TRAFFIC DANGERS DEPLORED DEATHS PROMPT CRY FOR SAFETY.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - Twenty-three people have died on Santa Clarita streets since 2000, prompting a local citizens group to call for strict traffic enforcement. In a letter, a subcommittee of the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. Sheriff's Community Advisory Committee asked that traffic enforcement be increased and that a safety campaign be initiated. ``The No. 1 community issue regarding law enforcement in the Santa Clarita Valley over the past year has been traffic safety and traffic enforcement,'' Dan Schlender, chairman of the Sheriff's Community Advisory Committee, wrote in the letter to Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's Capt. Don Rodriguez. ``The traffic problems and the terrible consequences of them continue to occur on a regular basis.'' The group asked that more motor officers be deployed and that all available deputies be used for traffic enforcement during special maximum-enforcement periods. ``We received a number of requests from the community to do something about the traffic enforcement problems in light of the number of fatalities involving young people,'' Schlender said. ``We fully understand that traffic enforcement is only one part of the puzzle; however, we would like to address the area that we have some immediate influence over.'' Rodriguez said he appreciates the recommendations and is working on a plan to implement some of them. ``It's got some good ideas,'' Rodriguez said about the letter. ``We are going to sit down and see how we can work them in.'' The panel made its recommendations after meeting with the captain, the station's traffic sergeant and several deputies. ``We hope that some of our suggestions can be implemented to help with the serious problem in our community,'' Schlender said. ``You're never going to stop it, but two of the ways to decrease it is to get all the people (who are) drinking and driving off the road and to get everybody else to slow down, use common sense and obey the traffic laws.'' The committee recommended placing newspaper ads reminding motorists to drive safely, telling students about the dangers and consequences of unsafe driving, placing additional speed-indicator devices in problem areas warning motorists how fast they are driving, and parking decoy DECOY. A pond used for the breeding and maintenance of water-fowl. 11 Mod. 74, 130; S. C. 3 Salk. 9; Holt, 14 11 East, 571. squad cars near problem intersections to keep motorists alert to driving laws. ``We have so many long stretches of road in our valley,'' Schlender said. ``When cars travel that fast, the chances of people becoming seriously injured or killed increases greatly.'' Rodriguez agreed that community help is needed. ``Education is very important,'' Rodriguez said. ``People need to understand the inherent dangers in driving cars. DEADLY CRASHES Fatal crashes on Santa Clarita Valley surface streets since 2000: 2002 Jan. 12 - Bouquet Canyon Road and Espuella Drive, Saugus. Jan. 13 - Bouquet Canyon Road and Heidi Jo Lane, Saugus; two dead. 2001 Jan. 16 - Placerita Canyon Road at the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. ,Newhall. Feb. 25 - Sierra Highway Sierra Highway is a road in Southern California, United States. It runs from Tunnel Station near the north limit of the City of Los Angeles, where it intersects with San Fernando Road and Foothill Boulevard, as well as Interstate 5, and continues north to Mojave, mostly paralleling north of Scherzinger Road, Canyon Country. April 8 - Summit Knoll Road at Davenport Road, Agua Dulce Agua Dulce is Spanish for "sweet water". It also refers to various locations: In Mexico:
April 9 - Soledad Canyon Soledad Canyon is a long narrow canyon / valley located in Los Angeles County, California between the cities of Palmdale and Santa Clarita. Soledad Canyon contains the localities of Vincent, Acton, Ravenna, and Agua Dulce. across the Saugus Speedway, Saugus. May 4 - Hasley Canyon Road at Sloan Canyon Sloan Canyon is a National Conservation Area (NCA) administered by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is located just south of Las Vegas, Nevada, a short distance from the Las Vegas Strip, near the Anthem development in Henderson. Road, Castaic. May 18 - Soledad Canyon Road at Rainbow Glen Drive, Canyon Country. July 20 - Davenport Road at Barber Road, Agua Dulce. July 29 - Marian Court, Saugus. Sept. 6 - Soledad Canyon Road west of Camp Plenty Road, Canyon Country. Sept. 9 - Gibraltar Place, Castaic. Nov. 11 - Wisteria wisteria (wĭstēr`ēə) or wistaria (–târ`–), any plant of the genus Wisteria, Valley Road, Canyon Country. 2000 Feb. 17 - Soledad Canyon Road east of Sand Canyon Road, Canyon Country; four dead. March 21 - Soledad Canyon Road at Flowerpark Drive, Canyon Country. April 10 - San Francisquito Canyon Road at Copper Hill, Saugus. June 12 - Plum Canyon Road and Rodgers Drive, Saugus. July 18 - San Francisquito Canyon Road at Copper Hill, Saugus. Oct. 6 - Bouquet Canyon Road at Texas Canyon Texas Canyon is located in Cochise County, Arizona about 20 miles east of Benson, AZ on I-10 and lies between the Little Dragoon Mountains on the north and the Dragoon Mountains to the south. Road, Saugus. Oct. 23 - San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the city and county of Los Angeles. It starts off in Castaic as The Old Road, passing through Santa Clarita and the Newhall Pass, where upon its intersection with Sierra Highway near the junction of the Golden State (I-5) and the and 6th Street, Newhall. Oct. 25 - Bouquet Canyon Road north of Newhall Ranch Road, Saugus. Oct. 25 - Sierra Highway at Anthony Road, Agua Dulce. Nov. 16 - Valencia Boulevard at Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. off-ramp, Valencia. Nov. 19 - San Francisquito Canyon Road at Pelton Road, Saugus. CAPTION(S): box Box: DEADLY CRASHES (see text) |
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