by Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com

At 8:30 a.m. March 23, a male El Roble student was riding his bicycle southbound in the bike lane on Mountain Avenue when a male driver, who was also headed south, attempted to overtake the boy and make a right turn into Claremont Presbyterian Church. There was insufficient time for the driver to make the turn and the boy collided with the car. The boy was wearing a helmet and gloves and was not seriously injured.

During the Claremont City Council meeting on Tuesday a number of people spoke during public comment about inattentive drivers, speeding vehicles, and other hazards on Mountain. The problems are particularly bad when children are being dropped off or picked up at the three public schools on the street.

Claremont has approved plans for a “complete streets” remake of Mountain that will reduce the number of travel lanes for cars, create traffic calming infrastructure and improve the bicycle lanes. However, some in town would like to see stop gap measures installed now to make the street safer. One commenter suggested using safety barrels, like the ones Cal Trans uses, at school drop off points.