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SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County supervisors Tuesday voted to fast-track the installation of a traffic signal in Coto de Caza at an intersection where an 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by a pickup truck.
Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said there was an outpouring of "grief and concern by community members" in September when Bradley Rofer was killed in a crosswalk at Coto de Caza Drive. The boy, who was riding his bike, was wearing a helmet but still sustained fatal injuries.
The new traffic light will be at Oso Parkway and Coto de Caza Drive.
The county paid $90,000 to pay for a design of the signal, Bartlett said.
"Because of the critical nature of this intersection and what happened we wanted to fast-start things," Bartlett said. "We've got everything really fast-tracked and we're not going to let up on the gas pedal now."
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said the area "does feel like there's a lot of fast, speeding cars in a predominantly residential community... The infrastructure has not kept up with the population growth... You have my assurance as I transition into representing the Fifth District and the community of Coto de Caza I will take the baton from Supervisor Bartlett and continue to expedite the project."
County traffic engineer Denis Bilodeau told supervisors that a project of this kind would normally take two years "but we're going to try to fast- track that as quickly as possible... We're hoping to fast-track this and have it done in 18 months."