Redondo Beach About Town
North Redondo neighborhood intersection to lose bollards, stop signs
The intersection of Blossom Lane and Mathews Avenue will see a redesign, after a resident-led push to change the road crossing won over the Redondo Beach City Council on Tuesday night.
Last February, Redondo installed bollards that created a permanent bulb-out at the northeast corner of the intersection in response to “resident concerns regarding sight visibility” for eastbound drivers crossing Blossom on Mathews. The street feature essentially offered shelter for drivers to inch into the intersection while — combined with no-stopping curb striping — also preventing sight obstructions from parked cars.
But since the permanent bollards were installed, there have been two car crashes, both of which found eastbound drivers at fault, and residents have sought out a new solution.
One resident testified that he was at fault for one of those crashes. But the problem, he said, was that eastbound drivers could be caught unaware of northbound drivers who can pop out and surprise cross-traffic.
But if Blossom instead had a stop sign, he said, the accident might not have happened.
Councilman Christian Horvath asked the audience to raise their hands if they wanted an all-way stop at the intersection. The hands of more than 20 people, adults and children alike, shot upward. (They also approved of installing red flashing LEDs on the signs.)
The Council took those as their marching orders. A motion to remove the bollards and install stop signs passed unanimously.