Lake Murray parents fear next traffic tragedy
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The intersection near Lake Murray playground where residents are campaigning for a stop sign. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios
Residents fought a long battle to try to get stop signs installed at an intersection where an 11-year-old boy was later killed last fall. A mile away, residents are waging a similar campaign that has yet to yield results.
Why it matters: Their push for traffic controls shows how difficult it can be to meet the city's strict criteria for changing such things.
Context: Resident Rose Woods is leading a group of neighbors who have been pushing since April 2025 for a stop sign at Murray Park Drive and Belle Glade Avenue, which sits at the entrance to Lake Murray Community Park and Little League fields.
- After the crash in October, they stepped up their campaign, putting in more Get It Done requests with the city.
- "I've personally witnessed many, many close calls with cars, kids on bikes, families walking through there," Woods told Axios.
What they're saying: The city evaluated a request for a stop sign in 2020 and it did not meet the criteria, city spokesperson Anthony Santacroce told Axios.
- It scored 10 out of 15 required points, he said.
- Points are based on things like whether schools and playgrounds are nearby, how many cars and people pass through and whether accidents have occurred in the past.
The spot was also evaluated in 2025 for crosswalks, but again did not meet the criteria, he said.
- It scored 10 out of the 16 required points.
- Those points are based on things like whether the proposed crosswalk is more than 300 feet away from other crosswalks, if it's near an area where people walk frequently and if it would help people cross to a destination.
Friction point: The city should update this system "to encourage, not discourage, crosswalks and safe streets," said Colin Parent, CEO of the safe streets advocacy nonprofit Circulate San Diego.
- For example, he told Axios his organization asked for changes to the city's draft street design manual last year but hasn't received a response.
- "The city needs to get serious or more children will die," he said.
Threat level: Woods said she and other local parents want their kids to be more independent, but this intersection scares them.
- "We want our kids outside, riding their bikes and playing together in the neighborhood," she said. "But that intersection makes it difficult to fully relax. You want to give them freedom, yet you know it only takes one moment for a life to change."
Go deeper: Drivers keep running new stop signs at fatal San Carlos intersection