Carbon Canyon Road Fatal Accident and Closure

Due to a fatal traffic accident at Feldspar, where Summit Ranch is located, Carbon Canyon Road was closed at 9:50 this morning.  No further information was provided, including an ETA for reopening.

UPDATE, 6:40 p.m.:  Just received a notification that Carbon Canyon Road is now fully open following the completion of the investigation of this morning's fatal accident.

UPDATE, 10:40 p.m.: The fatal crash this morning took place before 5:50 and involved a two-car head-on collision with one car engulfed in flames and a person dead.  Some discussion has concerned whether lengthy closures should lead to opening of the emergency gates on Canon Lane leading north of Eucalyptus Avenue.  Authorities, however, would likely respond that these are only to be used with evacuations during natural disasters such as wildfire.

On the Skids in Carbon Canyon: Flattening on the Curve

A rare post last week which discussed the introduction of new speed limits on the Orange County portion of Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142), generated a comment left on the Chronicle Facebook page: "Signs signs everywhere the signs . Signs don’t work . People do 70 passing me westbound by the park every morning . I drive it at 5:45 am every morning. Thanks for trying I guess!"

While the "On the Skids in Carbon Canyon" series tried over about a decade or so to bring some form of attention to the regular occurrences of dangerous driving on the state highway, especially on weekend evenings, those have largely gone by the wayside as fundamentally nothing has changed and there are other priorities that have emerged, which is why posts here have been few in general recently.

It should be noted, though, that CalTrans can only improve state highways through such means as signage, striping, barriers, and others.  Patrolling is for other agencies to enact.  As dangerous driving continues, virtually daily (well, nightly, mostly), the only real and effective mitigation would be more of a physical presence.  Barring that, these accidents will continue to happen and it appears that calculating acceptable risk, along with weighing how to allocate existing funding and other factors, is what drives policy.

With this in mind, this post includes several photos taken on the Chino Hills side of the canyon from Old Carbon Canyon Road to the summit where accidents have occurred in recent weeks. The recent improvements done by CalTrans' district 8 with resurfacing, but also adding many safety elements like more and better secured guardrails, many more reflectors, new signs, improved striping and more, do not stop errant drivers from eviscerating reflectors, mowing down signs, flattening utility boxes, crushing guardrails and plowing into privately owned power poles, fences and walls, with these latter obviously having financial impacts on property owners who have no control over what happens when reckless drivers, knowing they have free reign, race through the canyon. 

So, there are plenty of people out there like the Facebook commenter who experience first-hand just how much dangerous driving there is on Carbon Canyon Road and the photos here show what at least some of the consequences are, though the risk of getting hit by reckless driver is one those of us who use the highway regularly face and deal with.

On the Skids in Carbon Canyon: A Spate of Recent Serious Crashes on Carbon Canyon Road

Within the last few weeks, there have been several major car crashes on Carbon Canyon Road that have caused full shutdowns of the state highway.  As usual, most of these happen late at night when the road is wide open and some drivers race through the canyon or are otherwise distracted.

One of the oldest of these incidents took place eastbound on the switchbacks just east of Azurite Drive when a car went up the embankment and took out an electrical box (this has happened a few times in recent years.)

Another was when a 20-year old Chino Hills woman heading west through Sleepy Hollow veered over the oncoming lane, hit an embankment and rolled.  She was not evidently wearing a seat belt, as she was ejected and the car landed on her foot.

More recently was a hit-and-run accident very close to that location, but a little further east when a long-time Sleepy Hollow resident was killed in a hit-and-run incident.  A roadside shrine has been set up in the large turnout on the north side of the highway at the east end of the community and there has been no news of any developments concerning the fleeing driver.

Finally, at around 2 a.m. Thursday morning, the power went out in the area when a vehicle crashed into a power pole at a very common site for accidents at the middle of the S-curve eastbound between Carriage Hills Lane and Azurite Drive.  In fact, that pole was just replaced a few weeks or so ago, but smaller bollards were put in front of it and it was obvious to those who know that it wouldn't take long for those insufficient barriers to give way to another driver not making the curve to the left there and taking out the pole.

The accompanying photo was taken yesterday afternoon after crews completed repairs on that pole, but there have been so many incidents, too many to count, involving this section over the years that it won't likely be long before another crash happens there.

These incidents are all on the Chino Hills side, but anyone looking closely can see several places where guardrails and chain link fencing on the Brea side have been crushed by drivers veering off the road, most of these, but not all, taking place east of Olinda Village where the road has more of its twists and turns.  There are a couple of spots, though, on the downhill to the west of the Village where cars have left the roadway and hit rails and other objects.

It has been said that, as traffic has been generally lighter on our roadways during this pandemic, that there has been a significant uptick in speeding.  Whether these latest incidents are of that type or not, can't be known, but there has definitely been a noticeable increase in dangerous driving on Carbon Canyon Road in recent weeks.

There was a sheriff's department vehicle on the westbound side of the road near the entrance to Sleepy Hollow yesterday afternoon, but that's not when the vast majority of speeding and crashes occur and it's not known why the vehicle was parked there.

This blog used to be more active in documenting incidents like this in the hope that more of a police presence and enforcement might take place, but in lieu of that, it has seemed generally pointless.  The recent rash of activity, however, is concerning. 

On the Skids and Off the Grid: Last Week's Carbon Canyon Road Blowout

Last Saturday the 11th, a single-vehicle accident at Carbon Canyon Road and Carriage Hills Lane near the summit in Chino Hills involved the toppling of a power pole, and live wires fell on the state highway.  The driver and passenger in the car were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not described in terms of seriousness. While an investigation determined that alcohol was not a factor, nothing was said about speeding, though it is possible that there was some other cause.

What followed was the temporary loss of power and longer-term disruption of cable and internet access in parts of the Canyon.  Electricity was restored, at least in Sleepy Hollow, within about five hours and internet and cable late on Sunday, though there were problems for other Canyon residents lasting much longer.

Work by Southern California Edison crews replacing the power pole that was toppled by a car early on Saturday morning the 11th.  This was taken that afternoon.

As reported by Marianne Napoles in yesterday's edition of the Champion, however, there was a second incident later on Saturday morning when a trash truck driver pulled over on the shoulder at the summit to let vehicles pass and came into contact with a portion of cable that was low on the run on lines in that area. 

Whether this was related to the previous accident is not known, though a Frontier Communication representative stated that the tall trash truck pulled down the cable line, even though these trucks frequently pull over there and have since Republic Disposal was hired some years ago.  In any case, the second incident led to cable and internet service being out until early Tuesday morning.

Another view of work done on the 11th.

The Champion article quoted a longtime Carriage Hills resident who often comments on Canyon-related concerns involving the state highway and development projects, as well as a Sleepy Hollow resident and Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council member.  The former said the accidents last weekend were the worst he'd experienced in over 20 years living in the Canyon, while the latter observed that accidents in Sleepy Hollow have involved outages like this recent example and asked for drivers to go more slowly through the canyon.

A lieutenant with the Chino Hills Sheriff's Department station told Napoles that there were 60 traffic collisions on the Chino Hills portion of Carbon Canyon Road in 2019, a 20% increase from the prior year and said "the number is an estimate only."  There are, of course, differences between reported and unreported incidents.  What also wasn't stated was the severity of the damage caused, both in terms of personal injury or death or property damage.

Debris left behind on the 13th and before more work was done.

The lengthy project, still not quite finished, by CalTrans to rehabilitate Carbon Canyon Road has included additional safety features involving more guardrails, replacement of older ones, grooved striping, more signs and others.  These are certainly welcomed and needed, but, despite this work, accidents are clearly increasing in number and some, like last weekends, are severe.

Discussions about the state highway prior to work starting mentioned that the California Highway Patrol would be providing more patrols in the Canyon, but, when asked about the commonly known issue of the CHP not having enough officers to keep up with the growth in traffic, the response from a city official was "that's a good question."

Also from the 13th.

The truth is that all of the physical improvements in the world can be added, but, if accidents, even on estimates, are increasing, those additions are not mitigating the problem.   There has to be more of a physical presence, but it is also understood that staffing and funding are issues to be addressed.  As the Sleepy Hollow resident quoted in the Champion article expressed it, "the situation makes residents feel helpless."

As CalTrans is expected to decide soon about a request from the cities of Chino Hills and Brea to ban large truck (over 50 feet in length) on the state highway, it is clear that, if this is approved, signs won't be enough of a deterrence and a law enforcement patrols will be needed (some truckers and their employers still will find a fine worth the time saved.) 

This is another recent incident, which took place before the ones shown above.  This is at the middle of the S-curve east of the previous scene and is where a westbound vehicle went off the road and chewed up a good part of the embankment.  As can be seen, there are signs indicating a change in direction of the roadway as well as white reflector signs added in the nearly completed rehabilitation of the state highway.

This goes, however, for broader driving issues, though, because large trucks aren't causing the majority of accidents—that's happening with passenger vehicles of various types.  Otherwise, the kind of incidents embodied with last weekend's accident will continue.

Recent Carbon Canyon News from the Champion

In the last couple of issues of the Chino/Chino Hills Champion, there have been some noteworthy items of news relating to the Chino Hills portion of Carbon Canyon.

Last week's edition of 25 October, featured a front-page article by Marianne Napoles concerning three older properties and upcoming changes regarding them.  A 2.6-acre property that Napoles noted has been called "The Haze" since the 1970s and which is off Canyon Hills Road just north of Carbon Canyon Road and behind the Circle K convenience store was sold.  

John Klavins owned the property since 1962 and died two years ago and his heirs sold the parcel to Alchemy Acquisitions, LLC this past July.  Napoles reported that the firm has been engaged in cleaning of the property, though nothing was said about future plans.  She did note that the zoning is low density residential, allowing no more than eight housing units.

The photos here are a sample of incidents in the last several weeks where drivers have drifted from Carbon Canyon Road and damaged guardails, signs and fences along the state highway.  Click on any image to see them enlarged in a separate window.

What was not stated in the article, likely for reasons of available space, was that Klavins acquired the property when it was being used as a social club under several names.  The first was Club El Circulo, which was opened by the Olinda Development Corporation in August 1961 and lasted until about spring 1964.  

Then, the same company opened the Canyon Hills Swim and Saddle Club, with Olinda's subsidiary the Circle C [get it?  El Circulo?] Development Company as manager, with the new version opening in July 1964.  Soon, however, there was another change and the facility was rechristened as the Canyon Hills Country Club, apparently during 1965.

The following year came another transformation as the site was repurposed into the strange novelty known as Ski Villa, in which club buildings were turned into offices and other uses while, across Canyon Hills Road, the steep hillside was carved out into a ski slope with a concrete base with plastic tiles with needles on them affixed to the base.  Though the oddity got some wide coverage, including in Sports Illustrated, during 1966, it only lasted a season.

A Carbon Canyon Country Club followed and operated in the late Sixties before "The Purple Haze" came on to the scene for a few years around the early Seventies.  Klavins then maintained the existing structures for residential uses over many years until he passed in 2017.

Those buildings, however, predated all of these variations and before Klavins' purchase.  For thirty years, the site was the Camp Kinder Ring, operated by the Arbeter Ring of the Workmen's Circle, a left-leaning Jewish organization that sill exists in Los Angeles.  Established in 1928, the facility was solely for children in its early years, though it became an all-ages camp later.  

By 1958, with changes in the organization and its community, as well as unreliable water sources in the Canyon, the Workmen's Circle sold the property.  A devastating fire broke out shortly thereafter and ravaged much of the property.  Klavins then acquired the section where many of the remaining structures from the Camp Kinder Ring period and then reused by the various clubs during the 1960s remain today—though for how much longer remains to be seen.

This blog has many posts related to the history of the property and these can be viewed by putting in the several names (Camp Kinder Ring, El Circulo, Ski Villa, etc.) into the search bar at the right of the main page.

Napoles' article also mentioned the red-tagged apartments at the east end of Sleepy Hollow, south of Carbon Canyon Road.  The eight units are situated where the was once a store along the road and a two-story home for the family remains at the rear of the parcel.  In the 1970s, the property was owned by the Norris family and, in the 1990s, Fred Gentry operated the store there. 

The place were shuttered in January because of health and safety code violations and the owner retained an architect to revamp the units to current standards.  Work was fairly consistent for a period, though it now seems very sporadic.  There was no response from the owner or the City of Chino Hills on requests by the paper for updates.

Finally, another historic structure was featured in the piece.  What was last operated as the Canyon Market and before that was a store and gas station under many names over the decades, including Party House Liquor #2 (the first was on Chino Hills Parkway at Pipeline Avenue until recently), Ichabod's and Joe Tatar's, has been purchased the City of Chino Hills.  

The store property is on a little over an acre, while an adjacent undeveloped three-acre tract is already owned by the City along Carbon [Canyon] Creek.  Long advocated by council member Ray Marquez, the parcel is being considered for relocation of the Sleepy Hollow Community Center, which has been on a former community center and volunteer fire house off Rosemary Lane to the east for over fifteen years, or for other community uses.  Marquez stated that community meetings will be held to solicit input on the property's future.

Today's edition of the Champion contains the news that a man's body was found in Carbon [Canyon] Creek adjacent to the former liquor store site.  A call was made Thursday afternoon and the incident was obviously still under investigation by press time. The Chino Hills Police Department is asking for anyone with information to call 909.364.2000.  Notably, this is not the first time bodies have been found in that area.

In the "Community News" section is a reader-submitted photo of a damaged guardrail on the S-curve east of the summit along Carbon Canyon Road with the caption observing that this section, recently replaced during the ongoing rehabilitation project for State Route 142, has been hit twice recently by eastbound drivers speeding downhill and crossing the westbound lane before crushing the rail.

While this blog used to be very active in reporting such incidents, social media platforms of various types tend to be faster in posting and sharing this information, so less has been done here in noting these activities.  There, however, have been more incidents than just this one in recent weeks, including on the Chino Hills side:

• A 50mph sign flattened on the highway east of Old Carbon Canyon Road.
• More signs damaged on the S-curve, including at the summit and the first curve just east of it.
• A section of fence at a private home in Sleepy Hollow demolished (this property has had this happen several times over the years.)

And, on the Brea portion:

• A guardrail end crushed by a wastbound driver who crossed the eastbound lane to hit that object and another guardrail "nudged" near the San Bernardino County line in the same direction.
• Two advisory speed signs just east of the Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center,
• A car that plowed through the recently erected chainlink fence at the former La Vida Mineral Springs property.
• Two spots where eastbound vehicles skidded off the road and hit the embankment on the south side of the highway leaving undercarriage pieces and other debris.

There are undoubtedly more incidents and, as has been noted here many times over eleven years, dangerous driving is a frequent occurrence, especially weekend evenings.  Moreover, CalTrans is deliberating on whether to ban trucks over 50-feet in length on the highway.  Twice in October, school buses had to either stop or pull over where there is virtually no shoulder, to make way for big rigs that crossed the yellow divider and into the opposing lane to try and negotiate the S-curve.

While many needed improvements have been made in the Carbon Canyon Road rehabilitation project to try and improve safety, the smashing of guardrails and signs, as well as some private property, and continuing reckless driving are, once again, reminders that a consistent, on-going patrol presence is needed if any expectation of reducing dangerous driving is to be met.

Carbon Canyon Car Accident

UPDATE, 5:40 P.M.: One lane will be open at a time until the disable vehicle is cleared off the road.  The estimate to reopen is 6 p.m.

Just a few minutes ago I passed an accident on eastbound Carbon Canyon Road in Sleepy Hollow.  A sedan crashed into the side of the state highway and the airbags were deployed and the front end smashed in.

Expect a partial or full closure of the road and more information will posted as available.

On The Skids and Off the Rails in Carbon Canyon

As noted here before, it's great to see the work CalTrans District 8 is putting into improving Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142), including repaving, better drainage, new and replaced guardrails, and new signage.

It has often been pointed out on this blog, however, that, needed as these measures are, dangerous driving in the canyon, which is consistent particularly on weekend evenings, will often not be materially affected by these.

Recognizing funding and staffing, there has to be more of a physical presence by law enforcement personnel if any mitigation in behavior is to happen.  Meetings with a Carbon Canyon committee included discussion of more California Highway Patrol patrols, but there apparently is a lack of staffing and funding for that entity.  When I attended a presentation from a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department official recently, he told the group that there was difficulty in recruiting deputies--whether this is the same for San Bernardino County is not known.

Basically, instances of dangerous driving in the canyon are still regular and concerning.  Official crash statistics are not going to always reflect this, particularly if incidents are not reported, which presumably many, if not most, aren't, especially if the vehicle crashes into guardrails, signs and other objects and can drive off.

In the last several days, there are at least three more incidents that have taken place, demonstrating the continuing problem.  At the middle of the S-curve at the summit in Chino Hills, one of the two or three most common locations for problems, signs, including a new one, have again been hit and damaged.

Just to the west, as the approach to the summit is made at Carriage Hills Road, a car took the first curve there too fast, skidded off the road, tore up some grass along the side of the highway and kept on going.

Then, as noted here last week, a vehicle racing through Sleepy Hollow took a curve too quickly, overcompensated, bounced off a guardrail, crossed lanes and was hit by another car coming in the opposite direction, with more guardrail damage caused in the collision.

All three incidents were caused by drivers going eastbound, as was another fairly recent incident in which a vehicle on the Brea side skidded off a curve, crossed lanes, and plowed through newly installed chain link fence at the old La Vida Mineral Springs property.

Although there was an injury in the Sleepy Hollow wreck, or, at least, an ambulance was on scene, most of the dangerous driving incidents in the Canyon don't involve casualties, but the risk is always there.  It does seem as if more of an effort could be made to have regular patrols, particularly on weekend evenings, so that drivers know there is a possibility that enforcement will take place.

Otherwise, we'll continue to live with regular speeding and risky driving (it happens virtually every night as can be heard by those of us who live on the road) through our neighborhoods and hope that the damage is limited to physical objects and not more people.

Carbon Canyon Road Full Closure

UPDATE, 7:20 P.M.: The road is open.

Carbon Canyon Road has been fully closed for about a half hour due to a two-vehicle collision in Sleepy Hollow near the old Party House Liquor Store.

A neighbor who lives next to the scene said an eastbound car took a curve too fast, skidded into the guardrail and into the opposing lane where a westbound vehicle hit it.  Evidently, an ambulance is on scene, as are tow trucks.

It is estimated the closure could last about another half-hour according to City of Chino Hills alerts.

Off the Rails on Carbon Canyon Road

It's a shame to see these shiny new guardrails and then have one of them, just weeks after installation as part of the ongoing rehabilitation of Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142), get christened by an errant driver.

This took place westbound between Canon Lane and Canyon Hills Road and clearly took place at high speed, judging by the impact which left the end of the rail look like a fruit roll.

About a week prior to that, the taller directional and suggested speed sign on the middle of the S-curve at the summit to the east got its "ankle" broken clean and the bollard to the right of it, reinstalled next to the power pole there and which has been hit as many times as the sign, was also bent back by the collision.  This was just a few days after two of the three arrow signs put up by CalTrans as part of the current project to provide more advice on how to drive on the curve were flattened.

Finally, and this goes back a few weeks, the new fencing put up by the owner of the historic La Vida Mineral Springs property on the Brea side, also was welcomed to the neighborhood by a driver heading eastbound who obviously took a curve there too quickly, skidded across the westbound lane (fortunately no one was driving that way) and mowed down a good section of the fencing.  Late last week, workers were out putting up new sections.

So, while it is good to see improvements like signs, rails, reflectors and the like, dangerous driving, mostly on weekend evenings, is still a common occurrence, and likely will not diminish without some kind of patrolling.

Signs Point To . . . No

Well, that didn't take long and it doesn't take a Magic 8 ball to know why. 

It was just a few weeks ago that three shiny, new signs were put at the center level of the S-curve at the summit along Carbon Canyon Road in Chino Hills as part of the months-long rehabilitation project of State Route 142.

The signs, in reflective yellow, are meant to remind drivers to watch the curve and head to the left to continue the descent down the summit.  As many of us know from regular driving of this section of the state highway and as this blog has shown repeatedly over the last decade or so, this curve is among the two or three most common spot for exhibitions of errancy by drivers.

So, it was hardly a surprise to see yesterday morning while heading east to see two of the three signs pulverized by a vehicle.  Obviously, this happened over the weekend, probably late at night, possibly as a result of chemical impairment and/or speed.

New directional signs placed during ongoing rehabilitation work on the S-curve at the summit along Carbon Canyon Road lasted just a few weeks before being plowed down over the weekend.

As has been stated here before, signs are obviously necessary for our roads and highways, but, on Carbon Canyon Road and especially in spots like the S-curve, there is consistent dangerous driving that leads to accidents like this that show that signs are not enough if we want to mitigate these behaviors.

Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, there aren't injuries, or at least major ones, and fatalities continue to be rare, but how much of these crashes are matter of circumstance where it could have been a lot worse if there had been a slight change in behavior?

There has been talk in recent meetings concerning Carbon Canyon Road of more enforcement by the Sheriff's Department and the CHP, though the latter seems chronically underfunded and the former appears to be only out on the state highway on very rare occasions.

All of the improvements that have been and will be implemented on the highway are welcomed and needed, but signs can never be as effective as patrols, and it is hoped that the ongoing record showing regular dangerous driving on Carbon Canyon Road will lead to more consideration of this fact.

On the Skids in Carbon Canyon #24891

This happened over the weekend, probably late at night as is often the case, and on eastbound Carbon Canyon Road at the middle of S-curve in Chino Hills, as is often the case.

In fact, there might have been two incidents here.  Tire marks lead directly into the power pole, which continues to get bumped and battered on a regular basis.  Note the bollard at the right thrown back at an angle, while its sibling is knocked flat toward the fence.

To the left of that is the speed limit sign for the curve, with its left post cut off just above the "ankle."  This sign has been partially or completely knocked down many times over the years.

It, like the pole, is an easy target for drivers, chemically impaired or otherwise, who just can't negotiate the obvious curve.  Somehow, those reflectors, added after the last incident, didn't prevent this one.

Portions of the tailpipe and muffler and other sundry and assorted car parts mark the path and the fence behind the sign has also (yet again) been partially damaged.

Car Hits Bus on Carbon Canyon Road This AM

This morning's accident happened at the summit of the S-curves and just glad that the kids and bus driver were OK.

It's always a concern given driving behavior, road conditions, etc., but the school bus my kids are on just got hit by a driver who spun out on a wet Carbon Canyon Road near the S-curves in Chino Hills. Nobody is hurt, fortunately. There may be some traffic delays for those heading through this AM.

Carbon Canyon Road Crash This Afternoon

An accident has taken place on Carbon Canyon Road between Canyon Hills Drive and Canon Lane and both sides of the highway are backed up for quite a distance.

Here is the City of Chino Hills alert:

3:00 pm Fri., Feb. 2–Traffic accident on Carbon Canyon Road at Canon Lane. Both directions of travel being directed through accident scene one direction at a time. Expect delays. Road will return to normal once tow truck arrives to clear the road.

Here is an update as of a couple of minutes ago:

3:55 pm Fri., Feb. 2-Traffic accident has been cleared. Both lanes are open. Emergency vehicles off the roadway but still on scene for approx.15 minutes. 

More Smashes on the Carbon Canyon Road Hit Parade

A post earlier this month highlighted a Chino Hills Champion article reporting on a rash of accidents on Carbon Canyon Road in just the first two weeks of the new year.

The trend has continued with another spate of incidents in the last several days.  This includes further damage to signs and other objects on the S-curve on the Chino Hills side, this being one of the most commonly affected areas, along with some of the stretch of highway near the old La Vida Mineral Springs resort site on the Brea portion.

There is, in particular, a sign advising motorists to take the tightest of the several curves between the Carriage Hills and Summit Ranch subdivisions which has been mowed down many times over the years.

It happened again, probably late last Friday night, with the accompanying photo showing not just the remnants of the sign, but also the continued repositioning of the yellow metal bollards that used to be vertical and placed in front of the power pole for its protection.  Not only has one of the bollards been horizontal for many months now, but they keep getting hit and pushed further back around the pole and towards the fence behind it.  At this rate, the pole is going to get more damaged.

The sign, though conspicuously bent and dented, is back up with two small reflectors placed on the post--evidently as a warning of sorts to drivers, who may not otherwise see the 10-foot tall yellow sign as illuminated by their headlights.

A little to the west of that location at the summit curve is the wreckage left from a recent accident in which a vehicle went over the side, plowing down a sign and part of an old barbed wire fence.  This apparently is where the recent DUI incident took place.

On the Brea side, CalTrans District 12 was out this week repairing a chain link fence that was flattened in an accident that took place some months ago.

Meantime, there have been some other crashes that didn't leave that kind of obvious visual evidence, including one yesterday afternoon that involved an overturned car here in Sleepy Hollow.

The Champion article reported on the continuing study being conducted on the state highway, as well as discussions between Chino Hills and Brea and with the California Highway Patrol.  Ultimately, while more signage, different or enhanced striping, reflectors, and other elements will be suggested, there is only one way to mitigate speeding, large trucks swinging into opposing lanes or chewing up the shoulder, chemically impaired driving and other forms of wayward navigation of Carbon Canyon Road.  That would be somewhat consistent patrolling.

Seven Carbon Canyon Road Accidents in the New Year

It's front page news in this week's Champion, as staff reporter Marianne Napoles wrote that there have been seven (reported) accidents in just two weeks along Carbon Canyon Road, most attributed to unsafe driving.

Whereas it was posted here that there were two accidents within a few hours last Monday, the article stated that there was a third.  Napoles observed that the worst of those, noted here and which involved a driver who went off the road near the S-curve and summit on the Chino Hills side and was booked for DUI, was in the same location as a 9 December crash (and there have been others over the years).

It was also noted by local residents that the spot, just west of Carriage Hills Drive, is where 8 of 28 hours would be situated if the Stonefield project, approved by the City of Chino Hills several years ago, was to be built.  Presumably, guardrails and other protective elements would be put in place if that development (the site is up for sale) was to be built.

One of those residents, who lives in the Carriage Hills subdivision, was quoted as saying, "Carbon Canyon Road is an on-going mess in any weather," referring to the fact that, while some of the recent accidents took place in rainy conditions, dangerous driving is a regular occurrence, a point made (too) often on this blog.  The resident cited growing frustration with deteriorating conditions on the state highway.

With regard to those conditions, the article pointed out that the City of Chino Hills will be considering whether to approve an agreement for a second phase of a study underway about what to do with Carbon Canyon Road with respect to traffic volum and flow, the use of the highway by large trucks, and safety. 

The first phase was discussed here last year when it was presented to the city council.  The article also stated that a cost-sharing agreement with the City of Brea will be discussed at that meeting next month.  If approved, the new phase of the study is anticipated to take about six months to be completed.

Mention was also made of efforts since the fall to address growing traffic, including truck traffic.  A recent post here recounted an encounter I had with a long, flatbed truck that had to clip a shoulder berm and go fully into the opposing lane to maneuver through the sharp S-curve.  This has happened a number of times in recent years. 

Undoubtedly, the growing use of phone apps like Waze, which don't provide information about the road's structure just its volume, has accounted for much of the sharp rise in traffic on the road, which noticeably changed in 2013.

A study completed last spring noted that, between 2010 and 2015, there were 92 accidents (again, these were the reported ones) leading to over 150 injuries and three fatalities.  About 2/3 of these were on the Brea side with improper turning and unsafe speed cited as the biggest factors. 

With regard to those seven incidents, a list was provided of the incidents, occurring between the 1st and the 10th.  Four were determined to involve speeding, with two of them specifically denoted as "speed for conditions," that is, for the rainy conditions.  It appears that some people maybe thought it would never rain again after the phenomenally dry conditions up to the end of 2017!

Another cause was someone drifting over the double yellow centerlines.  It is remarkable, though, how many drivers think making turns across double yellows, especially at the corner gas station or convenience store is perfectly fine.

The last three reported accidents did not include assigned causes, though one was the DUI.  Another, witnessed by my wife, involved a truck skidding across lanes on the last eastbound curve near Old Carbon Canyon Road and might be assigned a "speed for conditions" cause, though, again, that was not stated in the article.

One other detail:  descriptions of some of these accidents include the phrase "due to the wet road."  This is a commonplace description when crashes occur during rainy weather.

Obviously, an inanimate object cannot cause crashes, unless there is a failure in its structure, such as a loss of pavement through a cave-in, a sinkhole, and so on.  When the descriptions provided by law enforcement also say "speed for conditions," that's exactly what the problem often is.  Drivers who are accustomed to being able to drive faster and more recklessly than they should during dry conditions (and even those who don't) often don't adjust their driving for inclement weather.

Clearly, some accidents are just that.  A split second decision made doesn't necessarily imply recklessness and unlawful conduct, but a good many of the ones reported in those nine days appear to have involved those behaviors.

Studies are understandably needed and some remedies, like signs, grooved centerlines, more reflectors, and so on, are likely to come out of these.  The truth is, though, most drivers who speed and are reckless through the Canyon don't care about signs (which are often mowed down), reflectors and other measures.  They're driving the way they do because there's no one to prevent them.

Patrols and enforcement have been sporadic and spotty and virutally never happen in the evenings or on weekends, when, by far, most of the worst incidents have occurred.  Invariably, cost and staffing priorities are cited as why the presence of law enforcement is low.  Seven accidents in nine days seems, even by the jaded standards of Carbon Canyon Road, excessive.

Nothing will affect drivers' behaviors more than when they see a patrol car.  It doesn't have to be, as a city official once expressed it to no purpose, 24/7.  It just needs to be occasional and consistent enough so that it becomes known that there is a good likelihood that regular enforcement takes place.

Otherwise, the speeding and reckless driving, and the big trucks crossing lanes to navigate the curves will continue, no matter how many studies are conducted, meetings held, and articles about crashes published.

Two Major Accidents Yesterday in Carbon Canyon

It's always easy to blame the rain, especially when we had 12/100 of an inch since the season started on 1 October, but there were two major traffic accidents yesterday on Carbon Canyon Road.

My wife had the misfortune to be caught behind both.  With the first one, she remained on scene to be a witness as she was the car right behind the crash.  A truck came down the last portion of the S-curve heading east, skidded into the westbound lane, and badly damaged a vehicle.

The second one, however, got reported on in the Chino/Chino Hills Champion by Josh Thompson thusly:

Chino Hills police jailed a 35-year-old man on suspicion of driving under the influence Monday night after his vehicle fell 50 to 75 down an embankment, trapping his car on a barbed wire fence.

Mario Velez was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He was later released with a citation, according to San Bernardino County jail records.

Deputies were called at 5:50 p.m. to Carbon Canyon Road and Carriage Hills Lane on a report a vehicle went off the road, said Chino Hills Police Sgt. Eno Lassiter.

“The driver was not injured. During the investigation, deputies learned the driver was intoxicated and lost control of the vehicle,” Sgt. Lassiter said.

Mr. Velez was arrested at 6:59 p.m.

Traffic on Carbon Canyon Road was congested until the road opened shortly after 8 p.m., according to the City of Chino Hills.

Fortunately, Velez went off the side of the road and not into opposing traffic where he could have killed someone.

There's a lot more rain today so, if you're driving Carbon Canyon Road, be extra careful and watchful.

On the Skids in Carbon Canyon #s26262/26389 + Bonuses

Two recent accidents on Carbon Canyon Road indicate more reckless driving.  On Wednesday, 24 May at 10:30 p.m. that familiar sound of screeching tires and skidding followed by a metallic crunch echoed through Sleepy Hollow.

By the time a neighbor and I got over to the accident scene at the old Party House liquor store where Carbon Creek crosses under Carbon Canyon Road, the vehicle was gone, but left behind a twisted, bent section of guardrail there along the north side of the state highway.  A neighbor who lives directly across the street went out upon hearing the wreck and found a young woman hightailing it from the scene.

Yesterday about 4:15 p.m. while heading westbound from Chino Hills Parkway on Carbon Canyon Road, another accident scene was encountered, in which an older SUV was on its side and glass scattered across the westbound lane.

A Summit Ranch resident just narrowly missed being hit by the SUV, which apparently drifted off the eastbound lane, went up a dirt embankment and then skidded across the road on its side acros the opposing lane of traffic.  It has been said, but not verified, that alcohol was smelled on the breath of the driver.

Meanwhile, Chino Hills councilmember Ed Graham, as part of his regular updates to residents, which is a great service that he provides, had this to offer in his most recent edition:

Chino Hills Police conducted a Carbon Canyon Joint Enforcement Action on April 25th. The Cities of Chino and Brea participated as well. A total of 80 citations were issued by the three agencies with Chino Hills writing 50 of those tickets. Twenty of the 80 citations were for excessive speed. Several of those were in excess of 65 mph. Thirty-six citations were issued to Chino Hills’ residents. The balance were spread over a wide range of Orange County and Inland Empire cities. Interestingly, 16 citations were issued for use of cell phone/texting. As expected, a number of citations were issued to trucks, mostly for crossing the double yellow line. All of those were residents outside of Chino Hills. 

It is always a good situation when our local law enforcement personnel are out on Carbon Canyon Road, because, if they write that many citations on one day, just think how many instances of dangerous driving there are every day.

It should be added that the action took place on a Tuesday and, though not stated by councilmember Graham, was almost certainly during daylight hours.  However, those of us who live in or drive the canyon regularly know that more reckless driving takes place weekend evenings than during weekday mornings or afternoons.

As the City of Chino Hills moves to phase two of a Carbon Canyon Road traffic study, the obvious conclusions in phase one's basic engineering analysis were presented last month to the planning commission.  That is, traffic volumes are in the D or F ranch for Level of Service (LOS); that volume will be increasing as more housing is built in the Inland Empire; and that there are some improvements that can be suggested to Carbon Canyon Road with the goal being to increase efficiency of movement on the state highway.

However, of the dozen or so speakers who addressed the commission, many asked for traffic lights at Canon Lane or Canyon Hills Drive so that residents seeking to turn (especially left) onto Carbon Canyon Road can do so more easily.  As a canyon resident who has to turn left all the time, but won't even have the opportunity to have traffic signals to assist because of the sight line issue in Sleepy Hollow, I really do empathize with those residents.

But, adding more traffic signals, while it may benefit a few, will actually slow traffic down and impede movement through the canyon for the larger numbers of commuters on the road.  As a state highway, Carbon Canyon Road has to be looked at in terms of the broader, rather than the more localized, impacts.

Again, I experience the same issues and frustrations of trying to access the road as do those speakers, but more traffic signals will be counterproductive and lead to more stoppages, less access, and slower commute times.

Here, though, is the bottom line in the big picture.  There are too many of us, me included, driving ourselves solo.  There is no way to improve existing freeways, highways and arterial roadways to address the real problem of inefficient volume.  The huge amounts of money and time spent on the 91 Freeway widening and the improvements of the 57/60 interchange, two of the worst traffic areas anywhere in the United States are the proverbial "finger in the dike," and won't address long-term traffic problems.

More carpooling, trains, subways, and, especially, buses are the only way to deal with volume.  For those who love to drive or want the convenience (compromised as those may be by lengthening commute times) of controlling our time by driving ourselves solo, we have to decide how much more we can put up with.

The Carbon Canyon Road traffic study is needed and it is good to see the city taking this project on, but the reality is that solutions will be temporary and minor.  What our elected officials and citizens need to do is embrace getting away from solo vehicle occupancy to mass transit in its varied forms.  Otherwise, it is more time wasted, more pollution generated, and our quality of life diminishes further.

Dangerous Left Turns Into Left Turn Lanes on Carbon Canyon Road

Last Wednesday, the Chino Hills Planning Commission meeting featured a presentation of the first phase of a Carbon Canyon Road traffic study.

More on that in a coming post, but there was a statement made by the traffic engineer for the consultant, KOA Corporation, that there are too many cars on the state highway for the type of road that it is.

When it came time for ten canyon residents to express their concerns during public comment, several of them stated that turning left onto Carbon Canyon Road can be a stressful and frustrating experience, which is true.  The road mentioned most often was Canon Lane and concerns about accidents stated.

However, just forty-five minutes ago, while I was heading east on the highway, a late-model BMW 5-series sedan turned left from Canon and, because the road was not clear for that turn, the driver used the left turn lane on westbound Carbon Canyon to southbound Canon Lane as a collector lane.

Sure enough, a black sedan entered that left-turn lane to go south onto Canon just as the BMW was starting to exit it and cut in front of the driver ahead of me to get onto the eastbound lane of Carbon Canyon.

This is the second time in the last several days that I've seen/experienced this.

Last week, I was heading the same direction and a new-looking Mercedes SUV made the same maneuver and was looking to enter the roadway from the westbound left-turn lane, but I happened to be there, so the driver stopped and had to wait in that lane before heading on to Carbon Canyon Road.  In this case, there was no one turning left, but what if there had been?

Residents of the canyon know all too well the frustration of waiting long periods to try and turn left (or right to a lesser extent) onto Carbon Canyon Road during busy times.

Risking injury or death by making dangerous turns onto the roadway using a left-turn lane others might use, however, is lunacy.

In both these cases, these weren't young, inexperienced drivers, they were mature adults in their 40s to 60s.  They really should know better.

Among the comments at last week's meeting was that traffic signals at intersections like Canon Lane and Carbon Canyon Road would make turning left onto the state highway a great deal safer.  It's hard to argue with that, though there are many other factors about such issues traffic flow and delays to bear when considering these changes.

For now, though, people have to be more patient.  In both cases, when I looked into my rear view mirror after those maneuvers, there was room for those vehicles to turn left behind me within seconds.

Is it really worth it to try and shave off a few seconds of time to make a dangerous and illegal left turn?

On the Skids in Carbon Canyon #25738

About twenty minutes ago, while heading westbound on Carbon Canyon Road at the eastern end of the S-curve in Chino Hills, I came upon a single motorcycle accident.

It was not clear which direction the rider was headed, nor if there were any injuries, but a tow truck was getting ready to haul the pocket rocket away and two Sheriff's Department vehicles were directing traffic in one lane each direction.  The backup for eastbound travelers extended to Sleepy Hollow.

Carbon Canyon Road Closure Today

A few hours ago, the westbound side of Carbon Canyon Road was closed just east of Olinda Village near the old La Vida Mineral Springs site because of a solo vehicle crash.

Here was the detail from the City of Chino Hills website's "Alert Center":

Road Alert-Update 6:05 pm Wed., April 12th Westbound traffic on SR142 is being rerouted around a solo vehicle accident scene east of Olinda Village. Traffic is heavily congested. 

Major Road Closure - 5:45 pm Wednesday, April 12th – Westbound lane is closed on Carbon Canyon Road, east of Olinda Village, due to a solo vehicle accident. A SIG alert has been issued for the next 45 minutes. Traffic is heavily congested.

Notably, the City of Brea's Carbon Canyon hotline had nothing about this accident, as was the case with the accident just yesterday near today's wreck.

It does seem like there has been a spate of incidents recently, though whether these last two have been because of speeding or other reckless driving is not known.