig said.
The first step in Fresno County’s process will be a review of the Fowler and Perrin intersection by traffic engineers and public works staff to determine whether the criteria for a traffic study is met, according to spokesperson Sonja Dosti. That initial review, which takes about 30 days and has been initiated, will look at average daily traffic, road conditions, site specific conditions, accident history and both CHP accident reports.
The actual traffic study, Dosti added, could include traffic counts at the intersection, speed surveys, accident history analysis and observations of pedestrian and vehicle behavior.
Impact of development
Not to overstep a data-based analysis, but there can be little doubt development in the northern reaches of Clovis and Fresno has resulted in increased traffic in areas that remain county islands or on the city fringes.
This is especially true when Shepherd Avenue is closed for road improvements, as it was for much of 2024. When that occurs, the steady stream of 45 mph traffic (at least) gets detoured onto county roads.
During the morning commute, northbound traffic on Fowler backed up a half-mile at the Behymer Avenue stop sign. The same was true on Nees Avenue through the Dry Creek Preserve, where homeowners during the 1980s told Clovis to exclude them from all city planning and infrastructure and now find themselves surrounded by development.
It would be irresponsible to directly link this region’s messy interface between suburban and rural to the two recent deaths. There certainly could be other factors involved.
It would also be unfair to claim our elected leaders are ignoring the problem. Magsig told me he has been working with county residents “for years” to get a stop sign on Sunnyside at Teague Avenue, a similar intersection to Fowler and Perrin except even closer to new housing.
Still, something must be done. And it must be done before next spring or summer, when Shepherd will once again be closed for several months (between Sunnyside and Fowler) for additional road and utility improvements.
If enhanced safety measures for county roads that absorb detoured traffic aren’t in place by then, there won’t be any excuse if another tragedy occurs.
This story was originally published August 27, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
