Supervisors retain existing yield control for Olive Hill at Burma Road

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors ratified a Traffic Advisory Committee decision to retain the existing yield control at the intersection of Olive Hill Road and Burma Road.

The 5-0 vote February 9 retains the yield sign for northbound traffic on Olive Hill Road approaching Burma Road. The decision also grants the recommendation of the Fallbrook Community Planning Group, which supported retaining the existing intersection controls but suggested the addition of signage.

Concerns from area residents who suggested replacing the yield control with a stop control led to the Traffic Advisory Committee review December 3. Prior to the TAC review, the proposal had been addressed by the Fallbrook Community Planning Group and by the planning group’s Circulation Committee. The circulation committee suggested retaining the existing controls and possibly adding a blinking yellow light, while the full planning group added the recommendation to investigate signage as well as determining whether a blinking yellow light would be appropriate for the intersection.

Although the California Highway Patrol representative at the TAC meeting confirmed the resident observations that some motorists were using Burma Road as a “drag strip” and using the intersection to “spin donuts”, he noted that changing the yield control to a stop control would not eliminate those illegal activities and might create additional problems at the intersection such as rear-end collisions.

Safe approach speed guidelines usually determine whether an intersection merits a yield control or a stop control; if the safe approach speed exceeds 10 mph a yield control is often deemed sufficient. The safe approach speed for northbound motorists on Olive Hill approaching the Burma Road intersection is 14 mph.

“The TAC looked at the intersection. They felt that the intersection is operating well,” said TAC secretary Tom Parry.

A three-year history of reported collisions indicated that reasonable motorists were not experiencing any undue delay or any difficulty determining who had the right-of-way. Two collisions one year apart were reported at that intersection, and both collisions took place at approximately the same time in the evening.

“We made a review of the intersection in the evening,” Parry noted.

That review found no issues which contributed to the collisions. “It’s controlled well,” Parry said.

The TAC did not rule out considering a formal speed limit for Burma Road at a future meeting, and the TAC also supported the installation of a blinking yellow light. The county’s Department of Public Works will determine whether the blinking yellow light is appropriate.