For many years, there have been ongoing problems with excessive speed along Lower Pine Crest, especially on the section between Highway 243 and Riverside County Road. (All of Lower Pine Crest is now well-signed at 25 mph, with high visibility signage warning of pedestrians.) This creates significant risk to residents, and pedestrians who must walk along the street, as well as resident pets and other wild animals. Many local residents have observed that some of the most repeated offenders tend to be residents of Idyllwild (and often this same neighborhood).
Here is a timeline of events that have occurred related to efforts to respond to this problem:
- August 2010: A ‘Traffic Control Device’ request form was submitted to Riverside County Transportation & Traffic Engineering Division’. This request described the problem of excessive speed, inadequate signage, and requests for other traffic control measures. A traffic engineer did make an assessment of the situation, and several changes were made, including installing new ’25 mph’ signs and a high visibility pedestrian warning sign.
- July 2012: Problems with excessive speed continued. Another Traffic Control Device Request Form was submitted to Riverside County Transportation Department, again requesting improved signage (i.e. ‘Slow’, ‘Residential Zone’, etc.), or some other appropriate traffic control strategy. Riverside County replied in October 2012 stating they had made some adjustments to existing signage, and did not feel any additional changes were necessary. A driver feedback radar trailer was placed on the upper end of Lower Pine Crest for about two weeks- during this time, the problem with excessive speed seemed to decrease, however very shortly after it was removed the problem continued.
- August 2018: A third Traffic Control Device Request Form was submitted to Riverside County Transportation Department, noting that the problem with excessive speeds has continued and increased, and requested some form of increased traffic control. Photographic documentation of the hazards was included with this Request. A phone call from Riv Co Trans Dept stated that they planned to install speed measuring equipment in this area to further assess the problem. (This equipment was placed about half way between Highway 243 and Riv Co Play Road, and was there for less than 48 hours.) During that phone call, the Traffic Engineer stated they would review this information and follow up. No phone or written communication was received following that phone call.
- In addition to the August 2018 Traffic Control Device Request Form that was sent to Riverside County, a letter was sent to Supervisor Chuck Washington detailing this problem, and asking for his assistance. This letter was signed by numerous residents along Lower Pine Crest (between Hwy 243 & Riv Co Play Rd).
2020: The problem with excessive speed continues, and the risk of death, injury or damage has increased due to the combined influences of population increases in the Idyllwild area, increased residential populations along Lower Pine Crest, and increased pedestrian visitors, especially at the nearby Idyllwild County Park and vacation rentals. Improved traffic control remains much in need in this area.
John Jacobs
Aug 1, 2020, 11:54:21 AMto Pine Crest Neighborhood Watch
Hi, Neighbors-
You may have read an article in the recent online Town Crier about
excessive vehicle speeds along Tollgate Road, North & South Circle, and
Saunders Meadow Road. These conditions were related to Supervisor Chuck
Washington’s office, who will be contacting Riverside County
Transportation Dept. to do a traffic study along those streets to
determine traffic control measures.
Lower Pine Crest (between Hwy 243 & Riv Co Play Road) has long been
dealing with excessive speed problems- Riverside County Transportation
Dept. was contacted in 2012 and 2018 calling out this problem, and
asking for traffic control improvements. A detailed historic account can
be found here at our Neighborhood Watch website:
https://pinecrestwatch.org/excessive-speeds-along-lower-pine-crest/
Hopefully this renewed effort will bring better results than have
occurred in year’s past.
On a related note, just a reminder that a new website for our
Neighborhood Watch program is fully active- it was created to serve as
an easier way for residents to become involved, a way to better
understand the Notification System that is in use, and as a historical
repository of information about issues around our neighborhood. The
excessive vehicle speed issue is a very good example of one of the
values of this website- it allows a centralized location where
background information can be found that can be easily provided to
governmental agencies. (This background was recently provided to Chuck
Washington’s office via link to our website.)
The website did have some start up cost associated with the basic
structure- these costs were generously provided by Dawn Papaila. A
suggested donation of $15 would be greatly appreciated to help recoup
those costs- she can be reached at:
Dawn Papaila
PO Box ***
Idyllwild, CA 92549
If you haven’t already done so, please check out the website- your
thoughts and comments would be appreciated to help improve it.
https://pinecrestwatch.org//
_________________________________
John Jacobs
Pine Crest – Riverside County Playground Rd. Neighborhood Watch
Idyllwild, California 92549
888-522-9001
www.pinecrestwatch.org
dawn.p
Aug 1, 2020, 3:40:34 PMto pc-rcpr-neighborhood-watch-info@googlegroups.com
Hi All,
I recall that Chuck Washington offered a sign that would measure the speed of traffic as it passed – similar to Anza’s 45 mph signs. We were interested but unsure where to place it (blinking light might be annoying).
The rate of speed off the highway on to County Park Rd and into the park gets really crazy too.
Dawn Papaila
John Jacobs
Aug 1, 2020, 6:07:47 PMto Pine Crest Neighborhood Watch
In the discussions with the Riv Co traffic engineer in fall of 2018, the installation of a ‘driver feedback sign’ was considered (signs that measure and warn of driver speeds)- the traffic engineer said that there are difficulties with power sources for these signs in the Idyllwild area. Some models operate on solar panels, which can be problematic during winter months (but obviously ideal under current conditions!). The engineer I spoke with at that time said he would be looking into these options- unfortunately, no follow up was ever received.
Indeed, Riv Co Play Rd can see excessive speeds- there was a very good example of this several years ago where a fast moving car (coming from the highway headed to County Park) lost control at the intersection of Pine Crest, crashing into the carport of a home near the corner, significantly damaging the classic car located there. This incident occurred about 1:30 am on a Saturday evening (as I recall), and alcohol was involved with the driver and passengers. One passenger suffered a fractured back…another one actually had their ear torn off (seriously).
_________________________________
John Jacobs
Pine Crest – Riverside County Playground Rd. Neighborhood Watch
Idyllwild, California 92549
888-522-9001
www.pinecrestwatch.org