Three years after the mid-block crosswalk on West Edmundson
Avenue opened and a month after the first reported accident there
in that time, the city posted a sign Nov. 16 directing northbound
cyclists to dismount and walk their bicycle across.
Three years after the mid-block crosswalk on West Edmundson Avenue opened and a month after the first reported accident there in that time, the city posted a sign Nov. 16 directing northbound cyclists to dismount and walk their bicycle across.
Such a sign is posted about 100 feet from the trail’s exit on the north side, visible by cyclists traveling south. Until Nov. 16, there was no such sign at the trail’s southern exit, visible by cyclists traveling north.
But Rory Tomasello, 22, was traveling north when he rode into the crosswalk across two lanes of eastbound traffic just before 5 p.m. on Oct. 23, according to police. Witnesses said a motorist in the left westbound lane stopped for him. But in the right westbound lane, a 66-year-old woman driving a Cadillac SUV did not stop, according to a police statement.
Tomasello’s bicycle collided with the front left fender of the SUV, according to police. Neither Tomasello nor the driver were cited at the scene and the investigation is ongoing, police said. Tomasello was conscious after the accident, but slipped into a coma that evening and never regained consciousness, his family said. He wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and suffered a fractured skull. His brain swelled. He died Nov. 2.
Police Chief Bruce Cumming said the driver could be charged with manslaughter.
Witnesses didn’t say whether Tomasello was riding on the trail or if he was traveling on Edmundson, Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said.
Trumping a recent state law enabling cyclists to ride through crosswalks, city law mandates cyclists dismount and walk their bicycles.
Because the crosswalk Tomasello attempted to cross connects a bike trail, it may be an exception to city law unless there’s a sign posted. The municipal code states, “A person may ride or operate a bicycle on sidewalks or crosswalks designated as bicycle paths by the city transportation engineer.”
Although the West Little Llagas Trail south and north of Edmundson is a shared-use path, Public Works Director Jim Ashcraft said, “Technically, you could probably say the trail doesn’t cross the road.”
For westbound motorists, a “PED XING” is painted on the street about 100 feet from the crosswalk. Just before the crosswalk, triangles give another notice of the crosswalk’s immediacy. Two signs, one denoting pedestrians and a yield sign, are posted at the crosswalk.
Cmdr. David Swing said this is a tricky case, unlike a more straightforward case of vehicular manslaughter, such as when someone is driving under the influence. Swing said since the accident turned fatal, the police wouldn’t release their report, but would forward the finished document to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office. Officials there would determine the charges, if any, he said.
The city could have opted to direct trailgoers east to the more traditional crosswalk at the intersection of Edmundson and Monterey Road.
“That was an option. We looked at that closely. People are more used to crosswalks at intersections,” Ashcraft said. But the city went with a traffic consultant’s recommendation to construct a mid-block crosswalk there instead. The crosswalk, which does follow Santa Clara County bicycle guidelines, was completed in October 2006, Ashcraft said.
This is the first accident Ashcraft has heard of in the three years the crosswalk has been open.
Crosswalk users had mixed feelings about its safety.
Mabel Lebbie, who walks the trail almost every day, said she heard about the accident and said it was tragic. Lebbie said she’s cautious there.
“You have to really make sure no one is coming,” Lebbie said. “Sometimes (motorists) don’t stop.”
Skateboarders Tyler Kreen, 14, and Dane Cleeton, 15, said they always felt safe crossing there.
“You just have to look, and not go too fast,” Cleeton said with a shrug between skateboarding tricks in the Burger King parking lot on the corner of Edmundson and Monterey.
The Tomasello accident was enough to prompt a study of the city’s five or six mid-block crosswalks, including one on Main Avenue at Live Oak High School and another on Madrone Parkway. The older crossings were designed according to the standards at the time of installation, Ashcraft said. The city will hire a traffic engineering consultant to evaluate all of the mid-block crossings and their warning devices to make sure they are current with today’s standards. While the study itself will cost less than $20,000, Ashcraft said, the resulting recommendations could cost more than that.
Motorists had one recommendation already – to follow Gilroy’s lead. In downtown Gilroy, Monterey Road motorists are alerted that a pedestrian is about to cross at Sixth or Seventh street by a string of lights embedded in the pavement, crowning the crosswalk. A pedestrian pushes a button to turn them on.
“I need more signs,” Patricia Infante said. “Like in Gilroy.”
One set of such lights costs more than $20,000, Ashcraft said. But the city will consider these, as well, he said.
