Father Arrested After Installing His Own Stop Signs Out Of Concern Over Intersection Near California Home

A concerned California dada has been arrested aft installing unauthorized extremity signs retired of interest astir an intersection successful his neighborhood.

Joseph Brandlin, a 44-year-old azygous begetter to 12-year-old Joey, said he tried for months to get nan metropolis to make nan two-way stop, astatine nan intersection of Loma Vista Street and Acacia Avenue successful El Segundo, into a four-way stop.

After emotion for illustration he was being ignored by nan city, Brandlin took matters into his ain hands. He installed 30-inch-high extremity signs and painted nan connection “STOP” connected nan ground.

He took action weeks aft his boy narrowly avoided a collision while riding his motorcycle done nan intersection, which Brandlin told The Los Angeles Times was “the past straw.”

Brandlin spent astir $1,000 of his ain money connected nan commercial-grade materials, and was installing them early connected March 14 erstwhile he was caught by constabulary and arrested connected aggregate felony charges.

“Grand theft for taking cones from a adjacent building tract and vandalism of metropolis property,” Brandlin told CBS LA. “I’ll do it again if that’s what it takes. Because I’m not gonna hold for personification to die.”

Brandlin says he’s 1 of galore residents who person been asking nan metropolis for years to move nan vicinity intersection into a four-way stop. The longtime El Segundo resident says nan intersection is adjacent to a parkland that is simply a celebrated spot for young children and families.

He and different neighbors had antecedently submitted a petition to nan metropolis pinch astir 50 signatures requesting much extremity signs. But nan metropolis said nan intersection did not meet nan required postulation measurement for much extremity signs, Brandlin told nan Times.

Despite nan city’s claims, Brandlin said residents were ne'er notified of a postulation evaluation, and saw nary visible grounds that it had taken place.

Instead of adding extremity signs, nan metropolis opted to overgarment crosswalks connected each broadside of nan intersection.

The begetter called it ‘mind boggling’ that LA won’t adhd nan extremity signs since ‘75 percent’ of nan metropolis already has them.

After his apprehension past month, Brandlin took complete 70 letters from his neighbors to nan El Segundo City Council. “I’m asking nan assembly for a straightforward action to instal extremity signs connected intersection of Loma Vista Street and Acacia Avenue, aliases complete and transparent information pinch nan community,” Brandlin said astatine nan gathering connected March 17.

Brandlin is owed to look successful tribunal successful June. Local officials person since taken down his extremity signs and covered up nan “STOP” he painted connected nan ground.