CAR CRASHES INTO ORANGE CIRCLE, AGAIN

A suspected intoxicated driver was arrested after he crashed his car into the orange circle at high speed shortly after 2 am Sunday morning.

Two Orange Police Cars were in the circle when the crash happened. Those Officers ran to the crashed car and helped the driver out of the wreckage. He was the only occupant of the car and he refused medical attention.

Several people were in the park at the time and were narrowly missed by the speeding car.

The car was heading east on Chapman Avenue and bypassed the bollards put in place to prevent cars from driving into the park at the center of the circle. Dozens of cars, trucks, and motorcycles have crashed into the circle in the last few decades. Our records show they occur on average every 18 months. However, these crashes appear to be increasing in frequency in the last few years. The majority of these crashes have ended in at least one fatality.

The City of Orange has tried a variety of measures to stop these crashes from happening, including flashing lights and barriers. None of these measures appears to have been effective. At all.

The only sure way to reduce the chances of injury and death in these crashes is to add additional sturdy bollards and barriers around the park. The cars in the last two crashes, and many more, have simply driven around existing bollards. In fact, when traveling eastbound on Chapman the cars entering the park have a straight shot into the park, and the fountain, as the bollards are not placed where a car is the most likely to enter the park. Yes, you read that correctly, the bollards are not in the direct path of cars entering the park. Cars have a clear path into the fountain and anyone unlucky enough to be there walking or sitting on a bench.

Crashes into the Circle have injured pedestrians in the park in the past. It is very likely that additional injuries and deaths will occur unless the City Council takes decisive action after decades of studies and bloviating on the problem.

Instead of talking to problem to death as has been the case in the past, its time for the Orange City Council to add just a few more heavy duty bollards to the edge of the park. Any complaints about how the bollards look are just foolish when the alternative is an endless stream of dead people! Not mention a repeatedly damaged historic fountain.

If the City Council can’t figure it out, the should find a 10 year old and he’ll show you where the new bollards should go.