San Clemente : City OKs Traffic Signal for Fatal-Accident Site
The City Council has voted unanimously to install a traffic signal at the intersection of El Camino Real and Avenida San Luis Rey, the site of a fatal accident involving three children last month.
The city installed stop signs two weeks ago on a temporary basis after a group of residents had gathered several hundred signatures on petitions asking that some kind of traffic control be placed at the corner.
The petition drive was triggered last month when 6-year-old Miguel Palacios, his 7-year-old sister, Sandra, and their cousin, Dianna Fajardo, 8, were hit by a pickup truck while in a crosswalk on El Camino Real. Miguel was killed in the crash, and Sandra and Dianna were seriously injured.
A traffic study conducted by the city Engineering Department showed that traffic at the intersection was heavy enough to justify stop signs, and almost heavy enough for a traffic signal. The council voted Wednesday night to install the signal because it would provide greater safety and because traffic probably will increase at the intersection in the future, City Manager James B. Hendrickson said.
The signal will cost the city about $70,000, Hendrickson said.
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