City officials look into dangerous road conditions on Hill Street
HILL STREET From his desk at Barrett’s Appliances, service manager Bill Neuhaus has a clear view of one of the most damaging dips in Santa Monica at the corner of Hill Street and Lincoln Boulevard.
Over the last 20 years or so, Neuhaus has seen countless cars turn from Lincoln onto Hill and bounce off a large bump in the road, tearing off bumpers in the process. He’s even seen a cement truck topple over, shaking the entire appliance store.
There are no signs warning drivers to drive slow, but there are plenty of jagged cuts in the concrete; evidence that City Hall needs to do something to fix the problem or risk being sued when someone gets hurt, those familiar with the area said.
“It happens all the time,” Neuhaus said. “People come up the hill too fast and hit that bump hard. I’ve seen people hit it so hard that their cars come up off the ground.”
The main reason why so many people bottom out at the corner is the drastic change in elevation from Lincoln to Hill and a big bump at the southern side of the intersection that acts as a mini ramp for those traveling fast enough. Observers said drivers making a left onto Hill drive fast because of the traffic on Lincoln.
“You only have a small window to make it, so people gun it and slam right on the concrete,” said Anwar Abjani, a resident who lives just a few doors from the intersection. “People are just traveling too fast.”
Residents said there used to be a barrier blocking half the street, preventing people from turning onto Hill from Lincoln but it was removed about a decade ago after some residents complained about having to drive around the block to get to their homes.
Wilson Place, which is just south of Hill, has wooden barriers set up to prevent people from turning off Lincoln.
“They need to build that wall again,” said resident Daniel Bearer. “The street is inappropriately designed. It’s not acceptable to have cars almost tip over, especially now that everyone has SUVs, which are really top heavy.”
Currently there are no plans to do anything about the dip. Lucy Dyke, transportation planning manager for City Hall, said she was not aware of the location and had not received any complaints about it.
“Generally we respond to written/e-mailed complaints of this type by sending an engineer out to evaluate,”Dyke wrote in an e-mail late last month. “Sometimes we install warning signs and we also bring the conditions to the attention of EPWM (Environmental and Public Works Management) so that they can be addressed with repaving projects.
“Typically you will see the DIP signs where there is an unusual differential at an intersection that is not stop-controlled.”
Dyke wrote that she dispatched a city employee to check out the location: No word yet on what they found out.
Bearer said if complaints are what is needed to make a chance, he plans to file several until something is done.
In the meantime, drivers should be aware of the intersection and lay off the gas when going east onto Hill or risk bottoming out and damaging their cars, Neuhaus said.
Abjani has a better idea. “They should make it one-way only and make the street preferential parking,” Abjani said. “That way the residents will have some peace and quiet and drivers won’t have to worry about getting in an accident. I think that’s fair.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 6, 2007. Read the original PDF.