We, the residents of Costa Mesa's 92627 zip code, are directly impacted by nightly reckless driving at the intersection of 20th Street and Wallace Avenue. Our children's safety is at risk at a designated school bus stop located at this very corner, with a school just blocks away. The excessive noise from speeding and "donuts" wakes up families and sleeping children in the middle of the night, often around 3:00 AM. Furthermore, many residents have suffered significant property damage to their parked vehicles, impacting their livelihoods when work trucks or commuter cars are put out of commission.

If this behavior continues, it is only a matter of time before a driver loses control and causes a serious or fatal injury to a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a child waiting for the bus. Continuing to ignore this problem means accepting sleepless nights, costly vehicle repairs, and the constant fear of a tragedy. By taking action, we can reclaim the safety of our streets, ensure our children are protected, and restore peace to our neighborhood. The well-being of our community is at stake.

The time for action is now because the problem is escalating, and our attempts to resolve it peacefully have failed. When approached, the drivers have ignored our requests, appeared intoxicated, and responded by performing even more dangerous stunts. We cannot wait for a devastating accident to be the catalyst for change. We are petitioning for immediate intervention from the City of Costa Mesa to prevent a tragedy and address this severe and ongoing safety hazard.

Our Proposed Solution

To resolve these critical safety issues, we urge the City of Costa Mesa to implement proven traffic calming measures. We request that the city's traffic engineering department evaluate and install the most appropriate solutions to stop this dangerous behavior.

Based on our research, we propose the following strategy:

• At the Intersection (20th St & Wallace Ave): We suggest a permanent installation of a raised intersection (also known as a speed table) or a strategic placement of speed cushions.
  • As a more immediate and potentially cost-effective pilot program, we also suggest adopting a solution successfully piloted by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)[1]. This involves arranging modular, doughnut-deterring speed bumps in a pattern across the intersection, which is specifically designed to make it physically difficult to perform stunts. This could serve as a faster measure to address the danger while a permanent solution is planned.
• On Approaching Streets: We propose the installation of speed humps at the following mid-block locations to address speeding:
  • On Wallace Avenue: Between 20th St and 19th St, and between 20th St and Hamilton St.
  • On 20th Street: Between Wallace Ave and Palace Ave, and between Wallace Ave and Sterling Ave.

We are confident that these measures will restore safety and peace to our neighborhood. We look forward to collaborating with the City of Costa Mesa to implement an effective and safe solution for our community.

[1] https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/This-S-F-intersection-got-some-unusual-speed-17489720.php