THE PROBLEM: There's nothing like seeing two motorists playing a game of chicken to make you wonder: How did it come to this?
THE SITE: Frisbie Street in Bonita
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Frisbie Street is a short residential street in Bonita that connects busy Bonita Road and Central Avenue. A concrete barrier near Bonita Road is supposed to keep southbound traffic from using Frisbie Street.
But we recently watched motorists ignore “Do Not Enter” and “Road Closed 100 Feet” signs and drive in the northbound lane around the barrier. On one occasion, two drivers heading straight at each other made no effort to slow down.
The county Board of Supervisors is responsible for this odd arrangement. Frisbie Street at Bonita Road was closed from early 2005 until January, when the northbound side reopened.
At the time, Supervisor Greg Cox, who represents Bonita, said he had hoped for “a Solomon-like solution.” Supervisors Ron Roberts and Bill Horn voted in opposition, saying something more traditional like speed bumps was in order.
Constance Newell, who lives in Bonita and used to drive down Frisbie Street, said she complained to the county when she learned that the street would be closed. The present arrangement is just plain dangerous, Newell said.
“It's really bad,” she said.
Since the partial reopening, the Sheriff's Department has written 38 tickets for not obeying a traffic sign or signal and five for wrong-way driving. We're also told that deputies occasionally park on Frisbie Street, a strong deterrent to breaking the law.
STATUS: Michael Robinson, the county's deputy director of transportation, said his department will go back to the supervisors in July with an update on the latest configuration that will include information on traffic volume, speed and the number of accidents. Robinson said traffic volume and speed on Frisbie Street before the road closure were higher than normal for a residential street, adding, “I would call it a very rare situation.”
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE: Michael Robinson, who can be reached at (858) 874-4121 or michael.robinson@sdcounty.ca.gov.
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