Slowing the Browns Valley 'slingshot'

City mulls action at high-speed intersection

By KEVIN COURTNEY
Register Staff Writer

  Napa city officials will study whether it makes sense to redirect traffic on a stub of Browns Valley Road east of Buhman Avenue, so cars don’t merge at high speeds in front of Dezerai Court.

Residents on Dezerai Court asked the city’s Traffic Advisory Commission last week to consider blocking the merge in front of their street.

Celeste Cave said vehicles come down Browns Valley from Buhman as if fired from a “slingshot,” making it difficult for her neighbors to exit Dezerai onto Browns Valley.

Napa County Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht, who lives in Browns Valley, read a letter from a Dezerai Court resident who asked that the merge be eliminated.

Vehicles going east on Browns Valley from Buhman should be redirected to the three-way stop about 150 yards to the west of Dezerai, opposite Century Oaks Park, the resident said. This is the spot where Partrick Road joins Browns Valley.

Forcing vehicles to come to a stop would reduce speeding on eastbound Browns Valley, residents said. The posted limit between Buhman and Dezerai is 25 mph, but violations are common, they said.

Adding to unsafe conditions, motorists trying to merge with the main stream of Browns Valley traffic look to their left, ignoring cars trying to leave Dezerai, residents said.

If eastbound motorists joined Browns Valley at the three-way stop, conditions at Westview Drive and Browns Valley Road would also be made safer, they said.

Currently, vehicles coming out of the “slingshot” only have a short distance to get into the left-turn lane for Westview.

The commission, led by council members Peter Mott and Jim Krider, asked staff to come back in September with an analysis of the situation. Staff will analyze the area’s accident history.

As an interim solution, Napa Fire Chief Tim Borman said it might make sense to keep the existing street connection in front of Dezerai, but eliminate the merge. Installation of a stop sign for vehicles entering Browns Valley from Buhman should solve the problem, he said.

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