NENJI YILPET| senior staff writer

Students request redzones and traffic signals from the city


Groups are formed on Facebook every day. Some are funny, others are serious. Some have two members, others have two thousand. One specific Facebook group is not only serious but has led to safety changes in Azusa.

“The night of Julie’s accident I started the group. I care about the issues of safety in Azusa,” sophomore history major Wesley Willison said.

Willison is an Azusa native. His family has been in this community for over 50 years. He also is a commuter who drives on the main streets on a daily basis.

PUT IN TRAFFIC SIGNALS AT THE APU ENTRANCE ON CITRUS! is the name of the Facebook group which has over 100 members. One of the major goals of the group has been to have redzones placed northbound and southbound on Foothill in order to ensure that cars can not park on the street, according to Willison.

Another focus has been to have left-turn signals at the Foothill and Citrus intersection, and to place a crosswalk at the main entrance of west campus which would allow for bicyclists to go the same direction as traffic, according to Willison.  

“I am here to make it safe. It’s not only me though, it’s our group. People want to make it safer,” Willison said.

Wanting to be heard as concerned students, Willison and fellow group members arranged to meet with Mayor Joseph Rocha and assistant city manager James Makshanoff to express their concerns. At the meeting, Mayor Rocha and Makshanoff immediately arranged for the redzones to be put on northbound Foothill. The area where cars once parked is now painted red.  

On the other hand, there is still a 200-ft curve on southbound Foothill that has not been painted a redzone. Makshanoff says this is due to the fact that he is still coordinating with Foothill Vista to make this happen.  

“We are moving forward with it,” Makshanoff said.

Willison and sophomore International Business major Jaclynn Anderson attended the city council meeting on Monday, April 8. They both expressed their gratitude to Mayor Rocha and the councilmen for the changes that are being made. Also, they challenged them to keep moving forward.

“This (the accident) has hit big time home for me. I don’t want to see this ever happen again,” Anderson said.

Anderson was with sophomore Julie Farris when the accident happened.

Makshanoff notified the council that he has been trading correspondence with APU to discuss ideas as to how the intersection can be changed. They are looking at what the cost would be to put in four left-turn signals at the Citrus and Foothill intersection and a dedicated right-turn signal into Citrus College. Makshanoff hopes this will be synchronized with the crosswalk on Citrus so that there will be one cohesive flow of traffic.

Azusa owns the intersection to the east side curve of Citrus but pass the curve it becomes Glendora. The project needs to also be coordinated with Glendora, according to Makshanoff.

“We are working. You have not been forgotten,” Mayor Rocha said.

Mayor Rocha assured Willison and Anderson that he too drives these major roads every day and understands the need for safety. He also urged them to speak with students at APU about j-walking to McDonalds.

“I see it all the time and that is a busy street. I would hate for someone to get hit j-walking,” Mayor Rocha said.

            Mayor Rocha has Willison and Anderson’s phone numbers and he told them the city will remain in contact with them.

            “Things are showing promise, a lot of promise,” Willison said. “Hopefully things will move forward and the necessary change will be made to make Azusa safer for the students and residents.”