City axes plans to remove oak trees at Franklin Elementary
Officials with Glendale’s public works department have reconsidered plans to remove seven oak trees on the campus of Franklin Elementary to make room for a new drop-off lane after some parents of students at the school raised concerns that the project would place their children at risk for more pedestrian accidents and increased exposure to freeway pollution.
The tree removal was part of a plan to widen Winchester Avenue in order to add a drop-off lane outside the school. The removal originally scheduled for Friday, would have started the third phase of Glendale’s Safe Routes to School improvement project, designed to curtail the number of pedestrian and student deaths as well as encourage walking and biking to school.
After the public works department met with school officials Tuesday to discuss alternatives, they decided to switch the drop-off lane to Justin Avenue, as it was determined to have both a wider sidewalk and street.
“The solution will entail shifting the drop-off area to Justin Avenue in front of the new gate, where the street is wider,” said Roubik Golanian, the city’s director of public works, in an email sent to parents Tuesday. “The city’s contractor will perform the installation of new signage, crosswalks and curb ramps at that location to facilitate the transition.”
The rest of the planned improvements that are part of the Safe Routes to School project will continue on Friday, Golanian said.
Last week, several parents of Franklin Elementary students contacted city officials, asking to preserve the trees. Some cited concerns about air-quality reduction given that the Golden State (5) Freeway is nearby. Others said the addition of a drop-off lane would only add to the number of vehicles in the area.
Mary Lee Behar, whose son attends kindergarten at Franklin, learned of the tree removal plans just as they were being marked with orange Xs.
She said she appreciates most of the safety improvements but can’t see a reason for a drop-off lane on Winchester.
“If anything, it’s going to force people onto the street if there’s not enough room on the sidewalk,” Behar said in a phone interview Tuesday before learning of the city’s new plans. “Narrowing the sidewalk and removing the trees is unnecessary and would be dangerous to all who walk the streets at drop-off and pick-up.”
In an email to city officials, Pierre-Etienne Vannier, father of two students at Franklin, wrote about a similar concern about carbon emissions near the school as well as creating “a hazard for the school community by increasing driving spaces and decreasing walking space on sidewalks.”
Maria Mastroyannis, a parent of two students at Franklin, also wrote to city officials last week. “It gets very hot there at pick-up time for many weeks and months of the year, and any shade provided by trees of any size is greatly valued by parents and children,” she said in an email.
With the change by the city, the public works department will reach out to parents who contacted the city and the Glendale Unified school district with their concerns.
A community meeting scheduled for Thursday to outline the proposed widening of Winchester has been canceled in light of the change.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
