CLEARLAKE – On Jan. 11, Lucerne resident Tobie Edmonds was driving southbound along Highway 53, a trip he has taken numerous times.
At around noon that day, as he approached the highway's intersection with Olympic Drive into Clearlake – which only has a northbound turn lane into the city and no signals – he saw another driver waiting to turn in the turn lane.
With only 15 feet between them, “She turned right in front of me,” he said.
In the collision that occurred, Edmonds was seriously injured, and in the aftermath he's dealing with a variety of concerns – from spinal damage and problems with his shoulder, to mounting medical bills and the loss of his vehicle.
Despite being in law enforcement for 10 years and working another 12 as a firefighter, Edmonds said, “I've never had an accident like that.”
When it comes to the Highway 53 and Olympic Drive intersection, stories like Edmonds' aren't unusual.
In fact, concerns over the number of serious collisions at the intersection have led to a proposal to install new safety measures, with a view to eventually adding a stoplight.
The plans, proposed by Caltrans, will be discussed at the Lake County City/Area Planning Council, which will meet at 10 a.m Wednesday, Feb. 10, at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The intersection is one of the main entry points into downtown Clearlake, and has been the site of numerous crashes.
From. Dec. 1, 2006, through this Feb. 1, there have been a total of 27 traffic collisions in that area, according to information provided by Nicole Newton, Clearlake Police's records and communications supervisor.
Two of those crashes resulted in fatalities, said Newton.
The number of crashes at the site has led to discussions among local officials which, in turn, appear to be leading to plans for safety upgrades.
Phil Frisbie, spokesman for Caltrans District 1 – which includes much of the North Coast including Lake County – said the agency has a project planned to rehabilitate about four miles of Highway 53, including the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Olympic Drive.
Construction on the signal installation is expected to begin in the spring of 2011 and be completed in 2012, Frisbie said.
Bob Galusha, the city of Clearlake's engineer, said he's received an indication that part of Caltrans' interim plans include installation of stop signs in the near future.
Frisbie said Caltrans officials will present details of the interim safety solution at the Lake County/City Area Planning Council meeting this week. He said that they want to get the council's input on the solution, and more details about the plan will be presented afterward.
While pleased that efforts are moving forward, Clearlake's mayor, Judy Thein, wants to see new measures implemented more quickly.
“There's been a lot of accidents for the last several years,” said Thein, who is a member of the Lake County/City Area Planning Council.
She said she began advocating for beefed up measures at the intersection about seven months ago.
At one point, Caltrans had suggested rerouting traffic onto Old Highway 53 and around the intersection, said Thein. “Nobody felt that that would be a good thing and they agreed.”
A traffic light was a suggestion put on the drawing board, and Thein she understood that the intersection's safety issue was going to the top of Caltrans' signal design list.
Last August, according to the area planning council's minutes, Thein asked about the signal and was told that a project study report was being completed on the intersection, and that the project might be combined with the scheduled Highway 53 rehabilitation project to move it forward.
Thein said the signal project then went into the design stage for six months.
When the council met in December, Thein said Caltrans indicated that it would be two more years before the changes would be made.
Thein said that seemed too distant, and she's concerned that if the project takes too long to complete, more lives will be lost and more people will be injured at the intersection, which she called “dangerous.”
That opinion was reinforced when she found out about Edmonds' crash, which he described in a letter to Lake County News (See the letter here: Edmonds: Crash victim speaks out).
She got a copy of Edmonds' letter which he left for her at Clearlake City Hall, and the two have since been in touch. Edmonds said he's also talked with other local officials and he sent his letter to the Caltrans director.
Thein invited him to the Feb. 10 meeting to share his story.
“That, to me, is a big impact – when you're hearing it from someone else,” said Thein.
Like Thein, Galusha questioned the long time frame for completing the project. He said a Caltrans staffer told him they were scheduled to put the signalization project out to bid this coming June, and then award the project in November, pushing the completion date into next year.
Thein said she's also working closely with the city/area planning council's executive director, Lisa Davey-Bates, to bring the project to the fore. Davey-Bates put the matter on the council's agenda and also followed up with Caltrans staff about appearing at the upcoming meeting, at which data on the intersection's collision rate is supposed to be discussed.
Besides speaking to the city/area planning council, Thein is asking Caltrans staff to give the Clearlake City Council an update on the intersection safety project at a future council meeting.
Thein said the area planning council rallied to get a traffic light installed at Kit's Corner, the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 281. “If we did that with Kit's Corner, why can't we do that here?” she asked.
Edmonds agreed that 2011 isn't soon enough to see new safety measures in effect at the intersection.
Since his crash, he's traveled through that area several times, and was almost involved in two other crashes.
After his devastating experience, Edmonds said he doesn't want to see anyone else hurt.
“No more Band-Aids, no more messing around with it, let's get it fixed,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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