On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council will discuss traffic calming needs in the City of Antioch during its council meeting.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe is bringing the item forward after a Sept. 16 vehicle crash on Sycamore Drive caused major injuries to three 12-year-olds walking home from school–one of the 12-year-olds will soon be taken off life support.
The driver of one of the vehicles attempted to pass another vehicle by driving into oncoming traffic as the other vehicle was making a turn. The t-bone style crash forced the vehicle towards the three juveniles.
According to the item, the only description is “it is recommended that the City Council discuss and direct staff regarding traffic calming needs”
The City Council Agenda staff report has no supporting documentation or studies associated with it. Nor does it include the recent speed tables which were approved in June by the city council. There is also no documentation by the Antioch Police Department showing traffic department staffing levels, or historical data number of vehicle crashes and the locations, DUI’s or fatalities. It is also unknown if the topic of school crossing guards will be included or if they could split costs with the Antioch Unified School District.
Last week, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe announced in a video he was asking the council to bring forward areas of the city that need traffic calming.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe, on the heels of another tragic incident, he issued the following statement:
“As your mayor, we now have to make very challenging decisions for the betterment of our community, we know we have a traffic calming program for residents that was established for residents that was established when I was a councilman, and I am sorry to the residents of Antioch that this program hasn’t moved as fast as we all want it to move. But we are starting see speed humps and speed traffic calming devices in some parts of our city. I am requesting that at next Tuesday’s meeting, I am asking councilmembers to bring forward of names of streets like Sycamore Drive, 10th Street, James Donlon, Davison Road, Hillcrest Ave and many more so we can begin looking at traffic calming devices on those streets because they desperately need them. We don’t have time to wait for a program that studies, and studies and studies. We just need to get the job done for the people of Antioch.”
Documents:
- Antioch Traffic Calming Policy — approved in 2020 (click here)
- Antioch Speed Humps or Speed Cushion Application — click Here
Per a public records request in June, the Antioch Police Department provided crime data, within that data included traffic:
Injury Crashes
- 2013 – 349
- 2014 – 351
- 2015 – 418
- 2016 – 385
- 2017 – 330
- 2018 – 362
- 2019 – 316
- 2020 – 266
- 2021 – 288
Fatal Collisions
- 2013 – 5
- 2014 – 3
- 2015 – 8
- 2016 – 7
- 2017 – 2
- 2018 – 8
- 2019 – 6
- 2020 – 5
- 2021 – 3
DUI Arrests
- 2013 – 143
- 2014 – 149
- 2015 – 150
- 2016 – 182
- 2017 – 170
- 2018 – 210
- 2019 – 168
- 2020 – 133
- 2021 – 110
Antioch City Council Approve Speed Tables
2022 Known Vehicle Crashes in Antioch that resulted in stories:
- Sept. 16: Updated: 3 Children Airlifted After Vehicle Crash on Sycamore Drive in Antioch
- Sept. 5: Updated: 4 Injured in Head-on Crash Involving Tri Delta Transit Bus in Antioch
- July 14: UPDATED: 1 Dead in Vehicle Crash on James Donlon Blvd in Antioch
- July 4: Antioch Police Officer Sustains Minor Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle
- May 18: Three Injured in Crash on Lone Tree Way in Antioch
- May 15: Antioch Police Respond to Two Sideshows, Officers Vehicles Attacked
- April 18: Update: Man Dies After Striking Tree in Antioch While Possibly Racing Another Vehicle
- March 1: Updated: Pursuit Leads to Crash and Arrest of Carjacking Suspect in Antioch
- Jan 13: Antioch Police Investigating Fatal Hit-and-Run Traffic Crash
Previous Crashes on James Donlon Blvd:
- April 17, 2022: Update: Man Dies After Striking Tree in Antioch While Possibly Racing Another Vehicle
- May 26, 2021: Antioch: Vehicle Crash Shuts Down James Donlon Blvd Friday Morning
- Feb 24, 2021: Updated: Antioch Police Investigating In-Custody Death on James Donlon Road
- Oct. 13, 2020: Antioch: Bicyclist Killed After Being Struck by Vehicle on James Donlon Blvd
- Feb 16, 2020: Antioch Update: 18-Year-Old Female Dies in James Donlon Vehicle Crash
- Feb 15, 2020: Antioch: Driver Injured in Rollover Crash on James Donlon
- Aug 24, 2019: Antioch: 16-Year-Old Killed in Fatal Crash on James Donlon
- July 15, 2019: Antioch: Motorcyclist Airlifted to Local Hospital After Crash on James Donlon
- April 14, 2019: Antioch: Three Suffer Major Injuries After Vehicle Strikes Wall on James Donlon
- Nov 21, 2018: Antioch: 4 Injured in Vehicle Crash on James Donlon, 2 Medical Helicopters Requested
2015: Residents Install Own Speed Bumps
Back in June of 2015, Antioch residents installed their own speed bumps on W 11th Street after being fed up with the City of Antioch for lack of response for speeding and sideshows at W 11th Street and Medanos Streets after the death of Tim Hudson. Residents installed them just 3-weeks after his death.
The city removed them due to liability.
At the time, then Director of Public Works/City Engineer Ron Bernal highlighted the process needed to get speed bumps placed on city streets, saying the city of Antioch currently has just two speed bumps which were paid by a developer on Wilson Street.
He noted that since 1998, the City has not had just one formal application to place speed bumps on city streets after Resolution No. 98/122 was passed. The application was for Carpenteria Drive, however, it never was finalized after residents did not want to pay out of pocket for the speed bumps.
“The process is get 75% of the affected property owners to sign a petition they want speed tables installed. The effected property owners does not mean the street they are on, any of the streets that are effected by the speed table which could be side streets as well. You have a larger area where most people think they need to get the signatures. Then we would go out and conduct a radar survey and determine if the average driver if 7-mph over the posted speed limit,” explained Bernal.
Bernal highlighted that if its posted 25-mph, the 85 percentile would have to be 32-mph or higher for the City to say there is a speeding problem.
Antioch City Council Meeting
- September 27, 2022
- 7:00 pm
- 200 H Street, Antioch CA
- Agenda – click here
1 comment
People need to obey the rules of the road, then these preventable accidents won’t continue to happen. Driving at excessive speed, running lights, illegal passing will continue to end up bad. Need stiffer fines and more traffic cops on patrol.
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