Boy’s death prompts Newport Beach to examine bike safety near schools

Three weeks after an 8-year-old boy was hit and killed by a trash truck while riding his bike home from Newport Heights Elementary School, Newport Beach leaders have directed city staff to place a new focus on bicycle safety near schools.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to have staff seek community perspectives and propose ways officials could improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety around Newport Heights Elementary, Ensign Intermediate School and Newport Harbor High School.

“I will do everything I can to advance these initiatives,” said Councilman Tony Petros, whose district includes Newport Heights.

Third-grader Brock McCann was riding five blocks from school May 25 when a trash truck operated by city contractor CR&R Environmental Services killed him at 15th Street and Michael Place.

He was about halfway home.

City staff is expected to:

♦ Review traffic flow at each intersection and consider possible safety improvements.

♦ Consider the need for crossing guards at specific intersections.

♦ Review on-street parking regulations.

♦ Consider widening or adding sidewalks and allowing more sidewalk riding in certain areas.

♦ Consider establishing more bike lanes, with buffer zones between the lanes and motor vehicles.

The study is expected to begin immediately, City Manager Dave Kiff said.

Staff will seek input from community members; Newport’s police, fire and public works departments; parents and students from each studied school; the Newport-Mesa Unified School District; and a representative of the McCann family.

From 2008 to 2013, Newport Beach ranked among the state’s worst cities in bicyclist injuries and deaths compared with cities its size, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. More recent data have not been made available.

In 2014, the city approved a bicycle master plan to add about 46 miles to its cycling trails and lanes over 20 years. It also aims to provide education programs for cyclists and require closer tracking of bike-related incidents.

“The No.1 item in that plan is safety, and yet this happened,” Petros said of Brock’s death. “I do think when something like this happens, we do need to take pause and look at ways to avoid this again.”

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Fry writes for Times Community News.

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