Dangers at El Camino Crosswalks: Safety Campaign

This week is the second in a 3-week effort by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Millbrae Police Bureau to raise awareness of pedestrian safety on El Camino Real in Millbrae.

The campaign comes after several vehicles have hit pedestrians at crosswalks on the roadway in recent years. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that one victim, who was 17 at the time of the accident in 2006, remains in a coma.

The goal of the current safety program is to raise awareness of both motorists and pedestrians in the area. According to a Sheriff's Office press release, the program includes posted signs, social media outreach and increased police attention to traffic code violations on El Camino Real.

Officials will also be implementing a decoy program in which officers will pose as pedestrians using the crosswalk to gauge how drivers respond to the crosswalk.

The Chronicle reported that a car hit Millbrae resident Jean Escobar and her 13-year-old son, Ruben, while they were using a crosswalk on El Camino Real at Santa Helena Ave. in October. Millbrae residents Kara and Justin McGee were also hit by a vehicle on El Camino Real in August.

The area in question that has several crosswalks spans El Camino Real from Ludeman Lane to Park Blvd.

According to a Sheriff's Office press release, "While this program is focused on a specific time period, the Millbrae Police Bureau continually works closely with the Millbrae Traffic Engineering Department and Caltrans to monitor and ensure pedestrian and motorist safety along the El Camino Real corridor and throughout the City of Millbrae."

The safety campaign is slated to end on Dec. 21.

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