Will More 'Calming Measures' Slow Drivers at 6th and Valley?
Feb 08, 2025 06:56PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
(A car blows through a stop sign at 6th Place and Valley Drive. Image via Tom Williams.)
In the past six weeks, nearly 30,000 drivers blew through a stop sign at 6th Place and Valley Drive. Will new "calming measures" be able to make them stop?
That was the question before the Manhattan Beach City Council this week, as councilmembers voted to approve new fixes for the long-troubling intersection.
The council voted, 4-0-1 to approve the following seven "traffic calming" measures ((Mayor Amy Howorth abstained due to the proximity of her home to that stretch of Valley Drive):
1) A new speed limit sign on Valley Drive, south of 10th Place
2) A solar-powered flashing stop sign at 6th Place and Valley Drive
3) A capital project to install sidewalks and crosswalks on the north side of 6th Street between Ardmore Ave. and Valley Drive, spanning from the easternmost side of Ardmore to the westernmost side of Valley
4) A capital project to install crosswalks and accessible ramps on Ardmore Ave. and Valley Drive at 10th Street to connect the exercise area and Veterans Parkway to homes on either side
5) A solar-powered speed awareness sign on Valley Drive between 6th Place and 1st Street
6) A white painted parking edge line on the west side of Valley Drive between 10th and 2nd Streets to make the road visually "narrower" and provides a buffer for parked cars
7) A solar-powered stop sign on northbound Ardmore Ave. as it approaches 6th Street
(A map of newly approved "traffic calming" measures between 6th Place and Manhattan Beach Blvd. Image via city of Manhattan Beach.)The two capital projects are projected to cost approximately $500,000, and would come out of the Capital Improvement Program and not the city's General Fund.
The other items are expected to be handled through the city's street maintenance fund at a cost of approximately $20,000.
6th And Valley Has Long Been A Concern
The recurring traffic violations at 6th and Valley Drive - where an
estimated 400+ cars blow through the stop sign daily - continue to
infuriate residents.
That intersection is of particular concern because it marks a point at
which pedestrians, bicycles, and cars cross the Greenbelt and Valley Drive when heading from the Hill Section
down to the beach; and also a point at which youngsters may cross Valley on
their way to Robinson Elementary.
(A truck barrels through the stop sign on September 12, 2024. Screenshot via Tom Williams.)
Although multiple area residents have spoken out about the intersection, the most vocal by far has been resident Tom Williams. Williams has been creating a series of videos documenting drivers' failure to stop at 6th and Valley, offering perhaps the most visceral evidence of stop sign violations at that intersection. In what he describes as a "hobby grown out of hand," he created a "computer vision model" that scans and picks out stop sign violators from his videos of the intersection.
Williams' collection of 6th and Valley videos include, Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4, Video 5, Video 6, Video 7, Video 8, and Video 9. He also launched a Change.org petition in September 2022 calling for the city to take more action at 6th and Valley, and has frequently criticized the city for not taking strong enough action or providing enough enforcement.
Will Measures Stop Drivers With "Willful Disregard"?
After going through thousands of hours of video, Williams said he does not believe that a flashing stop sign will make a meaningful difference, and that the road needs to be radically restructured to slow traffic down.
"The current stop sign is well declared on both sides of the road, it’s been striped (even a wider stripe), it's written on the road, and it's announced 150 feet or so before with signage," Williams wrote to the City Council. "I’d also argue that the majority of violations that occur are not from people unaware that a stop sign exists but instead from willful disregard of it. Valley Drive, between Manhattan Beach Blvd. and 1st, is currently designed in a way that promotes bad behavior, and that needs to change."
Williams has called for more drastic measures such as reducing Valley/Ardmore to a single lane in both directions between Manhattan Beach Blvd. and 1st Street, dedicating the right traffic lane for pedestrians, bike traffic, and emergency vehicles; or possibly making Valley/Ardmore bi-directional between Manhattan Beach Blvd and 1st to match the traffic flow in both the Tree Section and in Hermosa Beach to Herondo Ave.
"I’ve been talking about this for three years and there’s been zero impactful action taken by the city," said Williams at the City Council meeting, warning of the likelihood of a dangerous accident taking place. "Everyone’s been put on notice - not just this council, but all of us are responsible."
Failure To Stop is a Chronic Issue
The issue of cars failing to stop at critical intersections is an all-too-familiar one in Manhattan Beach.
In July 2023, the city approved "traffic calming measures"
along the northeastern-most stretch of Valley Drive between Sepulveda
Blvd. and 27th Street. Those measures were enacted after a a
group of residents brought the issue to the City Council following a February 2023
accident involving a 6th grader on a bicycle.
In September 2022, a car-pedestrian accident at 2nd and Peck Avenue in Manhattan Beach caused minor injuries to two Pennekamp Elementary School
students. The students were crossing in the
pedestrian crosswalk with a crossing guard present when they were hit by
the car. A crossing guard on site said that the car did not stop at all
at the crosswalk.
And in 2020, the hit-and-run death of a family dog on 1st Street in East Manhattan Beach inspired the "#ChewieStrong" campaign, with signs appearing all over town urging drivers to slow down.
