Santa Margarita intersection could end in 'disaster.' Locals hope to change that

Running directly through Santa Margarita, Highway 58 intersects Encina Avenue, forming the town’s only unprotected crosswalk.

While Caltrans performed an engineering traffic study on the intersection a decade ago, the County Service Area 23 (CSA 23) advisory group covering the Santa Margarita area is requesting an updated study in light of their traffic concerns.

The advisory group's chair, Connie Hanretty, has worked with other community members to bring attention to near misses along the intersection.

She defines near misses as “people that cross Encina thinking that it’s safe and are almost hit.”

“It’s always been a problem and only recently … have we brought it to the attention of Caltrans and the [county] public works department,” Hanretty said.

The secretary of the Santa Margarita advisory group, Cynthia Lambert, says she worries about the safety of her children when crossing the intersection off of Highway 58, which is the way to Santa Margarita Elementary School.

“It really is one of those things where it would only have to happen once for it to be a disaster,” Lambert said.

Instead of risking a near miss, she walks with her children across the intersection.

“If we walk, I walk with them or I ride my bike with them. I won’t let them cross the street by themselves," Lambert said. "And that’s because I just don’t trust that folks will come to a stop."

Caltrans District 5 Public Information Officer Kevin Drabinski said for enhanced safety measures to happen at the intersection, an in-depth analysis would need to come first.

“It’s a combination of both the data and the community observations that kind of bring up to date the ideas of what we might be able to bring forward,” Drabinski said.

This week, the advisory members are bringing their observations forward to the Santa Margarita community, asking residents to sign a copy of their petition.

Petitions will be available for signature in any of the downtown businesses through Thursday.