(Santa Barbara County) Grand jury calls for four-way stop at Union Valley Parkway intersection

May 22, 2014
Staff report
Lompoc Record

In a recent report, the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury recommended a few changes to the intersection of Union Valley Parkway and California Boulevard in Santa Maria, an intersection that has a history of causing concern.

In its report, Union Valley Parkway: Progress with Problems, released Tuesday the grand jury identified multiple issues at the local crossing, from impaired visibility to insufficient left-turn lanes.

To address its findings, the jury recommended turning the intersection into a four-way stop as well as posting intersection warning signs along UVP to alert drivers to the upcoming junction. Currently, traffic only stops along California Boulevard.

The report suggested that posting such signage could shrink Santa Maria’s liability risk should accidents occur at the intersection.

But a city traffic planning professional told the grand jury that specifications in the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices didn’t show a need for a stop light, stop sign or warning signage at the intersection.

The UVP arterial project has been a source of debate in the Santa Maria Valley and remains so after the four-stage project was completed and opened in November 2013. The city of Santa Maria, Caltrans, the county of Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments partnered to realize the project, which had been in the planning stages since the 1960s. The project resulted in many tree removals, multiple public hearings and a lawsuit that led to the 8-foot sound wall seen at the UVP-California Boulevard intersection.

The grand jury’s recent investigation began after the group received a complaint about impaired visibility at the site, prompting jurors to interview traffic engineers and review Santa Maria Public Works Department traffic statistics, Santa Maria Police Department incident reports and SBCAG documents.

The jury validated the resident complaint after finding that the site’s sound wall and landscaping, along with a natural dip in the parkway, made it tough for drivers to see oncoming traffic. The jury also found that the position of the intersection’s crosswalk and stop signs required drivers to inch into the intersection to see traffic.