An open letter from from Leo Wilson…
Another accident has occured at this dangerous Bankers Hill intersection. Yesterday afternoon’s wreck involved three vehicles. One person was seriously injured and taken to the hospital.
SDPD also reported two other accidents here in August and another in March. Since the new stop signs were placed between Laurel and Upas at 4th and 5th, accidents have fallen there, and made this intersection even more confusing. One Bankers Hill resident recalls, “I had a fender bender there on July 1 when a left-turning SUV hit my car as it was crossing Spruce from east to west. Neither of us 
was hurt, but we had a discussion about how hard it is to see traffic coming on 5th and what a dangerous intersection it is…We agreed that we generally avoid it because it’s so difficult to get a clear break in traffic to safely cross or even pull onto 5th Avenue.”
Many have called for a simple stop sign here for years. Restaurateur Jimmy Carter has requested one at his corner for over a decade. The Bankers Hill/Park West Community Association (supported by Uptown Planners and Councilmember Kevin Faulconer) also requested a stop sign be installed. Unfortunately, action by the Uptown Partnership blocked the placement of a 4-way stop sign here. Under community pressure, Uptown Partnership has attempted to reverse their block, but sadly it wasn’t soon enough for these folks above. A local resident went over to the Uptown Partnership office to let them know of yesterday’s wreck and was surprised to learn that they close at 12:30pm every Friday. (Donna Frye pointed out last month that the salaries at Uptown Partnership grew from $164,000 to $206,000 from 2008 to 2009. She indicated that this might be a good next career move for a city councilmember. Given the hours, it appears to be a pretty lucrative part-time job.)
