Crossing guards remains an issue after latest traffic collision

The most recent collision involving a juvenile cyclist occurred Friday morning at Craig Avenue and Evans Road.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The Menifee Police Department has increased patrols in school zones and City of Menifee officials will conduct traffic studies to determine whether additional services are needed to keep pedestrians and motorists safe, according to a City news release.

But although Menifee Union School District officials say they are continuing to monitor the safety of students to and from school, MUSD has made no decision to restore the remainder of crossing guard positions that were eliminated last school year. Neither is there any indication that the City of Menifee plans to pay for additional positions.

The safety of students has been an area of concern for residents since MUSD officials announced that the total number of crossing guards to start the school year would be 35 – much less than in previous years.

The district did not employ any crossing guards when on-campus instruction returned in April, so the return of 35 such safety officers in August was an improvement. Several key intersections near schools remain without crossing guards, however, and district officials have declined to state how much of a decrease there has been since pre-pandemic days.

Department heads from the City of Menifee and administrators from local school districts met Thursday in their annual Menifee Education Summit. The stated purpose of the meeting was “for all participating agencies to collaborate in thoughtful discourse, share ideas and information, and identify opportunities that benefit Menifee residents.”

Participants made presentations promoting the positive aspects of City and school district programs, but there was no discussion of the crossing guard situation. MUSD superintendent Jennifer Root wrote the following in an email to Menifee 24/7 on Friday:

“In regards to crossing guards, we currently have placed crossing guards within the school zones that we designated for a crossing guard. We do continue to recruit for the position so we have a pool as additional needs are identified. In the summer when we approved the hire of 35 crossing guards, this number was selected to ensure that we could fill positions quickly.”

In a follow-up email later in the day, Root wrote that, “I actually went over to ask our Personnel Services Department and currently we are not advertising for crossing guards. We would reopen the posting as needed.”

Menifee 24/7 asked for confirmation that 35 crossing guards are indeed in place; the number of crossing guards employed before the COVID-19 pandemic shut school campuses down; and how much money the district is saving in this area. As of Friday night, those questions were not answered.

Root’s comments came hours after the fifth reported accident involving a vehicle and student cyclist in school areas since the first day of school last month.

A collision between a female juvenile riding an electric bike and an auto was reported Friday morning at the intersection of Craig Avenue and Evans Road, near Paloma Valley High School. According to Menifee PD Captain Dave Gutierrez, it appears that there was a visibility issue between the cyclist and a vehicle in the center lane as the cyclist began to ride through the crosswalk.

The cyclist ran into the side of the vehicle. The juvenile complained of pain but had no visible injuries. The investigation is ongoing.

On the first day of school Aug. 11, a vehicle struck a juvenile on a scooter at the intersection of Menifee Road and Woodcrest Lake Drive, just south of La Piedra Road, according to Menifee PD. The investigation determined that the juvenile on the scooter was at fault for traveling outside a marked crosswalk and not yielding to oncoming traffic. The vehicle was traveling below the speed limit and the juvenile was not seriously injured.

On Aug. 17, a male juvenile riding a Go-Ped scooter was struck by a vehicle after crossing over a double yellow line into oncoming traffic near the intersection of Craig Avenue and Evans Road, Gutierrez said. The juvenile was not seriously injured.

On Aug. 31, a vehicle struck a bicyclist at the intersection of Menifee Road and La Piedra Road. This intersection is scheduled to have a traffic signal installed, but it has no crossing guards at this time, even though it is just down the street from Bell Mountain Middle School, and a location where crossing guards were previously stationed.

Menifee PD’s investigation revealed that the vehicle was at fault. According to Gutierrez, the vehicle came to a stop, then proceeded without yielding to the bicyclist, who was riding in the crosswalk.

Then on Sept. 8, a bicyclist was determined to be at fault after failing to yield to a vehicle that struck the juvenile, again at Menifee Road and La Piedra Road. The student was straddling the bike and using their feet to push the bike along inside the crosswalk. The bicyclist failed to yield to traffic and ran into the back of the vehicle, which had cleared the intersection.

According to the City news release issued earlier this week, City officials are considering outreach measures to educate drivers and students about traffic laws and increase awareness of pedestrian safety.

“We look forward to engaging with the district and the public on this issue and encourage continued open dialogue and ideas from parents and students on how to improve safety and security,” said city manager Armando Villa.

The traffic studies will take into consideration multiple factors, “including school attendance, speed limits, vehicle and pedestrian volume, and traffic patterns. Members of the public can request a study of a location of particular concern. Additional measures that are helpful in reducing incidents include posting signs, adjusting traffic patterns around schools, and using volunteers to supervise children at drop-off and pick-up times,” the news release stated.

After MUSD officials decided not to bring back crossing guards in April, Root said the decision was made after consulting with the district’s insurance carrier and legal counsel about liability.

“Schools, police, the City, parents, students and the public must work together to determine the best method for reducing accidents and injuries,” Gutierrez said in the news release. “Menifee’s Public Works Department regularly studies traffic patterns throughout the city to assess the need for crosswalks, stop signs and traffic signals.”

According to assistant city manager Rochelle Clayton, “The City and Police Department look forward to engaging with the public on this issue and encourage continued open dialogue and ideas from parents and students on how to improve safety and security.”

Menifee Union School District has 11,034 students. Romoland School District, which serves the northeast portion of Menifee, has 4,300 students. That district retained its full complement of crossing guards when schools reopened in April. Perris Union High School does not employ crossing guards.

As noted, all five reported collisions involved juveniles riding a bicycle or scooter. Menifee 24/7 will publish a news article later this weekend with pedestrian and motorist safety tips and information about bicycle laws and safety.