Affordable housing project draws traffic concerns near elementary school

Corey Washington
Staff Writer
A multi-unit housing community slated for development in Signal Hill has stoked concerns that the upcoming project will increase traffic in a frequently congested area next to Signal Hill Elementary School. The project has also elicited concerns about pedestrian safety and calls for the City to conduct a thorough traffic survey.

Tammy Lavelle, principal of Signal Hill Elementary School, said she is particularly concerned about limited curb space at the designated site of the project at Gundry Avenue and Hill Street. Lavelle said the development will add to morning and afternoon traffic congestion when parents drop off and pick up students.
Lavelle worries the project also increases the risk of a traffic accident, possibly involving a child. She noted the property where the housing will be developed is next to an area where a student running across the street was hit by car.
“This is where the safety concerns come because parents don’t have access to the curb space to drop off their kids safely,” Lavelle said. “They let their kids run across the street, all around the school. ! That’s the main problem— parents don’t have enough curb space to pull up, so now we’re talking about that curb where the new project is going to go will now be probably filled by new residents.”

Lavelle was hired as principal of Signal Hill Elementary School in late 2013, years after the project made its way through the conceptual and planning phases. She said she attended two City Hall meetings since the project had moved through the pipeline. Lavelle raised her concerns at a city council meeting she attended in March and was told the City would review if any additional traffic studies would be necessary for that area.
Lavelle said the forthcoming development is often compared to Las Brisas Community Housing but it contrasts with that affordable housing community for several important reasons.
“I think they’ve done some work with surveys, but they’ve done a lot of the work over at Las Brisas, which is what I think they are considering a very similar project,” Lavelle said. “The biggest difference is Las Brisas doesn’t have a school across the street. So, every time I go, it’s a little frustrating because they talk about all of these surveys and things they’ve done around the traffic at Las Brisas, but that’s apples to oranges. Other than the fact that it’s a low-income housing development, there’s nothing else similar about the traffic pattern when you’re running an elementary school. We have almost 800 students here. We’re not a small school; we’re a very large school.”
The affordable-housing community will include 72 units on 1.6 acres of property directly at Hill Street and Gundry Avenue. The property was previously owned by the shuttered Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency and was transferred to the City’s housing authority following the State’s decision to axe redevelopment funds.
The project would be located at two sites adjacent to each other at 1500 E. Hill St. and 2170 Gundry Ave. Part of the designated sites includes a metal hut that would be demolished. Officials previously said the housing development would include one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
Lavelle, whose parents have worked on low-income housing developments, emphasized that she is in favor of affordable-housing opportunities and only questions the site of the project and its potential impact on safety next to the elementary school.
A call made to City Councilmember Tina Hansen was not returned by press time. Hansen is one of two city council members a part of the City’s housing subcommittee.
Local resident Maria Harris echoed Lavelle’s concerns about traffic congestion and measures. Harris, who said she supports low-income housing, said she was additionally concerned about saturating the west end of Signal Hill with affordable housing. She pointed to Las Brisas as another low-income multi-housing community on the west side of Signal Hill.
Lavelle said the school works very closely with Signal Hill Police Department to instruct parents and navigate the flow of traffic to keep students safe. She said she would continue to take precautions in light of the forthcoming housing development.
Construction on the development is expected to start in December. Officials said the project would be completed in 14 to 16 months.