Route 66 in the News

Foothill Boulevard to be Upgraded

2005-06-10 18:26:25

FONTANA, Calif. - Some have long considered the stretch of Route 66 from Fontana to San Bernardino one of the country's most dangerous roads for pedestrians.

Portions of Foothill Boulevard as the route is called here have poor lighting and no sidewalks. Stoplights can be few and far between. Speed limits are as high as 55 mph and often motorists go faster.

"Its notoriety is national," said Mayor Mark Nuaimi, about a stretch of the road that runs through an unincorporated area near Fontana.

In Fontana, city officials such as Nuaimi are aware of the matter, and they have spent years trying to tackle it.

Some say conditions are getting better on their own, and they agree that planned roadside improvements should help keep the community safer.

The city plans to use annexation to create additional curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and increase lighting, stoplights and landscaping to the county's portion of Foothill, beginning in the next couple of months.

The portion of Foothill within the city has most of the infrastructure already and far fewer pedestrians have died in the city than in the unincorporated areas within Fontana's sphere of influence.

According to data from the California Highway Patrol, there were 17 pedestrian deaths on Foothill in either Fontana or its sphere of influence from 1999 through September 2004. Just four of those deaths were within the city.

In comparison with other streets in the area, Foothill appears more dangerous. There were just three pedestrian deaths on San Bernardino Avenue and Base Line Road in Fontana or its sphere of influence in the same period.

It's this kind of data that gives Foothill its reputation.

In November 2002, the Surface Transportation Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, named Foothill the seventh-most dangerous road in the United States for pedestrians.

In May, NBC's Dateline aired the results of a study and named Foothill as one of the country's deadliest roads. The report mentioned in particular the stretch of highway near the city of Fontana.

The Dateline report also ranked Highway 138 as one of the deadliest roads.

Joe Bono, who owns property near Foothill and Sultana Avenue, where his family operated a restaurant for years, said he's seen a number of pedestrians die on the road.

"I saw somebody try to cross the boulevard here and just literally disintegrate into pieces in front of my eyes," Bono said. That was years ago, but Bono added "they keep picking up bodies up and down the street."

The restaurant, which still stands but is not open to customers, is just a few feet from the road. It has been hit by vehicles at least four times, Bono said, most recently in January.

But like City Councilman and former Police Chief Frank Scialdone, Bono said he thinks the problem will get better with time. In fact, Scialdone thinks the situation has already improved.

He said the closure of two bars, two adult bookstores and a "run-down" apartment complex have made things safer. And Scialdone suspects roadside improvements will help even more.

An initial step for the city was to seek street maintenance control of the unincorporated portions of Foothill from Caltrans.

Road improvements on the north side of Foothill from East to Cherry avenues have already been completed. Nuaimi and City Manager Ken Hunt said improvements for the south side have been designed and would be added if the city is successful in its attempt to annex that part of the corridor.

Nuaimi said annexation would be complete in the next couple of months.

From there, the city plans to annex another portion of the corridor, from Cherry to Hemlock avenues, to make more improvements.

It's a piecemeal approach. And it could take time.

"It's not going to happen overnight," Scialdone said. "It's a process."

~Kelly Rayburn, DailyBulletin.com