HOA meeting hears concerns

Homeowners share issues with traffic on Sand Canyon Road and trail access during emergencies

Sand Canyon homeowners expressed concerns about traffic on Sand Canyon Road and trail access during emergencies at a homeowners association meeting Thursday evening at Sand Canyon Country Club.

With Mayor Laurene Weste in attendance, several residents referred to the portion of Sand Canyon Road south of the 14 Freeway as “Sand Canyon Speedway” or “Sand Canyon Freeway” due to the number of people who use driving app Waze and connect to Placerita Canyon Road to shave driving time off their morning commute. One resident said he saw more than 1,100 cars pass through Sand Canyon and Lost Canyon roads during one morning commute.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Robert Lewis said he

understood that Waze routes its users through Sand Canyon and said his own street is used as a traffic bypass by the popular smartphone app.

“We have had deputies here over the past year,” he said. “For you, we are providing some significant enforcement. Over the course of the last year, we wrote 98 citations for speeding alone, just on Sand Canyon (Road) between Placerita (Canyon Road) and the freeway.”

Station deputies write 375 traffic citations a week citywide, primarily for speeding and distracted driving, Lewis said.

California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Josh Greengard said he had a discussion with a homeowner at a local economic development conference that led to a highway patrolman using the homeowner’s driveway and wrote tickets for a few hours, but the Newhall station’s resources are limited.

Homeowners Association President Ruthann Levison, who is also a member of the city’s parks commission, previously told The Signal that residents can’t get out of their driveways because of the increased traffic.

During her presentation, Weste said the trails being established along Sand Canyon Road will help if another wildfire strikes the community like the Sand Fire did in 2016, when it scorched more than 41,000 acres, prompted the evacuation of about 900 homes and claimed the life of one man.

“For this community particularly, trails are not just about people having fun and enjoying recreation, they’re also about safety,” she said. “I watched during the Sand Fire what you were going through and I have to say you all are made out of true grit. One of the goals of getting the entire trail system done through this canyon will be the ability to allow you safer evacuation.”

Weste said the trail is in various stages of the design process, though some property owners have not given the city an easement for the trail.

The city purchased the southwest corner of Lost Canyon and Sand Canyon roads as a staging area for the Sand Canyon trail, a planned multipurpose trail that would help with emergency access, Levison said. She recalled her and her neighbors having difficulty trying to get out of the canyon during the Sand Fire due to lack of access, taking two hours to get from Sand Canyon and Placerita Canyon roads to Sand Canyon and the 14 Freeway.

Areas near the Sand Fire are still susceptible to potential mudslides in inclement weather due to the rain water not being absorbed into the soil.

Levison told The Signal earlier this week that canyon safety and security were priorities for the group to address this year.