Friends and family of 24-year-old Matthew Diaz are calling for changes along Frontage Road in Nipomo after Diaz was hit by a car and killed while riding his skateboard Friday.
“I kind of at this point don’t know how to move forward with healing just cause I keep doing the same things over and over again and reminding myself of him which hurts a lot,” said a friend of Diaz, Hannah Hochderffer.
Diaz was known to be a friend to everyone he encountered and loved riding his skateboard.
“He was everybody’s brother, he was everybody’s friend and he’s always gonna be remembered,” Diaz’s sister Cheyenne said.
Now friends and family are looking to the county for answers.
“I would like to see a set speed limit because I think 40 is way too fast to go – even if he was going 40 – when pedestrians are walking. (Frontage) is one of the main roads that people do have to use. There’s barely any sidewalks in Nipomo and I would like to see some lights,” Diaz said.
“There’s no lighting, there are no sidewalks; the odds of getting hit are pretty high,” said Hochderffer.
Deputy Director of San Luis Obispo County Public Works Dave Flynn says they accept community input over the phone and on their website, which then gets relayed to an advisory committee.
In this area, in particular, a commercial development could bring the changes Diaz’s family is hoping for in a few years.
“In this particular location along Frontage road, there is a proposed commercial development that would eventually come to fruition over the next couple years that would put in those street light and sidewalk improvements,” Flynn explained.
Flynn says the county is working on a speed limit.
“This is an unposted section of the roadway but we will do engineering studies to determine what is the appropriate speed limit and that’s something that will be sent to our board this Spring.”
The CHP says the driver of the car that hit Diaz was not arrested and the crash is still under investigation.
