City to Look Closer at Traffic Trouble

The Hermosa Beach City Council decided to postpone making any traffic engineering decisions at Prospect Avenue and Aviation Boulevard until council members have heard feedback from more residents concerning traffic issues in the area.

“I don’t think the city needs to be spending $12,500 that could be used somewhere else,” Hermosa Beach resident Julian Katz told council members Tuesday about the idea of employing traffic engineering services.

A recent traffic study of the westbound left turn lane at Aviation Boulevard onto the southbound Prospect Avenue lane found that some motorists are using the adjacent Harper Avenue as a shortcut to avoid traffic (see accompanying city staff report.)

A proposal was submitted to the council to consider traffic engineering changes to reduce this issue—but some council members agreed with Katz’s argument that it’s a waste of money.

Councilman Howard Fishman motioned that a subcommittee should be formed that will organize meetings to discuss and pinpoint how the community feels about the traffic issue.

“I believe that we should hear from the community when it comes to this topic,” Fishman said.

Signing on with Fishman’s idea was Mayor Peter Tucker.

“I would actually like to be a part of this committee also,” Tucker said. “Don’t want the city to be spending money where it doesn’t need to be spent.”

Councilman Michael DiVirgilio added that most intersections in Hermosa Beach (other than Aviation and Prospect) deal with their own traffic problems.

“In the morning you can see people not even stopping at stop signs,” he said. “From 2nd street where I live to Prospect, all streets deal with their own problems throughout the day.” 

The council decided that a subcommittee will be formed with Mayor Tucker and Councilman Fishman to oversee and schedule discussions with the community to identify these traffic issues for the council to deliberate in a future meeting.