Sebastopol council to address pedestrian safety at Tuesday meeting

The Sebastopol City Council will hold a special town hall meeting Tuesday to address concerns about pedestrian safety in the wake of two recent, serious injury crashes, including one that resulted in a woman's death.

Mayor Una Glass called for the session last week amid an outpouring of unease and anger stemming from the back-to-back incidents on two sides of downtown, both on Highway 12.

On Aug. 24, resident Julie Reibel was struck while crossing Bodega Avenue southbound at Ragle Road in her motorized wheelchair.

She was in an uncontrolled intersection when a 79-year-old motorist approached her, traveling about 10 mph below the posted speed limit of 40, police said.

Reibel, 27, died the following week.

On Aug. 25, another pedestrian was struck on Highway 12/Sebastopol Avenue near Barnes Road at the eastern entrance to downtown. She suffered life-threatening injuries as well, police said.

The two incidents add to continuing concerns about the safety of local roadways, particularly in a town where major thoroughfares, Highways 12 and 116, carry locals and also funnel a significant volume of traffic between inland Sonoma County and communities closer to the coast.

Tuesday's meeting runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the multipurpose room at Park Side Elementary School, 7450 Bodega Ave.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Julie Reibel was heading south across Bodega Avenue when she was struck by a car, according to police. Her intended destination is not clear. An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the direction Reibel was traveling.