Measures to increase traffic and pedestrian safety will begin next month with the construction of new traffic signals at the south end of Phelan Avenue near the Bookstore Annex and the north end near Riordan High School. JESSICA LUTHI / GUARDSMAN

By Graham Henderson
Staff Writer

With construction starting in November, City College is planning to install two new traffic signals on Phelan Avenue to improve both the flow of traffic and pedestrian safety, according to the college’s department of Facilities Planning / Management.

“We are preparing to install traffic control lights at two locations on Phelan [Avenue],” said James Blomquist, associate vice chancellor of facilities planning / management.

Once the signals are working, the center entrance to the parking lot will be closed, and all vehicle traffic will enter the lot through the north entrance, said Blomquist.

The new signals will be located at the crosswalk by the Bookstore Annex near the south end of Phelan Avenue, and by Riordan High School at the north end.

Currently, there are three crosswalks between the reservoir parking lot and the main campus, but only the crosswalk at the central entrance of the parking lot has traffic signals.

City College has been working with the San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic to secure funding to build the traffic signals but has been unable to do so, said Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration. Currently, the college is planning to build the traffic signals with its own money said Goldstein.

In a resolution approved by the board of trustees at their April 2008 meeting, the signals will be designed by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the college will use a contractor for the installation. According to the resolution, the cost of the project will not exceed $141,956 and will be paid for by the 2005 Proposition A bond funds.

City College had been working with the San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic to secure funding to build the traffic signals but has been unable to do so said Peter Goldstein, vice chancellor of finance and administration.

“The work will start in November and completion depends on the delivery of the light poles, but we are shooting for the end of the year so that they are functioning for the Spring,” said Blomquist.

As observed by a reporter from The Guardsman, traffic flow on Phelan Avenue during peak commute times can become congested, which is caused primarily by heavy use of the established crosswalks. Pedestrians, who have right of way in the crosswalks, trickle across the road instead of crossing in an orderly group, preventing traffic from moving smoothly.

Both pedestrians and drivers at City College are overwhelmingly in favor of the new signals. “I think it’s a very good idea,” said student Jerelle Aquino. Like many students who use the crosswalks, Aquino was crossing Phelan Avenue after parking in the reservoir. He added he hoped the new signals would ease traffic delays in the morning.

City College student and pedestrian Christine Wiseman agreed. “Otherwise [students] will jaywalk, and they’re gonna get hit,” she said