Gold Line Authority No Longer Considering Second Parking Structure Option

While the city anticipates the arrival of the Gold Line in Glendora, the Gold Line Construction Authority and city staff have been taking steps to iron out potential traffic safety issues regarding the proposed parking structure.

However, city officials say that the GLCA’s proposed parking structure design may feature “unmitigatable” traffic safety issues.

During the GLCA presented two proposed parking structure options adjacent to the future station at Glendora and Ada avenues.

The first option, a 15-ft, two-story garage stretching from Vermont to Glendora avenues had been the GLCA’s first proposed design.

After discussions with city staff and hearing their concerns on traffic safety, the GLCA rendered a second design, a three-story garage near Vermont Avenue that would have required acquiring property from a nearby RV storage lot.

However, during the Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Habib F. Balian, GLCA chief executive officer, said the Authority is no longer looking at Option B as a viable option.

“We have determined that it does not meet the requirements of the Authority,” said Balian. He added that Authority would like to avoid a “ripple effect” of problems caused by attempting to acquire land, when the Authority already owns land feasible for Option A.

Still, city staff said they had serious concerns about “unmitigated” traffic safety issues of Option A, particularly vehicles turning in and out of the ramp off of Glendora Ave.

Mayor Pro Tem Gene Murabito said the ingress and egress from the entrance and exit on Glendora Avenue could cause major disruptions to the flow of traffic in the area.

“You have traffic come in at the east and west bend of Glendora, coming in at 40 miles per hour and it’s going to be extremely difficult to see when you exit that ramp,” said Murabito.

City engineer Jerry Burke said there was limited space from the proposed exit and entrance ramp on Glendora Avenue to the train tracks, leaving city staff to wonder where Metro would install required safety rails in the given space.

“We just could not seem to make it work,” said Burke.

He also said limited visibility caused by the slight “hump” under the train tracks cause safety concerns. He said preliminary designs could impede traffic in the area, which is already congested during peak hours.

Mayor Doug Tessitor, who also serves as the chairman for the GLCA, asserted that parking structure designs were preliminary and that revisions can be made even after the Environmental Impact Review is certified.

“This is merely a preliminary study and the proposal is based on the facts as we know them today, with the full intent to get this project moved forward as far as we can.,” said Tessitor.

The GLCA will include its study on the proposed Glendora station in its EIR available for public review in August.

Residents can sign up for tours of the Gold Line through the GLCA Web site at http://www.metrogoldline.org/