The Santa Clarita City Council members on Tuesday unanimously voted to remove a temporary traffic diverter at the intersection of Benz Road and Alaminos Drive following testimony from 50 residents on both sides of the issue.
The diverter – three concrete barriers – is expected to be gone by Friday, and local Santa Clarita Transit bus routes will be restored by that time as well. Since the temporary diverter was installed last week, the City received over 300 communications via telephone calls and e-mail.
The Santa Clarita City Council previously approved the temporary diverter at an Aug. 26 meeting after Benz Road residents repeatedly came to City Hall to complain about drivers cutting through and speeding on their street to get to Bouquet Canyon Road or Copper Hill Drive.
The diverter was originally placed temporarily and was planned to stay for three months so traffic engineers could evaluate the traffic impacts of the diverter. After that test period, the City had planned to look at traffic data and then decide whether to keep the barriers permanently or consider other options, such as speed bumps.
The Santa Clarita City Council also voted on Tuesday by a 3-2 vote to restore turn restrictions during peak hours at Copper Hill Drive and Benz Road, Copper Hill Drive and Buckhorn Lane, Bouquet Canyon Road and Benz Road and Bouquet Canyon Road and Sue Drive. Councilmembers Laurie Ender and Laurene Weste dissented.
Mayor Pro-tem Frank Ferry and Councilmember Marsha McLean were the dissenters on a 3-2 vote to install speed cushions for six months and study the impacts. If residents then want permanent ones, they would have to pay for them. The speed humps or cushions will take four to six months to arrive.
